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History Of News
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First Ever News Broadcast
Lowell Thomas hosted the first ever live news broadcast. -
Regular News brodcasts.
At this point in time, the first regulary scheduled news program has been created. -
First Serious attempt.
The first serious attempt at dedicated television news broadcasts in the United States was by CBS. Upon becoming commercial station WCBW (now WCBS-TV) in 1941, the pioneer New York CBS television station broadcast two daily news programs, at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. weekdays, anchored by Richard Hubbell. -
Cutback
In May 1942, WCBW (like almost all television stations) sharply cut back its live program schedule and the newscasts were canceled, since the station temporarily suspended studio operations, resorting exclusively to the occasional broadcast of films. This was primarily due to the fact that much of the staff had either joined the service or were redeployed to war related technical research, and to prolong the life of the early, unstable cameras which were now impossible to repair due to the warti -
And were back
As WW2 began to turn in favor of the Allies, stations reopened their studios and the newscasts returned -
The rise of regular News
Douglas Edwards began anchoring "CBS Television News", a regular 15-minute nightly newscast on the rudimentary CBS Television Network, including WCBS-TV. It aired every weeknight at 7:30 PM, and was the first regularly scheduled, network television news program -
Begining of flagship NBC program.
The Huntley-Brinkley Report began as NBC"s falgship news program, which brought high ratings. -
Ratings battle
The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite started to beat the ratings of Huntley and Brinkley in the late 1960s. -
More Time
News companies begin to allow more time for their programs, changing from 15 to 30 mins. -
Era of Trust
Cronkite garnered the largest number of viewers even though he was up against an excellent broadcast journalist, John Chancellor of NBC. Cronkite, who built an unusually intimate relationship with his audience, was once voted the most trusted figure in public life. When Cronkite spoke, America listened. So did the nation’s most powerful politicians. -
End of the Huntley-Brinkley Report
The end of NBC"s flagship program, the Huntley-Brinkley Report -
The Peak
Throughout the 80s and early to middle 90s, Broadcast news is at an all time high. -
The news needs to change.
Former FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes gave an address in 1992 in which he claimed television news was too superficial and too focused on visuals. He said the weak performance of television news undermined the nation’s ability to respond to its challenges. -
Begining of the End?
influence and ratings of network news broadcasts begin to decline dramatically. Audiences today gather their news from online sources. -
News Viewership is down
News viewership was down across television in 2012, an odd result for an election year. Network early evening newscasts have lost half of their audiences in 25 years, and the average viewer is aging.