CONTAINING LINKS TO 58103 STORIES FROM THE NETWORKS' NIGHTLY NEWSCASTS
TYNDALL YEAR IN REVIEW
TOP TWENTY STORIES OF 2013

minsTotalABCCBSNBC
Boston Marathon bomb attack432119157156
Federal budget, spending debate40580176149
Healthcare reform law rollout3385616784
Syria civil war continues3106216484
Tornado season2958894113
Winter weather28111758107
Guns: firearms control debate2243512465
Wild forest fires in western states223577493
NSA collects data on citizens210449966
Syria chemical weapons arsenal209438780
S.Africa: Nelson Mandela dies186456674
Egypt: President Morsi ousted175398156
Fla neighborhood watch trial169764053
Pope Francis I takes office157395860
British royals: baby prince born131491962
Afghanistan fighting continues121205843
Cleveland captive trio of women117523035
Ct school shooting aftermath113196727
Superstorm Sandy aftermath96172554
NYSE-NASDAQ market action95234427
Total Top Twenty Stories4286107916891519


REPORTERS' USE OF BUREAUS

minsTotalABCCBSNBC
Foreign Dateline1671424688559
Washington DC28647319941139
Domestic Dateline7423270123822340
Non-Reporter Stories27758709041001
Hard Breaking News8124230728312985
Features/Interviews/Soft News6609241921372053
Total Annual Coverage14733472649685039


HARD & SOFT BEATS: 2013 vs 25-yr avg

Domestic Politics (non-electoral)2474546982946
Domestic Politics (1998-2012)2420774812835
Foreign Policy: 20131302307525469
Foreign Policy (1998-2012)1978636682659
Arts & Media: 2013758391144222
Arts & Media (1998-2012)574210177187
Sports: 2013710269206235
Sports (1998-2012)480173144163
2013 marks the year when ABC World News finally rejected the mission of presenting a serious newscast. ABC covered all four of the major domestic policy stories least heavily: the Budget debate, the Healthcare rollout, Gun control, and National Security Agency surveillance. Same with foreign policy: ABC spent least time on the civil war in Syria and its chemical weapons disarmament, the military coup in Egypt, and on Afghanistan.
Instead, ABC stepped up its coverage of Sports and Show Business, and highlighted morning-style reporters Ginger Zee (weather) and Paula Faris (personal finance tips). Weather aside, the only major stories that ABC covered competitively were True Crime -- the George Zimmerman trial and Ariel Castro's Cleveland hell house -- and Celebrity: London's baby prince. ABC's newscast is now certifiably Disneyfied.
All three newscasts overcovered the Story of the Year. The pressure-cooker bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed only three people. Yet emotional video from the scene and an all-out manhunt in a grieving city made up for the lack of carnage.
In contrast to ABC, NBC's DC Bureau was heavily used, housing four of the top eight correspondents, led by Tom Costello, a latterday Robert Hager. Yet it was CBS that covered both foreign policy and those four major policy debates in most depth. Unusually, Nancy Cordes, its lead Beltway correspondent, was based on Capitol Hill rather than at the White House.
The Most Newsworthy Man of the Year was Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who kept the Boston manhunt alive. The Woman was Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for botching Obamacare.


TOP 20 MOST USED REPORTERS (Anchors excl)

netnameassignmentmins
NBCTom CostelloDC Bureau303
ABCDavid MuirDomestic/Sub Anchor296
NBCAndrea MitchellState Department275
NBCNancy SnydermanMedicine226
ABCJonathan KarlWhite House224
NBCPete WilliamsJustice216
CBSNancy CordesCapitol Hill201
NBCChuck ToddWhite House180
CBSElaine QuijanoDomestic180
NBCAnne ThompsonEnvironment/Vatican176
CBSBob OrrJustice176
CBSDavid MartinPentagon176
NBCMiguel AlmaguerDomestic170
CBSMajor GarrettWhite House159
NBCRichard EngelForeign159
ABCGinger ZeeWeather153
ABCPaula FarisConsumer Features152
NBCStephanie GoskDomestic148
CBSDean ReynoldsDomestic146
ABCMartha RaddatzPentagon146