Three decades ago, nearly half of America could recognize who then “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather was. Fast-forward to today, and just 27% correctly identified “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams, according to a Pew Research Center online survey.
The drop in awareness coincides with a steep decline in viewership. When the Rather in-person survey was done in 1985, an average of 48 million Americans watched one of the evening newscasts. In 2013, that number dwindled down to 24.5 million, according to Nielsen.
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Unsurprisingly, it’s older viewers who recognized Williams at the highest rate today: 34% compared to just 15% for ages 18-29 (Williams still leads the pack in terms of eyeballs watching news at night.)