The Evening News Report: Beating A Dead Horse
Monday: Barbaro! He died! OMG! Call me a cynic – I'm sure these folks would – but the death of a horse, even one who was really fast, doesn't strike me as a huge news story. That wasn't the case over at ABC, where, as TV Newser points out, Barbaro was the lead story. The "Evening News," meanwhile, did a package on the horse but led with a story about the U.S. and Iran fighting a proxy war In Iraq. Advantage, "Evening News."
Tuesday: "Grosseteria!" It may not be a word, but it was plastered across the screen as Katie Couric trumpeted a story about dirty school cafeterias. The story was fine, if a bit sensationalistic – there are mouse droppings in Minneapolis! Rodents in Rhode Island! One quibble: What was up with that closing line? "Unfortunately what some parents find might make them hunger for the good old days, when the only really scary thing in the school cafeteria was the mystery meat loaf." Were schools really mouse dropping free in "the good old days?" I wouldn't bet my meat loaf on it.
Wednesday: Wednesday was the day Joe Biden both announced his presidential ambitions and sabotaged them, and Gloria Borger competently took viewers through Biden's mess. It was also the second day of the "Evening News'" nifty little "Troubled Waters" series, the first installment of which, a Bill Whitaker piece on poisonous algae making birds acting like they were "whacked out on acid," was particularly good. The final story on Wednesday's show, also from Whitaker, centered on a teacher, and it was just the latest "Evening News" piece to touch on education issues. (The story was a bit cheesy at times – Whitaker actually asked "why do you care so much?" – but it eventually won your cynical critic over.)
At this point, I think we can safely say that education stories have increased in the Katie era, something that correspondent Byron Pitts last week attributed to Couric. "I remember early on, a few months ago, we did a story about one of the elite schools, maybe it was Harvard, doing away with its early admissions program," he said. "And I know that Katie, not as a woman, but as a parent of daughters approaching college age, that story was significant to her. I'm someone with children approaching college age. It was significant to me. I'm not sure that in the era of Bob Schieffer or Dan Rather that that story would have registered to have been a piece in the broadcast in a given night."
Thursday: The "Evening News" gives us the finger! Well, kinda. The EN showed the promotional electronic devices that caused the Massachusetts bomb scare, which featured a cartoon character extending his finger to the world. I was a bit surprised at the decision to show the finger without pixelating, but I think it was the right call. (It was three little lights, after all.) Also worth noting from Thursday's show: Armen Keteyian in New Orleans, that fantastic Liz Palmer piece, and Katie's criticism of Congressional Democrats. "So much for promises," said Couric. "When the Democrats took control of the House they promised a five day work week, every week. But five weeks into their session, they haven't delivered. Not once."
Friday: Couric was supposed to be anchoring from Miami for the Super Bowl, but she relocated to central Florida to cover the "killer tornado" that hit the region. The coverage was quite good, especially the segment with a pastor who lost his church in the storm. The piece relied mostly on Couric touring the wreckage with the pastor and his wife, and it packed more of an emotional punch than the more heavily produced stories one usually sees on the show. Here's hoping we see more pieces like this in the future.