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ORIGIN OF TELEVISION NEWS Television newscasts began entering American homes in the late 1940s with NBC 's '' Camel Newsreel Theatre ''. However, Edward R. Murrow was widely regarded as the pioneer of U.S. television news. On his weekly news show '' See It Now '' on CBS , Murrow presented live reports from journalists on both the east and west coasts of the United States—the first program with live simultaneous transmission from coast to coast. ''See It Now'' focused on a number of controversial issues, but its most memorable moment was a 30-minute special on March 9 , 1954 , entitled "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy ," which contributed to the eventual political downfall of the senator. HISTORY OF NETWORK NEWS Network news had a humble beginning. Launched in February 1948 by NBC, '' Camel Newsreel Theatre '' was a 10-minute program anchored by John Cameron Swayze , and featured Movietone News . CBS soon followed suit in May 1948 with a 15-minute '' CBS Evening News '', anchored by Douglas Edwards . ''Camel Newsreel Theatre'' was later expanded to 15 minutes and renamed '' Camel News Caravan ''. The show was succeeded by the '' Huntley-Brinkley Report '' in 1956 , featuring a duo-anchor format with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley . On September 9 , 1963 , the ''Huntley-Brinkley Report'' expanded to 30 minutes, following a similar move by CBS. It was renamed '' NBC Nightly News '' in 1970, after Huntley's retirement. Since then, Brinkley, John Chancellor , Frank McGee , Roger Mudd had been named anchor for the show. In 1982 , Tom Brokaw was named the anchor of the network's flagship newscast. ''CBS Evening News'' was launched in May 1948 to compete against ''Camel News Caravan''. In 1962 , Walter Cronkite landed the anchor seat, which he would eventually hold until 1981 . During that period, ''CBS Evening News'' became the dominating newscast on American television, and Cronkite was often cited as the "most trusted man in America." On September 2 , 1963 , the show expanded to 30 minutes. After Cronkite's retirement in 1981 , Dan Rather became the anchor of ''CBS Evening News''. He was joined by co-anchor Connie Chung from 1993 to 1995 . ''ABC Evening News'' began airing in , Peter Jennings and Max Robinson . Jennings assumed solo anchor responsibility in 1983 . Brokaw, Rather, and Jennings became the familiar faces of network news for more than two decades. But changes began in December 2004 , when Brian Williams took over Brokaw as anchor of ''NBC Nightly News'', after Brokaw's well-anticipated retirement, announced in 2002 . Rather also retired from the anchor seat of ''CBS Evening News'' in March 2005 , albeit quite abruptly, after it was discovered that CBS used fake documents in a report on George W. Bush 's Air National Guard record. Jennings stepped away from the network anchor seat as well in April 2005 , after he announced that he had Lung Cancer and would undergo Chemotherapy . Since the announcement, ''ABC World News Tonight'' has been hosted by Bob Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas . Jennings had not returned to the anchor chair before his death in August 2005 . TODAY'S TELEVISION NEWS Television news has come a long way since its beginning. Today, Electronic News Gathering has enabled reporters to capture video and audio at greater ease and edit the footage faster than when film was used. Journalists have also employed Microwave and Satellite feeds, and even Videophone , to transmit live video and audio signals from remote locations. Television news programming in the U.S. can be separated into three different categories: local news, '''network news''', and '''cable news'''. Local news Many local broadcast television stations have in-house news departments that produce their own newscasts. The content of the newscasts are geared towards viewers in specific Designated Market Areas in which the stations operate. In other words, the stories have a strong local focus, and are relevant to local lives. Network news Three major national television networks produce regular morning shows and evening newscasts for national audiences, which are sent to local affiliate stations via special feeds. ABC affiliates air Good Morning America in the morning, and ABC World News Tonight in the evening. CBS affiliates can pick up The Early Show and CBS Evening News . Viewers on NBC affiliates can watch The Today Show as well as NBC Nightly News . The network evening newscasts are flagships for the networks, although viewership has been slowly dwindling in recent years, because of easy access to news, thanks to 24-hour cable newschannels and the World Wide Web . The networks' Morning Shows are a blend of news and entertainment. They have frequent "cut-in's" with stories and weather updates from local affiliates. In addition, the three networks produce various daily and weekly Newsmagazine shows and news talk shows. Most of them are broadcast during Prime Time , but some air at various timeslots. These shows include 20/20 , Primetime Live , Nightline , This Week , Dateline NBC , Meet The Press , 48 Hours , 60 Minutes , and Face The Nation . Cable news The advent of Cable Television in the United States led to the eventual birth of cable news. On June 1 , 1980 , Ted Turner launched CNN , the first 24-hour cable news operation. The station gained reputation significantly with its 1991 coverage of the Gulf War . The success of CNN inspired many other 24-hour cable news stations. Today, CNN, CNN Headline News , Fox News Channel , MSNBC , and CNBC compete for viewers in the national cable news arena. Regional cable news operations, such as New England Cable News , Northwest Cable News , and Texas Cable News , have also gained prominence among regional viewers. The programming styles vary among these cable news channels. But during prime time, these cable news networks air programming strongly driven by their key personalities; typically such programming is in "TV Show" format around a particular host, rather than continuous broadcasts of breaking news. CURRENT DEVELOPMENT As the Internet become more prevalent in American lives, television news operations learn to adapt and embrace new technologies. Today, most television news operations would publish the text of the stories aired during their newscasts on their Websites . Some of them, including all the network and national cable news operations, post videos of the stories for visitors to their websites. Television journalists are acquiring skills for the convergence between television and the Internet. Technological advancement is also changing the ways news is gathered and edited. The Newsreel days are long gone. Reporters do not use film anymore. Television journalists are capturing images and sound on Video and DV . Some stations even begin gathering and reporting news in High-definition Television . Even editing and archiving systems are evolving, as more and more stations convert to Non-linear Editing System s, and storing file footage on computer Server s rather than tapes. With Digital Cable comes On-demand news programming. News operations slowly begin to feel the burden to generate news content on a 24-hour news cycle, while keeping material fresh on their regularly scheduled newscasts. This means around-the-clock coverage. Rather than having a certain deadline for scheduled newscasts to meet, reporters have to file stories as fast as they can. Producers, on the other hand, have to find more ways to keep news stories "fresh" to the viewers. FORMATS Over the years, television news in the U.S. has evolved into a variety of formats. Local news and network news, once similar in having slow paces and low story counts, are now quite different in styles and tunes. Traditional In the early days, local newscasts were seen more as a public service. The style was straightforward. A newscast was divided into three blocks: news, sports, and weather. The news block was divided into national, international, and local stories. These newscasts usually had a solo white male anchor, with white males announcing sports and weather as well. This format is no longer prevalent. Eyewitness News In the late 1960s , Group W , a division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation , devised a new format of local news called Eyewitness News . Reporters were hired to go out of the newsroom, become "eyewitnesses" of news stories, and record them on film. Later, these reporters were also asked to join the anchors in the studio to talk about the stories. The Eyewitness format also helped introduce different anchor combinations to local newscasts. The format continued to flourish, and imitated by stations across the country. Today, most television news operations are working under some variation of the Eyewitness format. Action News Action News was devised by WPVI-TV in Philadelphia to compete against the Eyewitness News format. The Action News format features short stories, high story counts in newscasts, and a strong focus on spot news. The "Action" refers to the fast pacing of the newscast. Franchise News Franchise News is a variation of Eyewitness News. Some stations decide to brand their news with slogans such as "news you can use" or "8 on your side." The newscasts at these stations tend to focus more on '''franchises'''—stories that cover a topic important to local viewers. The most successful franchises are health and consumer news. Other franchises include parenting, pets, environment, and crime fighting. Almost every news operation uses some franchises. But a few stations build their news identities around these topical stories. Other formats Other newscast formats have been proven successful. The newscasts at WSVN in Miami are often regarded as tabloid news, with sensational writing and energetic reporters. Another example of this is WOIO in Cleveland , where anchor Sharon Reed infamously appeared nude on-air during a sweeps period. Many shows on cable news channels incorporate lots of talk and heated debates between anchors and guests. This format has become quite popular as well. News during Sweeps During Sweeps , newscasts often feature stories that are more sensationalized, in order to attract more viewers. Some stations save highly controversial investigative stories covered earlier for airing during Sweeps. Other times, the "investigation" even turn into something completely bizarre or out of the ordinary. News department at television stations work closely with promotions department during Sweeps, to create promotional spots throughout the day that will entice viewers to tune in to the newscasts. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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