ABC World News Tonight versus CBS Evening News - A Comparison
This weekend, I watched Friday broadcasts of both the ABC News and CBS News to see why one (ABC) was the leader, while the other (CBS) is pulling its lowest ratings of all time. Unfortunately, CBS' biggest free agent signing, Katie Couric, was not in the broadcaster's chair this week to go up against current network news leader Charles Gibson.
Primarily, I was interested in seeing how many stories each of the networks had and how many of the stories overlapped between networks. For the stories that were only on one broadcast, I wanted to look at the nature of the story to see if there were differences in the newscasts.
Why did I take the time to do what could essentially be a middle schooler's homework assignment? I don't really know, but I thought it would be interesting.
The Current Champion: ABC World News Tonight with Charles Gibson (Dun dun dah daaaah!!)The Lineup:
1) D.A. on Trial - Durham, NC District Attorney Michael Nifong resigns.
2) Trouble in Space - The battle to save the International Space Station's computer systems.
3) Surgery in Space - Astronaut fixing a tear in Space Shuttle Atlantis' insulation.
4) Defense secretary Robert Gates takes a surprise trip to Iraq and says things need to get better.
5) General Peter Pace (former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff) says that he was forced out of his position.
6) Hamas Takeover - Details on recent Palestinian conflicts.
7) Immigration Deal - Immigration reform bills are going back to legislative branch.
8) A Closer Look - Weight Loss Frenzy: Details on "Alli" a new diet drug approved for over the counter sales. Alli stops 25% of fat from being absorbed by the body, but that fat still needs to be "purged," which can lead to "extreme intestinal discomfort" (AKA: "The Runs").
9) ABCNews.com call out.
10) Wall Street numbers.
11) Fathers' Days - Gender roles and gender convergence in America in regards to roles at home.
12) Time Capsule - A brand new 50 year old Plymouth Belvedere was lifted from the ground.
13) Person of the Week: Amanda Dunbar - Story about an artist who has become a philanthropist.
14) ABCNews.com call out.
Bringing up the caboose: CBS Evening News with Katie Couric1) The Duke Case - Durham, NC District Attorney Michael Nifong resigns (much more dramatic than ABC version).
2) Trouble in Space - The battle to save the International Space Station's computer systems (same story title as ABC? Skeptical about it being produced by either network with original material). Coverage of the Atlantis insulation fix was covered as well.
3) Palestinians Divided - Coverage of the conflict between Hamas and Fatah. Why is this called "Palestinians Divided" on CBS, while ABC calls it a "Hamas Takeover?"
4) Barak - There is a new defense minister in Israel.
5) Robert Gates pays a surprise visit to Iraq.
6) F-16 crashes near Baghdad, soldiers whereabouts unknown.
7) 5 soldiers killed in Kirkut.
8) Toll of War - Mental health problems of soldiers and shortcomings of government to assist with post-traumatic stress disorder.
9) Delayed Delivery - 4,500 pieces of mail dating back to last Spring were not delivered to Walter Reed patients.
10) Convicted - James Ford Seale, a Klansman, is convicted and going to jail.
11) Wall Street numbers.
12) Resignation - Senior justice official resigns.
13) Our Economy - Inflation concerns.
14) % Mortgage Rates - Housing correction is going on and will continue to be relevant.
15) Time Capsule - Plymouth Belvedere is unearthed.
16) Assignment America: Painter with disease sells paintings to sponsor Make a Wish Foundation
I was actually surprised to see how many stories were original to each network because I thought each network was just going to have the same content with a different talking head. CBS' broadcast was much faster paced and even felt rushed at times. The "Eye" had significantly more coverage on the War in Iraq and was overall much more negative than ABC World News Tonight, in terms of the stories it chose to present this past Friday. CBS recently said that it is trying to go with more of a "hard news" format and I wonder if the extensive war coverage and realities of a slumping economy stories come as a result of this change. Interesting that CBS chose not to cover the "Alli" diet drug story while ABC chose to do an extensive feature on it.
What's funny is that both the networks ended with an upbeat, "fluff" story that both happened to be on young, female painters doing philanthropic works for other people. Does anyone else think this is too big a coincidence? Something tells me that there was a leak somewhere and they just tried to one up each other on similar topics. Without Couric in the chair, it's unfair to judge the performance of the anchors, but I was actually a little disappointed in the lack of warmth from Charles Gibson in the ABC broadcast compared to how he was on Good Morning America. The same goes for Couric and it's unfortunate how these morning anchors seem to have the life sucked out of them as soon as they hit the Evening News circuit.
Not to say that Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, and Peter Jennings were huggable stuffed animals on the air, but I always felt like they had a strong identity that went well beyond reading a teleprompter that came through on their broadcasts. Gibson and Couric are both relatively new to being on the Evening News circuit, but I hope they start to find their identities and connect with viewers soon because while I think the news is important, unfortunately, ratings might be more important. The day that there is no network evening news on in the United States would truly be the day when selling out for advertisers might go a little too far.
2) Trouble in Space - The battle to save the International Space Station's computer systems (same story title as ABC? Skeptical about it being produced by either network with original material). Coverage of the Atlantis insulation fix was covered as well.
3) Palestinians Divided - Coverage of the conflict between Hamas and Fatah. Why is this called "Palestinians Divided" on CBS, while ABC calls it a "Hamas Takeover?"
4) Barak - There is a new defense minister in Israel.
5) Robert Gates pays a surprise visit to Iraq.
6) F-16 crashes near Baghdad, soldiers whereabouts unknown.
7) 5 soldiers killed in Kirkut.
8) Toll of War - Mental health problems of soldiers and shortcomings of government to assist with post-traumatic stress disorder.
9) Delayed Delivery - 4,500 pieces of mail dating back to last Spring were not delivered to Walter Reed patients.
10) Convicted - James Ford Seale, a Klansman, is convicted and going to jail.
11) Wall Street numbers.
12) Resignation - Senior justice official resigns.
13) Our Economy - Inflation concerns.
14) % Mortgage Rates - Housing correction is going on and will continue to be relevant.
15) Time Capsule - Plymouth Belvedere is unearthed.
16) Assignment America: Painter with disease sells paintings to sponsor Make a Wish Foundation
I was actually surprised to see how many stories were original to each network because I thought each network was just going to have the same content with a different talking head. CBS' broadcast was much faster paced and even felt rushed at times. The "Eye" had significantly more coverage on the War in Iraq and was overall much more negative than ABC World News Tonight, in terms of the stories it chose to present this past Friday. CBS recently said that it is trying to go with more of a "hard news" format and I wonder if the extensive war coverage and realities of a slumping economy stories come as a result of this change. Interesting that CBS chose not to cover the "Alli" diet drug story while ABC chose to do an extensive feature on it.
What's funny is that both the networks ended with an upbeat, "fluff" story that both happened to be on young, female painters doing philanthropic works for other people. Does anyone else think this is too big a coincidence? Something tells me that there was a leak somewhere and they just tried to one up each other on similar topics. Without Couric in the chair, it's unfair to judge the performance of the anchors, but I was actually a little disappointed in the lack of warmth from Charles Gibson in the ABC broadcast compared to how he was on Good Morning America. The same goes for Couric and it's unfortunate how these morning anchors seem to have the life sucked out of them as soon as they hit the Evening News circuit.
Not to say that Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, and Peter Jennings were huggable stuffed animals on the air, but I always felt like they had a strong identity that went well beyond reading a teleprompter that came through on their broadcasts. Gibson and Couric are both relatively new to being on the Evening News circuit, but I hope they start to find their identities and connect with viewers soon because while I think the news is important, unfortunately, ratings might be more important. The day that there is no network evening news on in the United States would truly be the day when selling out for advertisers might go a little too far.
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