In an e-mail this afternoon, Andrew Tyndall of the Tyndall Report assessed today’s announcement by ABC News. An excerpt:
| When Vargas was named co-anchor of World News Tonight with Bob Woodruff, the decision appeared to be part of a clear strategy to groom an entire generation of fortysomethings, securing the news division’s future over the next 15 years as it made the transition from broadcasting to multimedia online platforms. At Good Morning America, the workload had been shifted from the older dual anchor team of Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson, to a wider and younger cohort of contributors including Robin Roberts, Bill Weir and Kate Snow. This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos was given a lead role at the Washington DC bureau. At Nightline, Terry Moran, Martin Bashir and Cynthia McFadden were introduced to provide a blend of political, celebrity and true crime coverage. ABC News had a team in place that, when mature, would have the range and experience of Jennings-Koppel-Walters in their prime. The demotion of Vargas and her replacement by a pre-babyboomer not only makes ABC News’ long-term strategy incoherent. It displays a woeful tin ear towards the very demographic ABC News was purportedly courting. |
“Even if it is legal for ABC News to hand Elizabeth Vargas a demotion upon
her return from maternity leave, the decision to replace her as anchor of
World News Tonight sends a terrible message to ABC’s viewers.
To be fair to ABC News management, its press release insists that the
demotion is being made at Vargas’ behest: ‘My doctors have asked that I cut
back my schedule considerably. What works best for me and my family is to
return in the fall to 20/20 as I raise my new baby and young son.’
Yet this decision represents a smack in the face to the millions of female
viewers of childbearing age — the desirable 25-54 demographic — that ABC
News has been courting so assiduously.
Only two weeks ago in an analysis the Tyndall Report performed for
Broadcasting & Cable magazine, we found that a hallmark of Vargas’ brief
solo tenure at World News Tonight had been an increased emphasis on the
Sex-&-Family beat.
We spotted a recurring theme on World News. Here are headlines, week by
week:
May 18th: Baby names popularity rankings: Neveah is new.
Mqy 8th: Contraceptive morning-after pill sold be prescription only.
May 4th: Autism underdiagnosed among pre-schoolers.
April 27th: Toddlers’ body mass to be screened for obesity.
April 21st: Tastebuds develop prenatally from the mother’s diet.
April 14th: New Jersey screens mothers for post-partum depression.
April 5th: Sesame Workshop unveils a video-for-toddlers entry.
March 29th: Incidence of childbirth by cesarean section increases.
March 17th: Person of the Week is Paul Gillespie, who chases child
pornographers. (Vargas reported that one herself.)
March 8th: Impact of abortion parental notification laws for teenagers in
Texas.
February 27th: A touted prenatal gender identification test is flawed.
In the months of March and April, ABC devoted more time to Sex-&-Family
stories than its two competitors combined (39 min versus CBS’s 13 versus
NBC’s 18).
We added: ‘That doesn¹t hurt ratings, by the way. That desirable 25-54
demographic is somewhat baby-centered, too. During the two month span,
(borrowing stats posted on tvnewser.com), Vargas’s newscast has lagged
behind NBC in total viewers (7.9m v NBC 8.7m), but has been virtually
neck-and-neck (2.2 rating v NBC 2.3) in the pre-menopausal demo.’
When Vargas was named co-anchor of World News Tonight with Bob Woodruff, the
decision appeared to be part of a clear strategy to groom an entire
generation of fortysomethings, securing the news division’s future over the
next 15 years as it made the transition from broadcasting to multimedia
online platforms.
At Good Morning America, the workload had been shifted from the older dual
anchor team of Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson, to a wider and younger
cohort of contributors including Robin Roberts, Bill Weir and Kate Snow.
This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos was given a lead role at the
Washington DC bureau. At Nightline, Terry Moran, Martin Bashir and Cynthia
McFadden were introduced to provide a blend of political, celebrity and true
crime coverage.
ABC News had a team in place that, when mature, would have the range and
experience of Jennings-Koppel-Walters in their prime.
The demotion of Vargas and her replacement by a pre-babyboomer not only
makes ABC News’ long-term strategy incoherent. It displays a woeful tin ear
towards the very demographic ABC News was purportedly courting.
What is the worst workplace nightmare the pregnant employee faces? It is the
fear that her employer will find some way not to guarantee her job back on
return from maternity leave.
Elizabeth Vargas is currently the most famous pregnant woman in America.
Unlike the pregnancies of a Holmes, a Jolie or a Spears of the show business
world, Vargas had a formal position to which to return. If for no other
reason than to reassure its audience that it understood their concerns, ABC
News had an obligation to bend over backwards to ensure that Vargas was
treated in exemplary fashion. That is not what happened here, her press
release protestations notwithstanding.
This is in no way should be construed as a criticism of the journalistic
skills of Charlie — now Charles — Gibson, whom we have long admired. We
congratulate him, personally, on being given this new job, one that the
Tyndall Report considers to be a promotion.
It is not Gibson who misstepped here. It is his management.”
—Andrew Tyndall