“I Don’t Want To Ask When She Last Watched ‘Nightly News’

For a report called “Baby Boomers at 60” in Newsweek, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams reflects on television news:

“My wife often watches her own husband’s broadcast on our kitchen computer screen, after 10 at night, when the day’s work is done. My high-school-age son will occasionally catch a glimpse. My daughter at college says she enjoyed my last appearance on ‘The Daily Show.’ I don’t want to ask when she last watched ‘Nightly News.’

Our audience today is smaller, but it is fiercely loyal and expects a serious newscast. Friends report a new dynamic in their lives: as they get older, they find themselves watching the newscast they grew up with — when they’re home to see it. Venerable names like Google notwithstanding, the three network evening newscasts still represent the largest single news audience in the nation.”