Word: newshour
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...quadrisyllable has Joycean overtones: macneilehrer -- a run-on conjuring up two-headed television journalism, emanating from Washington and New York, dispassionate, in-depth and, in the words of one contributor, "gloriously boring." The word, however, now has an expiration date: in a year PBS's influential, much honored MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour will no longer be the same. Robert MacNeil, who co-anchors the show from New York City, announced last week that he will retire in October 1995, the show's 20th anniversary, leaving Washington-based Jim Lehrer as the sole anchor. MacNeil characterized his decision as "convenient," which was typical...
...told me, half jokingly, he was tired of seeing his face on television," says Roger Rosenblatt, a NewsHour essayist and editor of the Columbia Journalism Review. At a meeting with NewsHour staff members last * week, MacNeil explained frankly that besides his personal desire to leave daily journalism, financial factors played an important role in his thinking. Though the show, now seen on more than 300 stations, has increased its audience 40% in the past nine years, it has seen its budget fall from $26 million to under $25 million this year, and its corporate funding from $13 million...
MacNeil's departure will save the show the additional studio costs -- and other expenses. His salary, probably the largest in the budget, should be a substantial savings. The retirement will also allow the NewsHour to consolidate staff in one location: Washington. "He might not have made his decision as soon if the show was not put in such a bind," says Rosenblatt. WNET, the PBS affiliate that produces the program, "put pressure on the one prize show they had." MacNeil has denied that he is sacrificing himself to ease the show's financial strains, but he does say, "We needed...
...hosts of Breakfast Time, a new morning show on the fX cable network, sidle from room to room in their spacious, apartment-like set in New York City. When not trading quips with a wisecracking hand puppet, they introduce segments that make Good Morning America look like The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour: a visit to an Oklahoma ostrich farm; an interview with a Florida man who makes furniture out of junk; a live report on Hula-Hoopers in the park across the street. This is homemade TV -- and proud of it. On the show's first broadcast, Bergeron playfully chased his executive...
...field day for number crunchers, policy analysts and all the sobersided types who use hand-held computers even though they know the figures anyway. Matthew Arnold wrote of ignorant armies clashing by night; the health- care discussion has been conducted by highly knowledgeable armies clashing on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour...