TV news analyst Andrew Tyndall has released his latest report, the 2011 network news year in review. As usual, he listed the most frequently used network correspondents for the year.
This year, the top five were: ABC’s David Muir (right), with 343 minutes of airtime, ABC’s Jake Tapper with 283 minutes of airtime, NBC’s Richard Engel with 246 minutes, NBC’s Chuck Todd with 226 minutes and CBS’ Nancy Cordes, also with 226 minutes. Last year Tapper and Muir led the pack, though their positions were reversed.
What stories received the most coverage on the network evening newscasts last year?
In a stark contrast to cable news, which spent a disproportionate amount of time on the economy and the election (save for CNN), the top two stories on the network newscasts were the death of Libyan dictator Moammar Ghadafi, and the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. That was followed by the federal budget deficit talks and the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster in Japan and the shooting in Tucson that counted Rep. Gabrielle Giffords among the victims.
Among Tyndall’s other notes: NBC spent the most time on weather-related stories, not surprising since anchor Brian Williams is a self-described weather nerd, and NBC owns a portion of The Weather Channel. ABC, under Diane Sawyer, spent the least time on hard news and the least time on the top 20 stories. CBS, meanwhile, spent the most time on the economy.