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Russert coverage a 'derelection of journalistic duty'

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by WaylonJennings, Jun 19, 2008.

  1. bagelchick

    bagelchick Active Member

    And interestingly Russert is on the cover of People mag this week....
     
  2. suburbia

    suburbia Active Member

    News judgment IS giving your readers/viewers/listeners what they'll find compelling, what they are interested in hearing about, what they care about.

    What were the ratings for the Russert coverage? If the ratings were high, then the networks' decision makers had good news judgment. If the ratings sucked, then they had bad news judgment. The ratings (or, in the case of print media, circulation) tell the story.
     
  3. D-3 Fan

    D-3 Fan Well-Known Member

    I disagree with Jennings. Jennings got full coverage on ABC and they did a special on him as well, Mizzou.

    What is bothering so many people should not be simply because of Russert. How many networks are under the NBC umbrella? Count 'em. NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo, USA, ShopNBC, etc. One network with that many outlets produces oversaturation. If NBC wasn't doing something, CNBC is showing replays of Tim's other show. If CNBC isn't doing that, MSNBC is running repeats of MTP. If I start becoming worn out about it, I change the channel. But apparently, most of us can't do it and now the complaints are coming in and coming heavy.

    I'm peeved over the fact that he's getting ripped...for dying during an election year. People, he's dead. Don't blame him.

    As much as all of you are tired of it, the public still wants more and you know that as a fact. They don't give a shit we think. Regular folks want more about Russert: what his home life was like, how did he put in so much into being prepared, how was he so damn smart, and on, and on, and on. The media is willing to give the people want they want. It's not in the business to do what the reporters and those in the business want.

    Tim Russert may not be all that important to a few of you, but to the public at large, he's the one person that they remember on election day, behind the candidates. They were not going to be bored to death at watching Brian Williams, Olbermann, Hume, and company drone on and on over the same language-speak.

    So how are you going to tell the public to stop talking about something that's still the big story, when we're tired of hearing and watching it?
     
  4. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    I don't have the national numbers but I have the numbers for my market. "Meet The Press" got a 4.5 rating and 18 share overall, which is monstrous for a Sunday morning. That share is comparable to the NBA Finals game that day and just a shade behind the US Open.

    As for Monday's "Today" show, it was number one in this market from 7 - 7:15, when they were packed with Russert coverage. And this is an EXTREMELY competitive market in the morning. "Today" doesn't dominate here like it does in other cities. By comparison it was 2nd at the same time on Tuesday, almost a full point below its Monday rating.

    Bottom line, the Russert coverage was pretty heavy. And if that's what NBC wanted to do, more power to them. They lost a good friend and colleague, and clearly one that meant a lot to the viewers.

    If someone was watching TV Monday morning at 7 looking for flooding news they had CBS, ABC, Fox News, CNN, Headline News, and probably even MSNBC to choose from.

    To suggest it's a "dereliction of journalistic duty" is silly.
     
  5. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, Colombia crew members. But other than that I think you're right.
     
  6. broadway joe

    broadway joe Guest

    That is way too simplistic. If all you're worried about is ratings, you're in entertainment, not journalism. If the local news does a lead story on wet T-shirt contests in the area and it gets higher than normal ratings, is that good news judgment? Spending an entire national newscast on the death of one journalist is really inexcusable. You're saying there is nothing else going on in the world that matters as much as this, which, with all due respect to the tragic nature of Russert's death, is ridiculous.
     
  7. Herbert Anchovy

    Herbert Anchovy Active Member

    CSPAN is replaying the memorial service right now.
     
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