Posted on 11/13/2006 2:40:11 PM PST by COUNTrecount
NEW YORK - There will be a little less "Free Speech" and more news on Katie Couric's "CBS Evening News."
The controversial opinion segment will be cut back to a couple of times a week, sometimes less, and feature more people whose opinions aren't already well known, Rome Hartman, the broadcast's executive producer, said Monday. The cutback was first reported in the Washington Post.
It was the most experimental segment on Couric's broadcast, currently third behind NBC and ABC in the ratings.
"We did learn as we went along that some worked better than others, although I found most of them quite interesting," Hartman said. "The ones that we were giving a platform to somebody who already had one worked less well."
Rush Limbaugh was featured on "Free Speech" during Couric's first week, and Arianna Huffington and Sean Hannity have also appeared.
With all the election news, the last "Free Speech" appeared on Nov. 3.
This is news? Why would the MSM dedicate white space to the last place nightly news broadcast?
the MSM surprasses only Slick Willie in its self-absorption
That would be last place in a three network race.
Isn't this like replacing shuffle board with backgammon on the Titanic?
Couric ought to have Rosie O'Donnell on her free speech segment. Talk about repugnant. Don't Americans want to hear that the terrorists aren't to be feared because they're moms and dads too.
Hurray! More room for important news about shoe shopping and puppies! *Rolleyes*
This is more like if
the Titanic captain said,
"Uh, this water is
our new on-deck spa!
Enjoy the refreshing chill!
No, we're not sinking!"
they ought to let ordinary people/citizens speak up. That may be the only way I watch the show, if I were on.
Why doesn't she just swap out her Free Speech segment with guest host Cindy Sheehan?
I would watch that just so I can stay regular.
They should be more balanced in their reporting their ratings would probably improve.
cBS FRee Speech
-- snip --
Didn't you read Goldberg's "BIAS"?
There's no need for balance as the right/conservative opinion is just an anomoly to them.
We're like flat-earth believers.
What's another way of saying "Third place out of 3 networks?"
LAST PLACE!
It also seems that we are the only ones that read and care about the news, newspaper circulation along with magazines and other liberal media are not faring very well.
Economics will be the motivating factor in the changes that they will be faced with.
Perky Katie may have been a great cheerleader both incollege and carried it over to "The Today Show" which was cheerleading for the DNC, but a newscaster she is NOT!
However in this position she does make Dan Rather look much BETTER!
The MSM may be in decline, but they still wield tremendous power to shape public opinion. Millions of Americans still sit quietly in front of their televisions and soak up the propaganda. The MSM can take non-events such as "macaca" and the Foley October Surprise, and give them sufficient legitimacy that they become vote-changing scandals. The dinosaur media still have enough weight to squash our candidates like bugs. They are nowhere near extinction.
I would not arque that point however as it is apparent when you lose the advertisement dollar which drives all media, you have to make changes.
Members of the MSM seem to have convinced themselves that their liberal propagandizing has not been a significant factor in reducing their markets. They cite the growth of the Internet, the large number of cable/dish channels, etc. They won't identify their bias as a serious problem.
Also, I don't see the MSM as being primarily market driven. They are like Hollywood. It took an independently wealthy Mel Gibson to create the fabulously successful "Passion of the Christ." Dreamworks et. al. were never going to make that film or anything like it, though the financial potential for such a film should have long been obvious. And now, after the film made $612 million worldwide, where are the knockoff films that try to reach the same lucrative market? A Hollywood motivated primarily by money would have produced sequels galore.
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