Weeknight Evening News: Iraq War Top Story, Tapper Gets Most Airtime
Andrew Tyndall’s Year in Review Looks at Weeknight Evening News
By Marisa Guthrie -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/2/2008 10:44:00 PM
The year in evening news (weeknight) brought viewers wildfires in California, the Virginia Tech massacre and turmoil in Pakistan. But the biggest story by a wide margin was the war in Iraq, according to Andrew Tyndall’s Year in Review.
The three network newscasts aired a combined 1,157 minutes on Iraq compared with 244 for Virginia Tech, the second-most-reported story in 2007.
The California wildfires were third with 221 minutes, followed by ups and downs on Wall Street (208), winter weather (182), Pakistan (165), military personnel injuries and disabilities (160), the subprime collapse (133), illegal immigration (124) and, rounding out the top 10, Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) election bid (120).
ABC News’ Jake Tapper had the most airtime (by one minute) in 2007 with 231 minutes, edging out NBC’s White House correspondent David Gregory by 60 seconds.
Andrea Mitchell, NBC’s longtime State Department reporter, was third with 220 minutes, followed by CBS’ David Martin (217), who covers the Pentagon. Transportation reporter Nancy Cordes, who left ABC News last year for CBS News, was fifth on the list with a combined 200 minutes between ABC and CBS.
