On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 7:51 PM, Steve Timko <[email protected]> wrote:
> > http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/business/media/venerable-format-of-newshour-struggles-with-new-era-of-media.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 > > I'm surprised nobody mentioned that the PBS "NewsHour" announced layoffs > and it struggling to find money. The fact that no one noticed or no one > cares maybe is a sign of the problem. > The Times article talks about how the "NewsHour" needs to adapt to keep up > with the times. I've liked the fact that it's the anti-cable news channel, > whether it's FOX News or CNN. They take time to explore issues in depth and > it seems all sides, or at least the most important ones, > I respect the "NewsHour" and I want to see it continue. But truthfully, > I've watched it maybe five times in the last two years. I just don't like > any TV news, except for an occasional report here and there. > Since they don't allow commercials, I'm not sure how adapting is supposed > to help them come up with new revenue. Unless they start charging to watch > online or something. > I would not read too much into the lack of comment here. This is either an old story or a new story (the story you linked to is dated only yesterday after all), depending on how you look at it. I like NewsHour a lot, and would like it to stay the same more than it changes. I was a Watergate baby, and fell in love with this how. I like the backgrounders and the mini documentaries, the interviews and the roundtables (though, like many in my ideological tribe, I do wish they would go outside the box more). I do agree that the show suffered when Lehr left and did not appoint a clear anchor, or set of co-anchors, to replace him. Regular viewers know the anchors we get, but it still feels a lot like substitute teachers. This, in turn, gets to what I think is the key problem, only indirectly hinted at in the article - Leher (who I love) needs to give up the reins of the show. Its not just that he is too old and out of touch (though his debate moderator performance did not do much to diminish that charge). The real problem is that this show, more than most newscasts, needs the feel that the main anchors are in charge. NewsHour works best when Jim (or Robin and Jim) are telling us their best judgement of what happened in the world that day, and are providing the context and perspectives to help us make sense of it. I don't want to feel like Jim has hired two other people to tell us what he things happened today. I want it to be the reputation of the anchor reading the news that is on the line - I want it to be the ass of the anchor that is reading the news, and asking the questions, and moderating the discussion, to be on the line. My other problem is that they only do one hour a day, produced at 3:00 in the afternoon (for those of us on the sane coast). I am old enough to not insist on getting my news in online blurbs, but I do live in the 21st century, and it is hard to invest an hour in a newscast when I have to constantly check and see what has happened in the last three hours that may have changed. And even 6:00 is a bit early for me to sit down and really watch the news. When I first got my DVR I recorded NewsHour every night - but that just exacerbates the problem - watching a newscast at 10:00 that was produced 7 hours earlier gets frustrating. SportsCenter is more up to date than NewsHours, especially out here on the west coast, and that is problematic. -- -- 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/groups/opt_out.
