Despite being an Internet guy, I do use other media for my news, including watching network news; my TiVo is set to record ABC World News Tonight,
and I watch it many nights. Viewing network news often annoys me,
though, because its nature is to skim over important issues, often
leaving out important points. Using the Internet as my primary news
source, I’ve come to expect deeper coverage.
On Sunday night, my wife and I simultaneously screamed at the TV during WNT
when an ABC News reporter covered the trend of using coal to produce
gasoline through new technology, but failed even once to mention the
environmental impact of getting more of our energy supply from coal!
Where the Web comes in is in making up, at least a bit, for oversights like that. Last night on WNT, ABC News correspondent Terry Moran interviewed U.S. vice president Dick Cheney
on some controversial topics such as the current spying scandal and the
administration’s resistance to a law prohibiting torture. The TV
interview left me cold, because it was so brief. But thanks to the Web,
I can read ABC News’ complete transcript of the Cheney-Moran interview.
I’m pleased to see ABC co-anchors Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff so often mention the additional material published as part of the “Broadcast Plus” component of WNT
presented online. While it didn’t help on that coal story, it’s a
program with a good mission: to make up for the shortcomings inherent
in a 30-minute (minus commercial time) newscast.
