On Wednesday's Nightly News broadcast, Ann Curry was absolutely thrilled to tell us about "America's newest singing sensation"--a 10-year-old girl who sang on Tuesday's "America's Got Talent". Since "America's Got Talent" airs on NBC, this "news story" amounts to nothing more than a 30-second promo for the show. But of course, that wasn't the end of it. The following night, we were treated to an additional two-and-a-half-minute story about little Jackie Evancho. Curry introduced this story by saying, "And finally tonight that little girl behind that astonishing voice that has people shaking their heads in wonder all over the world". (Actually, Curry said "extonishing", but that's a subject for a different blog.) Correspondent Kristen Welker began the story by saying, "America couldn't believe its ears when this very big and seemingly seasoned soprano voice came out of a very small girl on NBC's 'America's Got Talent'". Look--there's Jackie's audition tape! There's an interview with AGT judge Howie Mandel! There's a clip of Susan Boyle! Wow! Sadly, this is what passes for news on Nightly News. A promo clip for an NBC show. This would be like a doctor referring patients to an MRI facility that the doctor owns. Or a city housing inspector telling a business owner that she needs structural work done, and then offering her the services of his own construction company. It is corrupt, unethical and completely inappropriate. NBC is basically using their news broadcast to pimp for their other shows. It's surprising that the American news-viewing public hasn't stormed the Nightly News soundstage with torches and pitchforks, demanding that they stop using their news broadcast to shamelessly promote NBC entertainment shows. (Another example: On Wednesday's broadcast, we were shown a 2:15 story about the new Johnny Carson website, where Carson DVDs are for sale. I think it's a safe bet that NBC earns some money from the sale of Carson DVDs. This "news story" also featured clips of Jay Leno and "expert" commentary from Jimmy Fallon, so it also served as a promotional vehicle for The Tonight Show and Late Night.)
During Thursday's "America's Got Talent" story, Welker told us that "on any given night, there are 12 million people watching". But according to one of NBC's very own press releases (reprinted on the website for TV By The Numbers [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/08/17/nbc-primetime-results-for-the-week-of-aug-9-15/60225#more-60225]) NBC claims that the Tuesday (8/10/10) AGT had 10.5 million viewers, and the Wednesday (8/11/10) AGT had 10.7 million viewers. Additionally, also according to TV By The Numbers, the Tuesday (8/3/10) AGT had 9.56 million viewers (from 9-10 PM) and 10.81 million viewers (from 10-11 PM). The Wednesday (8/4/10) show had 9.96 million viewers. None of those shows reached 12 million viewers. So Welker's claim is disputed by NBC's own press release, as well as by Nielsen. I guess Welker and her producers are just plain old liars.
But of course lying about ratings is nothing new for Nightly News. Last Feb. 13, Brian Williams took time out from his broadcast to crow that the previous night's Olympic Opening Ceremony had attracted 68 million viewers. Nielsen puts the viewership for that night at 32.6 million, less than half of what Brian claimed. On March 1, Brian said that the U.S.-Canada gold medal hockey game was "one of the most-watched sporting events in television history" with "just under 35 million viewers". (Nielsen puts the NBC viewership for that game at 27.6 million.) Brian's unsubstantiated claim is dubious at best. Every Super Bowl has had more than 35 million viewers, so the gold medal hockey game was not likely to be "one of the most-watched sporting events in television history". In fact, it wasn't even the most-watched Olympic hockey game. According to Nielsen, U.S. network viewership for both the 1980 U.S.-Soviet Union semi-final game (the "Miracle on Ice") and the U.S.-Finland gold medal game exceeded the viewership for the 2010 Vancouver hockey final. But why should Brian let the facts get in the way of his chest-thumping and bragging. By the way, Brian never reported that NBC lost $223 million on the Vancouver Games. I guess he must have forgotten to mention it.
But what I really love the most is when Nightly News lies about their own ratings. As I'm fond of pointing out, whenever Brian and his producers anticipate that any of their broadcasts will achieve a lower-than-expected rating (such as when Brian has the night off), they will submit those shows to Nielsen intentionally misspelled as "Nitely News". When that happens, Nielsen tabulates the lower-rated "Nitely News" broadcasts in a separate category from the higher-rated "Nightly News" broadcasts. That way, the lower-rated shows don't detract from the higher-rated shows. So if Monday and Tuesday's "Nightly News" with Brian Williams earns an average 8.0 rating and Wednesday through Friday's "Nitely News" (with substitute anchors) earns an average 6.0 rating, the weaselly producers will claim that "Nightly News" had an average rating of 8.0 for the entire week. Since higher ratings translate to higher ad rates, the network benefits financially from this deception. So next time you hear Brian Williams or anyone on Nightly News claim a particular rating for an NBC program, take it with a grain of salt. In fact, take it with a twenty-pound bag of salt.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Congratulations PBS And CBS!
Congratulations to PBS for earning 37 Emmy nominations in this year's news and documentary categories. And congratulations to CBS for earning 31 nominations. HBO received 20 nominations and National Geographic received 19, while NBC received 17 and ABC received 9. So NBC received fewer nominations than HBO or National Geographic. That sounds about right.
CBS Evening News With Katie Couric received 8 nominations while NBC Nightly News received only 6. (ABC's World News Tonight trailed the pack with one nomination.) Funny thing--I didn't hear Brian Williams bragging about this on his broadcast. I guess Brian is just too darn humble to brag about his Emmy nominations. When he is humiliated by Katie, that is.
CBS Evening News With Katie Couric received 8 nominations while NBC Nightly News received only 6. (ABC's World News Tonight trailed the pack with one nomination.) Funny thing--I didn't hear Brian Williams bragging about this on his broadcast. I guess Brian is just too darn humble to brag about his Emmy nominations. When he is humiliated by Katie, that is.
NBC Breaking News: Owl Cam
Within the space of 48 hours (Saturday to Monday), Nightly News presented two different "news stories" about a California man who set up an on-line owl cam in a birdhouse to so internet viewers could watch the owls hatch their young. Actually, it wasn't two different stories--Monday's story was virtually identical to Saturday's (with a few edits and some new voice overs thrown in). And Monday's story also added a few extra shots of Pandas and puppies to further pander to the viewers. Great job, Nightly News producers. This is what passes for news on their broadcast. Four minutes and ten seconds about the owl cam. Honestly, the FCC should revoke NBC's license to broadcast news.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
NBC Nightly News Show Notes Aug. 3-6
Here's what happened on NBC Nightly News this week in case you missed it:
Tuesday: Nightly News did yet another story about obesity in America. They do the same story over and over and over again despite the fact that there's no new information on the subject. Robert Bazell began his report by saying, "One way to look at obesity--in ten years the number of Americans who undergo obesity surgeries has skyrocketed almost tenfold to a current 220,000 a year. There is no mystery why." Bazell seems to think that an increase in obesity surgeries automatically means there has been an increase in the number of Americans who are obese. This is faulty logic. Bazell never considers the fact that over the past ten years, obesity surgery has likely become more effective and less expensive, resulting in more people having the surgery. That is what generally happens as medical procedures improve over time. Bazell's assumption is faulty--it would be like saying that the increase in laser eye surgery means that Americans' eyesight is getting worse.
Also on Tuesday, during a story about how the Gulf oil spill is affecting children in the region, a social worker named Donna Usner is identified by an on-screen graphic as "Joe Jimenez".
Wednesday: In a story about the shooting rampage by a disgruntled beer-truck driver in Connecticut, we are shown an on-screen transcript of the 911 tapes. The transcript identifies the 911 operator as "9-1-1", but immediately after that it shows her starting the phone conversation by saying "911". Is it 9-1-1 or 911? Nightly News has misspelled plenty of words, but here they manage to misspell a number.
Also on Wednesday, during a story about the gay rights ruling in California, we are shown an on-screen transcript of Judge Robert Walker's ruling. The transcript reads in part, "Prop 8 makes it no more likely that opposite-sex couples will marry and have children." But when Pete Williams reads this part of the ruling, he says "raise children" instead of "have children". He also says "proposition" instead of "prop". What makes Pete Williams think he can change the judge's exact words? Does Williams know better than the judge?
Thursday: At the beginning of a story about the safety of Gulf seafood, an on-screen graphic informs us that Ron Mott is reporting from "Metarie, LA". The correct spelling is Metairie. (The graphic at the end of the story spells the name correctly. If the Nightly News producers can get the spelling right once, why can't they get it right twice? Well, it's nice to know that at least one person is awake in the NBC newsroom.)
Friday: Nightly News ran a story about Koua Fong Lee, who was released from jail after serving 2 1/2 years of an 8-year sentence when his Toyota crashed into another car and killed three people in 2006. An on-screen transcript of statements made by Lee included the following: "Its (sic) a long time, a really long time and they don't know me." The "its" at the beginning of the sentence should have been given an apostrophe ("it's"). And Lee actually said "a very long time", not "a really long time".
Also, during a story about the flooding in Pakistan, we hear a volunteer say, "When the flood came here from the start, only the local support organizations supported these people." But the accompanying on-screen transcript reads, "When the flood came here from the start, only the local organizations supported these people." The transcript omitted the word "support". This is sloppy, sloppy work by the Nightly News producers. In other words, business as usual.
Tuesday: Nightly News did yet another story about obesity in America. They do the same story over and over and over again despite the fact that there's no new information on the subject. Robert Bazell began his report by saying, "One way to look at obesity--in ten years the number of Americans who undergo obesity surgeries has skyrocketed almost tenfold to a current 220,000 a year. There is no mystery why." Bazell seems to think that an increase in obesity surgeries automatically means there has been an increase in the number of Americans who are obese. This is faulty logic. Bazell never considers the fact that over the past ten years, obesity surgery has likely become more effective and less expensive, resulting in more people having the surgery. That is what generally happens as medical procedures improve over time. Bazell's assumption is faulty--it would be like saying that the increase in laser eye surgery means that Americans' eyesight is getting worse.
Also on Tuesday, during a story about how the Gulf oil spill is affecting children in the region, a social worker named Donna Usner is identified by an on-screen graphic as "Joe Jimenez".
Wednesday: In a story about the shooting rampage by a disgruntled beer-truck driver in Connecticut, we are shown an on-screen transcript of the 911 tapes. The transcript identifies the 911 operator as "9-1-1", but immediately after that it shows her starting the phone conversation by saying "911". Is it 9-1-1 or 911? Nightly News has misspelled plenty of words, but here they manage to misspell a number.
Also on Wednesday, during a story about the gay rights ruling in California, we are shown an on-screen transcript of Judge Robert Walker's ruling. The transcript reads in part, "Prop 8 makes it no more likely that opposite-sex couples will marry and have children." But when Pete Williams reads this part of the ruling, he says "raise children" instead of "have children". He also says "proposition" instead of "prop". What makes Pete Williams think he can change the judge's exact words? Does Williams know better than the judge?
Thursday: At the beginning of a story about the safety of Gulf seafood, an on-screen graphic informs us that Ron Mott is reporting from "Metarie, LA". The correct spelling is Metairie. (The graphic at the end of the story spells the name correctly. If the Nightly News producers can get the spelling right once, why can't they get it right twice? Well, it's nice to know that at least one person is awake in the NBC newsroom.)
Friday: Nightly News ran a story about Koua Fong Lee, who was released from jail after serving 2 1/2 years of an 8-year sentence when his Toyota crashed into another car and killed three people in 2006. An on-screen transcript of statements made by Lee included the following: "Its (sic) a long time, a really long time and they don't know me." The "its" at the beginning of the sentence should have been given an apostrophe ("it's"). And Lee actually said "a very long time", not "a really long time".
Also, during a story about the flooding in Pakistan, we hear a volunteer say, "When the flood came here from the start, only the local support organizations supported these people." But the accompanying on-screen transcript reads, "When the flood came here from the start, only the local organizations supported these people." The transcript omitted the word "support". This is sloppy, sloppy work by the Nightly News producers. In other words, business as usual.
Chelsea & Benny
From July 3 to August 2, Nightly News presented eight "news stories" (totalling almost 12 minutes) about Chelsea Clinton's wedding. (They would have done more, but NBC did not air Nightly News on the weekend of the wedding because apparently golf was more important. I can only imagine how many Chelsea stories Nightly News would have done on that Saturday and Sunday.) Also in July, Nightly News aired three separate stories about an animal shelter in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana that is caring for pets left there by people who have financial hardships due to the Gulf oil spill. (Benny the dog was prominently featured in all three stories.) The three stories were virtually identical and shared much of the same video footage. This story is not newsworthy enough to be shown once, let alone three times (for a total of almost 8 minutes). When added together, the Chelsea Clinton wedding stories and the Louisiana animal shelter stories took up more than 19 minutes of valuable news time. We can only wonder how much actual news could have been covered in those nineteen minutes. But unfortunately, we'll never know. But at least we know all about Chelsea's wedding dress. And Benny the dog. Great job, Nightly News producers. Keep up the good work.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
In Case You Missed It
Here's a recap of the second half of Monday's Nightly News, in case you missed it:
>We saw a story about a bridge across the Mississippi River (from Illinois to Iowa) being renamed for a Medal of Honor winner. No surprise--Nightly News runs several stories a week about MOH winners. Every time a MOH winner coughs, Brian Williams reports it. He obviously has some sort of obsessive hero-worship complex for MOH winners (he even serves on their board of directors). This story is not news and it's of no interest to anyone other than Brian. But it's his broadcast, so he reports what he wants.
>We were treated to a 3:10 story about Afghan orphans in the U.S. for medical treatment. Again, this is not news, but Brian has been reporting on these Afghan orphans since last Oct. 30 (although he tells us he first met them "just about a year ago", Oct. 30 was actually only nine months ago). Again--his broadcast, his stories.
>We then got a combined 90 seconds about the sale of Newsweek, how the Miami Heat have sold out the coming season because of LeBron James, and Chelsea Clinton's wedding. This was the eighth story Nightly News has done on Chelsea's wedding in the past month. Of course, they would have done more, but NBC did not air any Nightly News broadcasts on the weekend of Chelsea's wedding because obviously golf was more important.
>Nightly News ended with a two-and-a-half minute story about the death of Mitch Miller. We were reminded several times that Miller's sing-along show had aired on NBC from 1961-1966. We saw interview clips with Miller's son, who was sitting in front of a vintage NBC camera. We saw lots of photos and clips from the era--Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Buddy Holly, Elvis, Bob Dylan, the Beatles and Johnny Carson. This story was just an excuse to promote NBC and to feature celebrity footage. Every week, Nightly News does multiple stories featuring clips of celebrities. Viewers like to see celebrities on the news. It keeps people tuning in. It helps blur the lines between Nightly News and the shows that follow it--"Access Hollywood" and "Extra". In the past few weeks, Nightly News has featured clips or photos of Daniel Craig, Alec Baldwin on "30 Rock", Mick Jagger, the "Inception" movie, Marlon Brando, "Celebrity Apprentice", "M*A*S*H", "Seinfeld", Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon and The Blues Brothers, to name just a few. Of course, many of these clips are from NBC Universal TV shows or movies. Why bother to have a Nightly News broadcast if you can't use it to promote your other properties? When "Law & Order" was cancelled, Nightly News did four stories on it.
So that's what aired during the second half of Monday's Nightly News. I sure hope you didn't miss these exciting news stories!
>We saw a story about a bridge across the Mississippi River (from Illinois to Iowa) being renamed for a Medal of Honor winner. No surprise--Nightly News runs several stories a week about MOH winners. Every time a MOH winner coughs, Brian Williams reports it. He obviously has some sort of obsessive hero-worship complex for MOH winners (he even serves on their board of directors). This story is not news and it's of no interest to anyone other than Brian. But it's his broadcast, so he reports what he wants.
>We were treated to a 3:10 story about Afghan orphans in the U.S. for medical treatment. Again, this is not news, but Brian has been reporting on these Afghan orphans since last Oct. 30 (although he tells us he first met them "just about a year ago", Oct. 30 was actually only nine months ago). Again--his broadcast, his stories.
>We then got a combined 90 seconds about the sale of Newsweek, how the Miami Heat have sold out the coming season because of LeBron James, and Chelsea Clinton's wedding. This was the eighth story Nightly News has done on Chelsea's wedding in the past month. Of course, they would have done more, but NBC did not air any Nightly News broadcasts on the weekend of Chelsea's wedding because obviously golf was more important.
>Nightly News ended with a two-and-a-half minute story about the death of Mitch Miller. We were reminded several times that Miller's sing-along show had aired on NBC from 1961-1966. We saw interview clips with Miller's son, who was sitting in front of a vintage NBC camera. We saw lots of photos and clips from the era--Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Buddy Holly, Elvis, Bob Dylan, the Beatles and Johnny Carson. This story was just an excuse to promote NBC and to feature celebrity footage. Every week, Nightly News does multiple stories featuring clips of celebrities. Viewers like to see celebrities on the news. It keeps people tuning in. It helps blur the lines between Nightly News and the shows that follow it--"Access Hollywood" and "Extra". In the past few weeks, Nightly News has featured clips or photos of Daniel Craig, Alec Baldwin on "30 Rock", Mick Jagger, the "Inception" movie, Marlon Brando, "Celebrity Apprentice", "M*A*S*H", "Seinfeld", Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon and The Blues Brothers, to name just a few. Of course, many of these clips are from NBC Universal TV shows or movies. Why bother to have a Nightly News broadcast if you can't use it to promote your other properties? When "Law & Order" was cancelled, Nightly News did four stories on it.
So that's what aired during the second half of Monday's Nightly News. I sure hope you didn't miss these exciting news stories!
Brian Williams Exploits Afghan Orphans. Again.
On Monday, Brian Williams did his fifth story about the Afghan orphans he first profiled last Oct. 30 (that doesn't include how he awkwardly shoehorned them into his May 17 story about Sally Field). Here's a news flash for Brian: Afghan orphans are not news. There is no reason for them to be on Nightly News once, let alone five times (so far, that is). Unfortunately, Brian Williams doesn't understand the purpose of an evening news broadcast. The purpose of a news broadcast is to report the most important news stories from across the country and around the world. But for Brian, the purpose of his broadcast is to pander to the viewers with sappy stories about homeless puppies, Chelsea Clinton's wedding, saving the sea turtles and Afghan orphans. By pandering to the viewers' emotions, Brian gives the viewers a steady diet of soft, easy-to-digest stories instead of providing real news. The NBC News Research Department has undoubtedly informed Brian and his producers that soft stories are more attractive to the viewers and therefore those are the type of stories that cause viewers to tune in. Real news is scary. Soft news is friendly. The Afghan orphan saga is like a soap opera. Viewers keep tuning in to see what's happened to them. Now they're in the U.S.! How wonderful. By showing viewers what they want to see, instead of what they should see, Nightly News has managed to remain the #1 rated evening newscast. They've managed to stay on top with stories about Afghan orphans instead of real news. Brian and his producers should be real proud of themselves.
Of course, the Afghan orphan story is also about Brian's ego. What isn't? This is Brian's pet project. HE first reported the story. HE kept bringing us updates. HE made it his cause to beg viewers to donate money to the orphanage. He's done before, of course, with his other favorite charities. On Dec. 11, 2009, the Nightly News "Making A Difference" segment was about the Robin Hood Foundation. Brian introduced the segment by bragging that he is a member of that charity's board (poor Rehema Ellis, who reported the story, was forced to say, "Generous board members pay all administrative costs."). And on July 23, 2009, another "Making A Difference" segment profiled the Horizons program which allows inner-city students to attend private summer school. Brian introduced this segment by saying, "It's popular, it's growing, it's a favorite cause in our household...." The news is always about Brian, all the time. When he reports on the Afghan orphans, Brian is reporting about his favorite subject--himself. The stories feature him prominently. There's Brian playing with the orphans. There's Brian interviewing the orphans. There's Brian giving his glasses to an orphan. There's Brian again and again and again.
And there's Brian exploiting the orphans. That's what this is really all about. Exploiting the orphans for ratings. The first Afghan orphan story came during a sweeps period. Since sweeps period ratings determine the ad rates for the coming quarter, stories are carefully designed and chosen for their ability to attract the most viewers. During every sweeps period, Nightly News does a week's worth of celebrity profiles. There's Will Ferrell! There's Usher! There's Sally Field! And the orphan stories are no different. That story never would have aired during a sweeps period if Brian and his producers didn't think it would bring in viewers. And they wouldn't do follow-up stories if they didn't think those stories would also attract viewers. On Friday, Ann Curry made a point of telling viewers about Monday's upcoming story on the Afghan orphans. Obviously, Nightly News promotes the stories that they think will attract the most viewers. Promote the Afghan orphans. Exploit the Afghan orphans. That's what Brian Williams does.
Of course, the Afghan orphan story is also about Brian's ego. What isn't? This is Brian's pet project. HE first reported the story. HE kept bringing us updates. HE made it his cause to beg viewers to donate money to the orphanage. He's done before, of course, with his other favorite charities. On Dec. 11, 2009, the Nightly News "Making A Difference" segment was about the Robin Hood Foundation. Brian introduced the segment by bragging that he is a member of that charity's board (poor Rehema Ellis, who reported the story, was forced to say, "Generous board members pay all administrative costs."). And on July 23, 2009, another "Making A Difference" segment profiled the Horizons program which allows inner-city students to attend private summer school. Brian introduced this segment by saying, "It's popular, it's growing, it's a favorite cause in our household...." The news is always about Brian, all the time. When he reports on the Afghan orphans, Brian is reporting about his favorite subject--himself. The stories feature him prominently. There's Brian playing with the orphans. There's Brian interviewing the orphans. There's Brian giving his glasses to an orphan. There's Brian again and again and again.
And there's Brian exploiting the orphans. That's what this is really all about. Exploiting the orphans for ratings. The first Afghan orphan story came during a sweeps period. Since sweeps period ratings determine the ad rates for the coming quarter, stories are carefully designed and chosen for their ability to attract the most viewers. During every sweeps period, Nightly News does a week's worth of celebrity profiles. There's Will Ferrell! There's Usher! There's Sally Field! And the orphan stories are no different. That story never would have aired during a sweeps period if Brian and his producers didn't think it would bring in viewers. And they wouldn't do follow-up stories if they didn't think those stories would also attract viewers. On Friday, Ann Curry made a point of telling viewers about Monday's upcoming story on the Afghan orphans. Obviously, Nightly News promotes the stories that they think will attract the most viewers. Promote the Afghan orphans. Exploit the Afghan orphans. That's what Brian Williams does.
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