What happened this summer, and particularly last week, is likely to be recalled as the end of the era of network news. At the very least, mark this as the moment when the networks abdicated their authority with the American public.
In a year when the nation was changed by the war on terrorism, a recession and financial scandals, the Project for Excellence in Journalism's fifth annual study found that local television news remained largely unchanged. The study was published in the November/December 2002 issue of the Columbia Journalism Review.
Typical questions used by TV consultants are poorly designed. Asking questions differently reveals an overwhelming interest in learning about politics.
The news Americans see on network television has softened considerably since 2001l, to the point that it looks more like it did before the terrorist attacks than immediately after.
What's left of broadcast television journalism is at stake now, many in the business believe, in the war within the Disney Co. over whether to replace "Nightline" with the late-night comedy of David Letterman. The people who run Disney seem intent on displacing "Nightline" ...
Over time the press is inching back toward pre-September 11th norms of behavior.
