Broadcasting & Cable published an editorial today that served as a call to the networks to focus more energy on presidential news coverage. It also applauded ABC News for its debate coverage, which rated extremely well, and its New Hampshire special, which didn’t, but was the only network that gave the primary a half-hour.
NBC News and CBS News did have cut-ins with updates on the primary results, but B&C says ABC News’ had the only “meaningful live coverage.” The editorial noted that NBC had some of its big guns, Brian Williams and Tim Russert, on MSNBC, but, “There they had to tolerate the sophomoric shenanigans of Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, et al.”
The editorial also suggests the news divisions as a contributor in finding new original content to put on the air during the WGA strike. “At a time when the Writers Guild strike is strangling primetime, why not throw some airtime to the news divisions?” the editorial asks.