Saturday Morning Media Quarterbacking

Editor & Publisher reported Thursday on a panel on "The Changing Media Landscape, 2005," at Columbia University. "The discussion brought together Len Apcar, NYTimes.com editor; Jeff Gralnick, NBC special consultant and former VP of ABCNews.com; Andrea Panciera, editor of The Providence (R.I.) Journal's ProJo.com; Craig Newmark, founder and chief customer service representative (explanation below) of Craigslist; and James Taranto, editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal's online editorial page, OpinionJournal.com."

Reading about the event, which covered a wide range of topics, I was reminded of an interview I did in March for Columbia Journalism Review's CJR Daily with Tom Fenton, a correspondent for CBS News from 1966 until 2004 who has become critical of the news business. I asked Fenton if he had any advice for whomever takes over the "Evening News" anchor desk. Here was his response:

Go back to reporting. Go. I've noticed that under Bob Schieffer they have started putting the emphasis on the correspondents in the field, pointing out that they have correspondents in the field. Mind you, there are not many that are left. The ones that we still have are good, but they're very thin on the ground. I would put more resources back into reporting. The budget, as it's now used by CBS, is so restrictive that it's very difficult to get permission to send anyone to a story. You have to go through the whole budget process, you have to explain why you're going for the story. There's no going out to look for news -- basically, you go out with a preconceived story. That's an unfortunate restriction. I think they should hire more correspondents. Get them out in the field. Boots on the ground. Eyes and ears. They don't have to be horribly expensive. You can even go for one-man bands if you prefer. Young people, like yourself. People who think this is a great calling, and who could go out with a DVD and laptop editing [setup] and email stories back. That's another way to go. It doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive.

First comes Steve Gosset, who writes that "CBS has nothing to lose by essentially nuking the traditional format and giving viewers a newscast that's largely filled with information they can't get anywhere else or presented in a way so radically different that they will learn something new. At a time when cable and the Internet provide instant media gratification, that's not only desirable, but essential for survival, not to mention relevance." Gosset, a "20-year veteran of newspapers, a wire service, magazines and a major network," has some proposals for new chief Sean McManus: Assume We Already Know Much Of What You Now Tell Us, Stretch Out After The Headlines, Redeploy The Troops, Finish Up With Some Commentary, and Get Some Sports In The Show. He elaborates here.

Mark Noonan at Blogs For Bush, meanwhile, has this suggestion:

Here's an idea, offered free of charge to CBS and all network news outfits: As we've seen you flop horribly in attempting the impossible - the alleged reporting of the days news in a half hour or hour format - perhaps you should try something new...pick an issue, and do an hour on it, next day do another issue; read the day's headlines at the start of the show and refer people to your blog for details on those stories. Use the blogosphere as your fact-checker and do updates on what was discovered via blogs after you aired your initial report.

This gets you out of trying to pretend that a 90 or 180 second report will actually contain the truth and allows you to actually do some good by spending some time and in-depth effort on important issues.

For my two cents, I think the evening news could attract more viewers if it closed each broadcast with a humorist, such as Andy Borowitz or someone from the Onion (since, presumably, Jon Stewart is unavailable). It wouldn't hurt to focus more on such important areas as personal finance and health care. I wouldn't mind seeing news segments on entertainment or sports on every show.

The right wing is going to attack unless you hire Hannity, so the folks sitting in the hot seat need to be able to withstand the onslaught. But at a time when cable races to the bottom with sex, scandal and violence every minute on the minute, there's a great opportunity for real counterprogramming: in-depth news, served up with true reporters, not just dumb brains and pretty faces.

I think there is a ratings win in a revised news program that is proud of really delivering the news, and not afraid to say so -- news that doesn't hesitate to investigate, search for answers, and actually create new stories, not just repeat press handouts. A news outlet that hangs tough in presenting all the news, no matter who the hell it offends. In short, news as it is meant to be. And because that is not being done today, the chances for commercial success are significant. Not pie in the sky dreaming, but good solid counter-programming and serving an audience that is not being served.