Anger about Monday’s NYT story referring to ABC’s traveling-anchor “ratings strategy” continues to swell among media observers. (Howard Kurtz mentioned it on Tuesday and Phil Rosenthal followed up on Wednesday.) This evening, Poynter’s Jill Geisler weighed in:
| “Any reading of Woodruff’s resume makes it clear he has long been drawn to field reporting… Sending anchors with Woodruff’s skills and track record to the scene of major stories represents a commitment to building a long-term relationship with viewers, one that leads them to trust that the journalist has indeed been there, understands that — in ways only an eyewitness can. Let me be clear: to do this right, it can’t be about an anchor toe-touching at the scene, ‘fronting’ a story largely produced by an unseen producer, then blowing town. It means making a commitment to giving the anchor time to really observe, report and write. That, in my opinion, appears to be ABC’s ‘strategy.'” |
Advertisement