Posted on 03/05/2002 7:29:33 AM PST by Temple Owl
'This Week' hosts are subject to change ABC's plan aims for a younger audience
By Peter Johnson USA TODAY
More changes on the horizon at ABC News: Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts will likely exit This Week in a shake-up at the Sunday public affairs program. Although it's doubtful anything will happen until fall, ABC News' rising star, George Stephanopoulos, and Claire Shipman are in line to replace them.
Meanwhile, three days after it was revealed that he'd secretly offered Nightline's spot to CBS' David Letterman, Disney president Robert Iger flew to Washington, D.C., on Monday and met with anchor Ted Koppel. Whether Iger's trip was to soothe hurt feelings or lay down the law isn't known: Iger and Koppel were mum.
Like Nightline, This Week has been struggling to maintain its audience. At one time, the show was rated No.1, but it has been sinking in the ratings since David Brinkley stepped down as anchor in 1996 and now gets pummeled by NBC's Meet the Press.
So executives are pondering big changes: Week may dump the rigid, decades-old Sunday morning format that networks and cable outlets still follow -- sit-downs with government policymakers -- and take the program and its subjects out of the nation's capital to try to appeal to a broader audience.
That plan also would be an acknowledgement that ABC doesn't think it can compete against anchor Tim Russert's winning format on Meet the Press of challenging politicians and government appointees.
''Everyone is in favor of having a New York element or a non-Washington element,'' says ABC News executive Paul Friedman. To that end, one option being considered is moving This Week to New York, where it might be split between Stephanopoulos there and Shipman in Washington.
Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton White House aide, and Shipman, a former NBC White House correspondent, said they didn't know of the plan.
Roberts couldn't be reached, but she has told executives she plans to cut back her on-air duties when her contract expires in November.
Donaldson said executives have made it clear that they need to appeal to younger audiences and ''might do something different across-the-board. In the case of Nightline, that has been dramatically pointed out to us.'' But, he said, he hadn't heard that there was any plan to replace him. ''No one had the courtesy to tell me directly.'' <
The networks are slowly and timidly realizing that their pro-liberal hosts hurt their credibility and thus thie ratings.
Georgie Porgie would clearly be recognozed as pro-Democrat and pro--liberal and Cliare Shipman would off no balance.
This Week was great when Brinkley gave George Will equal time to the other liberals. Sam & Pukie dominate the show and both are pro-democrat. They hardly give George Will a few minutes to blow away their arguments.
MY SOLUTION: Let George Will be the single host and let him dominate the show. Also, let him select any other pundits who would appear on the show.
They'll try anything but present a balanced format - that's why it won't help.
They'll try anything but present a balanced format - that's why it won't help.
Yuk! With Sam and Cokie? Maybe interviewing Jerrold Nadler? Or Helen Thomas? Barf!
An effete, diminutive, gay troll who is an unabashed and petulant liberal.
Maybe there’s some “Producers” type motive behind this.
George Will doesn't seem old because his ideas are crisp and he is a quick and agile thinker. The rest, including the witchy Claire and whiny Steffie, are dull. Generally, liberals aren't witty and the humor of Fox News Sunday would do more for them than the "piercing" style of NBC's Russert. Never underestimate the power of humor in keeping an audience.
LOL, yep they must want a young (gay) audience alright.
Move the show to Floriduh and have Rush as one of the pundits....great idea. Have George Will host and hire Walter Williams as the 2nd pundit and they hit a home run. Oops, we also need a girl for "diversity"....Ann C. would do just fine.
I have only seen the show once or twice - Donaldson is absolutely horrible. How anyone could listen to this windbag is beyond me. Georgie is totally lame and has no business being in "journalism." Not sure what to think of Cokie Roberts. Actually, I just thought the whole format was awful.
1. Go less liberal.
2. Go more liberal.
Last week CNN hires Carville and Begala. Now ABC shifts Steffy to This Week. All they know how to do is go left. Whenever there is a problem the answer is go farther left. Lot's of luck. You're going to need it.
True. But could he stop saying the word "mendacity" for a couple of shows? :)
Brinkley was the last of the old dinosaurs that at least seemed "unbiased". The generic liberals who now host "This Week" are hard to take. But I often watch anyway, just to see the one-liners that Geo. Will can zing their way.
Stephanoupolus is NOT good at delivering news. Not good at all. He is boring. hahahaha, ideology over talent I guess. He does alright at the roundtable discussions, but he's not good at interviews or the news. hahaha, can you say "plummeting ratings".
All I care about is that they keep George Will. However, I liked Sam and Cokie. Sam is all personality and Cokie, while a lefty, is basically honest. As lefties go, they were very good. They were able to allow the other side to talk, which in network news is a rare virtue.
The absolute worst Sunday morning show is CBS This Morning (or whatever it's called). That sucker is put out directly by the DNC, or it might as well be.
Uhhh... They're chalking this up to younger demographics? Have they not noticed that we went to Fox? And it's not because of Tony Snow's age.
They truly don't have a clue!
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