On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 1:37 PM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > There seems to be a growing perception (recognition?) that the new team at > CBS News really is serious about its commitment to news. It was either > Stewart or Colbert who noted last week that new CBS Anchor Scott Pelley was > the only one of the major broadcast and cable TV newscasts not to lead with > the Wiener story. Today the AP has a story reporting that CBS has spent less > than a third of the time on Wiener than either ABC or NBC, and has spent > more time during that period on international news: > http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110616/ap_en_ot/us_tv_cbs_pelley > > There is also the report the other day that CBS has made an alliance with > National Journal to beef up their political coverage in the run-up to the > 2012 election cycle > > http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cbs-news-national-journal-strike-political-news-partnership-for-2012-election_b71481 > > Ted Koppel referring to CBS’ naming of Scott Pelley to the anchor chair is > quoted as saying at a recent Washington event: "CBS was “clearly” making an > effort to do harder news on its nightly newscast and he hoped it succeeded." > Koppel said it will be “very interesting” to follow the ratings of the > newscast with Pelley at the helm. “I think there is actually a significant > number of people out there who are just ravenous for a TV network that will > really give them good hard news,” he said. > > http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ted-koppel-scott-pelley-at-the-desk-means-a-harder-newscast-for-cbs_b71677 > > Apparently the ratings for the CBS Evening News are up only a little since > the change (6%) over the same week a year ago - dwarfed of course by the > bump the Katie-cast got in its first week. But I am hoping Koppel is right - > slowly and steadily there may be a market for serious news. I have been high > on Pelley for a while now, and if he is not yet Walter Cronkite, he is at > least in that Bob Schiefer tradition. >
More signs that CBS is doubling down on hard news - in the morning no less: http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/cbs-changing-its-morning-routine-20110701 The CBS Evening News covered Afghanistan instead of Wiener-gate; The CBS Early Snow covered the deficit debate instead of Casey Anthony, and is finally willing to test the hypothesis, framed so decisively by Katie and the asshole at NBC, that the Morning Shows, once the men (and serious women) leave home for work around 7:30, should target silly housewives who don't have the capacity or attention span to understand or concentrate on hard news. So far no significant ratings success, but reports of sky-rocketing increases in morale in the News Division, after Katie's velvet reign of terror: ******************************** For decades, the broadcast networks' morning news shows have followed the same time-tested format. Hard news at the top, with dollops of celebrity news, cooking segments, and concerts to fill up the majority of airtime. It’s been rare that any network has strayed from the formula, even among the morning shows playing catch-up in the ratings.But in the last month, CBS News has been testing something fairly revolutionary with its third-place morning newscast *The Early Show*—at least by the normal standards. Out are the popular fashion, celebrity, and cooking segments that populate the 8 a.m. hour of its broadcast competitors. In its place is a news-driven show focused on politics and the storytelling techniques that have defined shows like *60 Minutes*.Lately, the broadcast has shunned reporting on the courtroom drama at the Casey Anthony trial, instead showcasing hour-long wonky town halls with President Obama and House Budget Chairman *Paul Ryan*, R-Wis. “I don't feel that I have to do the same stories at the same time as the other morning shows. That is what we are trying not to be. We are trying not to compete story to story, segment to segment, minute to minute in the show. There is no gain there,” said Batt Humphreys, *Early Show* interim executive producer. “We tried to do that for 30-something years and it hasn't worked very well…. I've come to the conclusion that maybe that model is just not working." (SNIP) “I just don't feel that you necessarily have to be constrained or bound by a female demographic that starts swinging at eight o'clock," Humphreys said. "Nor by that demographic, do you have to program for what you perceive that they want, because in all honesty, I know a lot of women, I’ve talked to women … and its not all about fashion, food, and feeding your babies. I think women are capable of handling content after 8 o'clock in the morning.” Much of the changes in content have come as a result of a recent shakeup in CBS's news division. (SNIP) The ratings, however, haven’t changed much. *The Early Show* is still stuck as a distant third place finisher to *Today* and ABC’s *Good Morning America *. The trendlines are a little more encouraging: *TVNewser* reports that “it’s the only broadcast to show week-to-week growth last month, up slightly in total viewers." Indeed, the decision to abandon tabloid-style coverage is not without risk. For one, avoiding the Casey Anthony trial, which has dominated nearly all the news networks, is something that could drive away viewers. CNN's headline network, HLN, which is running wall-to-wall coverage of the trial, has seen its ratings soar. While *Today* and *Good Morning America* have aired a segment everyday at almost the same time relating to the trial, *Early* made a conscious decision to not do the same. Humphreys calls the story a “traditional, typical morning show tabloid-type trial” that they’re trying to avoid. (SNIP) *EDITOR’S NOTE: CBS News recently partnered with *National Journal* for coverage of the 2012 campaign.* -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
