I did a lousy job of clarifying this. I don't think Letterman would make a great anchor person: heavens no. But fundamentally, the classic Cronkite model is almost dead and buried (the argument in the article is Pelley and Williams don't have that voice of gravitas, especially with Williams frequently going outside 3B). ABC is hoping that Muir's approach of "relatable" marks a signature change. What Letterman has, and I threw his name out because it came to mind, is that voice, even though he certainly didn't sign up for the job, but has earned it over the years: an odd mixture of Carson and Cronkite without being either of them.
If Muir is going to be "relatable" in the sense of "lazy-ass puff pieces" (see Couric, Katie), this is going to end very, very badly. I think Williams *could* shift into that voice, but fundamentally refuses to do so. I guess the original thought was "If we don't have a Cronkite, who *do* we have?" And Dave popped to mind. It was a thought starter. On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 4:40 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 2:03 PM, Joe Hass <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> What pops into my mind, and we've beaten around it a little bit, is that >> what we're looking for is basically David Letterman. This sounds odd, but >> it's when something really big happens, we need more of a Dave than a Brian >> (or even a Jon or Jimmy or Steven). Someone to kinda help give us a level >> set more than a report or more information, because we can easily get the >> information. >> > > Respectfully disagree. I look to the anchor of a network newscast to > deliver needed information in a timely manner. Yes, the internet can drop > facts in our laps, but what a newscast, newspaper, or magazine functions to > do (or ought to) is serve as a filter, to dismiss the wikis and blogs, and > to deliver what matters (and what has been verified) in a way that makes > sense. Letterman would make a horrific anchor; he does what he does behind > a very different desk, and that's as it should be. > > > > -- > Kevin M. (RPCV) > > -- > -- > 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 > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- 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 --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
