| Index | Last Week | Contact DQ News | Latest Issue |
| Featured Articles | Data & Information | Science & Technology | Education |
| Economics | Business | Law | Medicine |
Network News and Entertainment: A Bad Mix
In a recent New York Times profile, long-time CBS producer/director Don Hewitt voiced his concern and unhappiness about the direction network news has taken during his half century in the business. He views television news as not only gone soft, but feels that networks are using news programs almost as filler for prime-time slots where entertainment shows have failed.
Mr. Hewitt recently celebrated 50 years with CBS. He worked with Edward R. Murrow, Douglas Edwards, Walter Cronkite, was the producer/director of the first Presidential debate in 1960, and developed the hugely-popular news program "60 Minutes." Paradoxically, the success of "60 Minutes" put an end to the high-quality documentaries CBS News produced during the 1950's and early 60's. In that era, news programs lost money. The networks produced expensive news programs and documentaries to show the Federal Communications Commission that they (and their local affiliated stations) were serving the public interest - a requirement for station license renewal. According to Mr. Hewitt, the entertainment division of CBS was a big money earner in earlier years, when it came up with a steady stream of programs starring Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason, Mary Tyler Moore, Alan Alda, and Carroll O'Connor.
According Mr. Hewitt, the present weakness in the networks' entertainment divisions has caused degradation in news quality, while making news divisions major money earners for the networks. He points out that the proliferation of news programs has caused a lack of producers and reporters who can accurately report the news, and maintains the same number of news "stories" exist now as existed decades ago. [Unfortunately, the Times article fails to mention that the U.S. population has grown by about 100 million over the past 40 years.]
The profile was written by Times staff reporter Lawrie Mifflin, and appears on page 41 of the March 22nd issue.