The AP looks at the war of words between the Sunday public affairs shows. At issue is this: the Sunday show ratings race has become more competitive than it has been in years, with CBS, NBC and ABC each having strong showings in any given week. CBS “Face the Nation” has been accused of ratings and promotion trickery, while NBC is reluctant to acknowledge that “Meet the Press” is not the untouchable juggernaut that it once was.
Bob Schieffer spoke to the AP about the situation.
“This is a very, very close and competitive business right now,” Schieffer said. “My advice to the competition would be to try to put on the best broadcast you can. I think you’ll find that time would be best spent, rather than in engaging in other activities…”
Advertisement“So much of it depends on who you have,” he said. “It used to not be. In the days of Tim Russert, Tim could bring along a test pattern and show it and he would win the week. But those days are long gone, and people have to adjust to it.”