Screw Evening News Ratings

Brian Williams has been suspended for six months without pay from the anchor desk of NBC Nightly News.   This follows his admission of "misremembering" the details of his helicopter ride a decade ago with American forces in Iraq.   Other dubious claims by Williams surrounding other stories have also come into question.   This is different from the faulty Dan Rather story of George W. Bush's military service, Hilary Clinton's recollection of being under fire during a stop in Bosnia and Richard Blumenthal's slip about serving "in Vietnam".    Williams' misstatements were not a one time thing.    He repeated the Iraq exaggeration multiple times and only issued a brief apology after being called out on it by other people there.   Network execs acted so shocked to hear this... I don't buy that.   It should go without saying that trust is a key component of delivering the evening news.   When Walter Cronkite called America's Vietnam involvement into question, President Johnson knew the war's escalation was a futile effort.   How many news anchors can have that effect today?     Where are the corporate edict and culture to do that? 

You don't hear the word "gravitas" being used anymore when talking about news anchor qualifications.   I think the CBS Evening News has the most solid anchor in Scott Pelley, yet his newscast lags behind Williams on NBC and the increasingly tabloid content on ABC's World News Tonight with new anchor David Muir.     There was a time - in my lifetime - when news was not seen as a major revenue generator at the Big Three networks.   It was, well, journalism.   Now with 24-hour so-called news networks geared only to what their respective audiences want to see, an aging viewership, attempts to turn anchors into rock stars and the total advertising domination by pharmaceutical companies, it's easy to see why "dinner hour news" is as relevant to younger viewers as waiting for "film at eleven."   It's also no surprise that satirical news like Comedy Central's Daily Show resonates more with younger folks.   At least Jon Stewart gets to leave on top in what matters.    Screw the ratings for once.   Do real news for 22 minutes each evening.    Aren't there enough other time slots where the networks' corporate owners can make money out of "infotainment"?    Truth in reporting shouldn't be a luxury we can't afford.