Good afternoon . . .
ABC News anchor Peter Jennings announced Tuesday that he had lung cancer. Jennings treatment for the disease will begin next week.
What effect will that have on the program he has anchored for over 20 years? The political and philosophical agenda at ABC News will not change. It will continue to be a left-leaning newscast.
With Jennings "sudden" departure from the nightly news scene could be problematic for ABC. Like CBS, ABC has no plan for succession for 'World News Tonight.' For the interim, it will depend on Charles Gibson and Elizabeth Vargas to step into Jennings. Unlike his counterparts on other networks, Jennings reported more stories than his rivals and more than some ABC reporters. This leaves ABC without an anchor-heavy newscast and signature anchor.
There is more to this story than Peter Jennings and ABC. The pending departure of Jennings from the scene signals the end of an era for network nightly news. All three "major" networks have changed anchors in the past year. NBC promoted Brian Williams to the anchor chair vacated by Tom Brokaw. CBS, in the wake of Rathergate, replaced Dan Rather with Bob Schieffer. Although Schieffer's tenure is supposed to be short. Now, Peter Jennings will step down.
This is a great opportunity for the networks to initiate change into their nightly newscasts. CBS has implemented some minor change, NBC not much change at all. How will the networks react to this opportunity. We have the answer from NBC - no change.
Could there be a new format that no longer depends on a "voice of God" anchor that will attract younger audiences while keeping traditional audiences? Will Fox News become even bigger in the nightly news landscape? Could the left-leaning nightly news become more mainstream, fair, and balanced? I went one step to far. No matter what changes the networks make in presentation the agenda and philosophy will remain the same.
USATODAY.com - Jennings' news could change nightly news as we know it
--
White supremacist Matthew Hale was sentenced to 40 years in prison for trying to have a federal judge killed.
Hale was convicted of a plot to kill federal judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow in retaliation for her finding against Hale in a trademark infringement suit. Ironically, Judge Lefkow's husband and mother were killed by a deranged man with no apparent connection to Hale.
Hale was sentenced after giving a rambling two hour speech claiming he was the victim. Prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence for Hale saying that his crime was an act of terrorism. US District Judge James Moody agreed with prosecutors and said, "I consider Mr. Hale to be extremely dangerous and the offense for which he was convicted to be extremely egregious."
Yahoo! News - Supremacist Hale Sentenced to 40 Years
--
Celebrity lawyer Johnnie Cochran was laid to rest during funeral services today in Los Angeles. Cochran, 67, died March 29 from complications from an inoperable brain tumor.
Mourners at the service included O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson.
Like him or hate him, Johnnie Cochran always did his best for his clients.
Yahoo! News - Cochran's Clients Gather for L.A. Funeral
--
There is an interesting development in the Michael Jackson child molestation case.
At least two of the jurors have been seen "mocking" prosecution witnesses and laughing. Court bailiffs have seen this activity and reported the incidents to Judge Rodney Melville.
Court sources say the judge is conducting an investigation. Courtroom watchers say the jurors number 8 and 9 have been observed cupping their mouths and talking during testimony.
If this report is true, why has Judge Melville not said anything to the jury as a whole or these jurors individually? It is this type of activity that caused Judge Lance Ito to lose control of the OJ Simpson trial.
As a note to readers, this story came from the Drudge Report and there is a confirming story from KFI radio in Los Angeles.
DRUDGE REPORT FLASH 2005�<
--
More tomorrow
No comments:
Post a Comment