I got goosebumps watching last night, I swear...
"The number of people watching the first night of the convention on network TV follows the trend we have seen for many years - fewer people are tuning in to the conventions," Jeffrey Schneider, a spokesman for ABC News, said in contending that less network coverage was justified. "While some might try to make the chicken-and-egg argument - that more coverage would mean more viewers - that notion is contradicted by the evidence."
[huh?]
...
"Each of the three main broadcast networks showed steep declines in the number of their viewers: from 6 million viewers four years ago to 4.4 million on ABC; from 5.9 million viewers to 4.5 million on NBC; and from 5.2 million to 4.6 million on CBS. Viewers interested in more complete coverage clearly gravitated to the all-news cable channels, whose audiences increased to 4.7 million viewers in prime time, up from 2.7 million in 2000.
Dan Rather, the CBS anchorman, said in an interview that "I wish I could take a stronger argument to my bosses" for more coverage.
"But it's basically an infomercial,'' Mr. Rather continued. "The people who run the conventions have given the networks every reason to pass up the full coverage of the past by squeezing out any real news."
NYTimes, July 28.
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"The number of people watching the first night of the convention on network TV follows the trend we have seen for many years - fewer people are tuning in to the conventions," Jeffrey Schneider, a spokesman for ABC News, said in contending that less network coverage was justified. "While some might try to make the chicken-and-egg argument - that more coverage would mean more viewers - that notion is contradicted by the evidence."
[huh?]
...
"Each of the three main broadcast networks showed steep declines in the number of their viewers: from 6 million viewers four years ago to 4.4 million on ABC; from 5.9 million viewers to 4.5 million on NBC; and from 5.2 million to 4.6 million on CBS. Viewers interested in more complete coverage clearly gravitated to the all-news cable channels, whose audiences increased to 4.7 million viewers in prime time, up from 2.7 million in 2000.
Dan Rather, the CBS anchorman, said in an interview that "I wish I could take a stronger argument to my bosses" for more coverage.
"But it's basically an infomercial,'' Mr. Rather continued. "The people who run the conventions have given the networks every reason to pass up the full coverage of the past by squeezing out any real news."
NYTimes, July 28.
- selma 7-28-2004 7:09 pm