A second Opinion

The results are in, and to no one's surprise, ABC News' coverage of the presidential election results captured the most viewers of the night. With 13.2 million viewers, it also finished among the top 10 most viewed shows of last week. NBC was down nearly a million viewers, with 12.5 million people tuned in. Left no where to be found were CBS and FOX, with 7.4 million and 3.7 viewers, respectively. To put this into perspective: 12.3 million people watched CNN's coverage, and another nine million watched Fox News. Not only did the leading two cable networks grasp 47 percent of the audience, but they also outplaced two of the four major broadcast networks - a feat never before accomplished in a presidential election.

This is a factor that goes to show that by serving special interests like magazines and by offering 24-hour news on demand, cable news networks are increasingly taking away viewers from the top four broadcasters. However, one thing remains certain: A good anchor sells a show. For the calendar year of 2008, ABC finished first in Nielsen's year-end rankings for the first time in 10 years, narrowly eclipsing NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams with 8.39 million viewers to 8.3 million viewers and winning the crucial 25-54-year-old demographic. Credit to this is owed to Charles Gibson, whose image has made it clear that experience and trust are valued in a news anchor.

CBS certainly didn't follow this philosophy. Capitalizing on The Today Show's winning ratings, the network hired Katie Couric to replace Dan Roker as anchor of CBS World News. Despite revamping the newscast for a new generation, the show tanked, with an audience of just 6.44 million viewers in 2007. A large reason for this ratings tank: Older viewers, who comprise much of broacast network news's audience were turned off by her. But one of the chief reasons, in my opinion, is that no one took the former morning anchor seriously. On Today, Couric did soft news. But she did it in such a polarizing manner that she sort of became a gimmick. Watching her suddenly metamorphosize into one of the most respected news authorities in the world wasn't easy for viewers to grasp. Granted, Gibson once filled a like role on Good Morning America, but his news background, demeanor, and talent transcended waking up the States.

Without a doubt, ABC News has the best team in journalism today. Aside from Gibson, Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts have redefined the morning news broadcast on GMA. While I love Gibson, I still can't help but feel that ABC screwed Sawyer over by offering him the job over her. Gibson is great, but Sawyer is the best in the business. She attacks the issues with an integrity that no other journalist has. My advice to CBS: Smarten up. Fire Couric and woo Sawyer over to your side. Or with the increasing popularity that Sawyer is operating under, perhaps CNN should take her. Sawyer deserves this spot more than Couric ever did. Watching their roles is a lot like watching the election dynamic between Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. Palin got picked because she was a woman, and the true politician lost out.

Sources for Nielsen ratings: Entertainment Weekly and Broadcasting Cable