The first woman to anchor both a morning and an evening network newscast is betting on the mornings. ABC’s Barbara Walters and 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft were part of a S.I. Newhouse School of Communications breakfast panel in New York City this morning.
Portfolio.com’s Jeff Bercovici was there for the discussion billed as “The Art of the Interview.” But the conversation included the future of the TV News business as well. When asked about it, Walters predicted:
I think the only programs that will still be there as they are now in 10 years are the morning shows. Everything else you can TiVo and watch later or read about on the internet.
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And what does Walters think about the disappearing divide between news and opinion?
Today, in television, there are so many people doing interviews who express their opinions. It’s very different. I grew up in a school, and so did you, where if you are a journalist you do not give your personal opinion….Today, not everybody, but outside of the network programs, people are giving their personal opinion. We grew up in a school that said that the journalist…maintains his or her impartiality and asks the question. The new trends now in interviews are “You’re a liar,” “That’s not true.” It’s much more personality-driven so that the person doing the questions have now become as important almost as the person they’re interviewing.</blockquote