Will There Always Be A 6:30 Evening News? Katie Couric Says No

couric soon to be gone

Will there always be a network news show to tune into at 6:30?

Katie Couric, current anchor of the CBS Evening News says, ‘no’.

At least she does in Huffington Post today.

I would have thought this was crap, or fodder for the press in light of her negotiations to leave CBS News had it not been for The BBC killing off BBC World News America, which I used to watch religiously on BBCA every night and I thought would be there forever. (So much for The BBC). They replaced it with Top Gear.

Well, if The BBC can do that, I guess so can CBS or NBC.

Not that I ever thought that the American network news was genius, far from it, but it’s better than nothing

Which is what it seems we’re soon going to have.

Or Top Gear

Or perhaps Cupcake Wars.

(as opposed to Libyan Wars).

The core of the problem here is that television is a business, and news doesn’t make money.

It doesn’t make money because it is expensive to make and there are no re-runs.

So you have two choices:

Either make news profitable by making it less expensively – or stop making it at all.

My guess is that the networks will opt for the latter, because it is in the end easier.

But in case they don’t, here’s a quick guide to making news profitable:

1. Stop paying the anchors $14 million a year.  No one is worth that. No one. (Sorry Katie). Find out what New York Magazine is paying Frank Rich and pay the anchors that.  And believe me, Katie Couric is no Frank Rich.

2.  Get rid of the buildings, the studios, the carpets, the glass walls, the offices, the off-site meetings and most of the management.

3.  Find the best journalists in the world, equip them with state of the art digital gear and unleash them – and pay them a lot.

4.  Gather up all their content and curate it and publish it nightly. You can do this from anywhere.  It does not have to be 30 Rock.

5.  Fire 80% of the staff and put the rest to work making real journalism.

You can slash the cost, improve the product (enormously) and make the whole thing a very profitable business – and (to coin a phrase) must see TV. Every night.

But you have to act quickly.

Because once Cupcake Wars gets your timeslot, you’re going to have a hell of a time getting it back.

So please, for the sake of a well educated public, do something radical now.

Before it’s too late.

 

 

 

Michael Rosenblum

For more than 30 years, Michael Rosenblum has been on the cutting edge of the digital video journalism revolution. During this time, he has lead a drive for video literacy, and the complete rethinking of how television is made and controlled. His work has included: The complete transitioning of The BBC's national network (UK) to a VJ-driven model, starting in 2002. The complete conversion of The Voice of America, the United State's Government's broadcasting agency, (and the largest broadcaster in the world), from short wave radio to television broadcasting and webcasting using the VJ paradigm (1998-present). The construction of NYT Television, a New York Times Company, and the largest producer of non-fiction television in the US. Rosenblum was both the founder and President of NYT TV, (all based on this paradigm (1996-1998). The President and Founder of Video News International, a global VJ-driven newsgathering company, with more than 100 journalists around the world. (1993-1996). Other clients include Spectrum News, Verizon and CBS News.