'''NBC Nightly News''' is the flagship evening news program for
NBC News and broadcasts from the
GE Building,
Rockefeller Center in
New York City. It has been known by this name since
August 1,
1970. Currently, weekday broadcasts are anchored by
Brian Williams, and weekend editions of the show are anchored by
Lester Holt. The program is temporarily broadcasting from NBC's Studio 8G while a new newsroom and studio complex is under construction, to be completed by the end of 2007.
The John Chancellor era (1970-1983)
David Brinkley provided commentary several times per week during the 1970s on ''NBC Nightly News''.
NBC Nightly News succeeded the ''
Huntley-Brinkley Report'' upon the retirement of
Chet Huntley in
1970. At first,
John Chancellor and
Frank McGee alternated evenings from the NBC desk in New York, while
David Brinkley remained at his traditional post in
Washington. Newscasts on Saturday and Sunday were known as ''
NBC Saturday News'' and ''
NBC Sunday News,'' respectively, until sometime in the late 1970s.
McGee left the program several months after ''Nightly News'' began in order to replace
Hugh Downs on
NBC's
Today show. Chancellor then became the sole anchor, with Brinkley providing three-minute commentaries from
Washington several times a week under the title ''David Brinkley's Journal.'' In June
1976, though, NBC tried the dual-anchor approach once again, with Chancellor reporting from
New York City and Brinkley from Washington. This continued until October
1979, when pressure from the NBC sales department, which thought the rotation deprived the network of a single authoritative news voice, discontinued it.
Unfortunately, by that time, Chancellor was unable to attract the viewers
Walter Cronkite was attracting on the ''
CBS Evening News''. During his tenure as ''NBC Nightly News'' anchor, he never was able to break the grip Cronkite had on the American news viewer, despite NBC's various changes to the show. Chancellor did, however, remain as an editorial commentator on the news for some years after stepping down from the anchor desk in
1982, until his retirement in the early
1990s.
The Tom Brokaw era (1983-2004)
''NBC Nightly News'' open, used from December
1999-November
2004 became the solo anchor of ''NBC Nightly News'' on
September 5,
1983, after NBC once again experimented with a dual-anchor format, with Brokaw and
Roger Mudd alternating. Brokaw had already anchored
NBC's
Today Show before joining
Nightly News. Brokaw's presence attracted viewers, and during the
1990s, ''NBC Nightly News'' battled for the viewership lead with ''
ABC World News Tonight'', anchored by the urbane Canadian
Peter Jennings. The once-dominant ''
CBS Evening News'', anchored by
Dan Rather, lost a substantial portion of the audience it held during the Cronkite era and slid to third place in the viewership wars.
In May
2002, Brokaw announced his retirement as anchor of ''NBC Nightly News,'' to take effect shortly after the Presidential election of
2004. During this last presidential election coverage, NBC graphic designers created images of a giant electoral map on the Rockefeller Plaza ice-skating rink, and cherry-pickers tallied the electoral vote count on the GE Building. Brokaw's final broadcast took place on
December 1,
2004, ending a 21-year run as the network's chief newsman, a record tenure in NBC's history. Brokaw was succeeded by Brian Williams the following day.
The Brian Williams era (2004-present)
Previous ''NBC Nightly News'' title card, used from November 2004-March
2007.
, a frequent substitute anchor for Brokaw, became the newscast's permanent anchor on
December 2,
2004. The program held onto the number 1 spot in the ratings for network evening news from Williams' start in December 2004 until
April 2007, averaging 10 million viewers weekly, according to
Nielsen Media research documented in ''
USA Today's'' website. Currently, it ranks second of third in the evening news wars, finishing slightly behind ''
ABC World News with Charlie Gibson''. A blog, ''
The Daily Nightly'', has been started to add insight into how the broadcast is put together. In addition, each full weekday broadcast is available for viewing that same night after 10 p.m. Eastern time. Because Brian Williams introduced to the audience the daily blog "The Daily Nightly", he also announced the arrival of a
vodcast of the Nightly News.
Williams rose to new levels of popularity for his live spot reporting during and after the
2005 Hurricane season.
Ann Curry, or
Lester Holt substitute for Williams when he is on vacation or on assignment.
On
December 4,
2006, ''NBC Nightly News'' was presented with limited commercial interruptions by
Philips. This marked the first time in its 36-year history in which the newscast has used that experiment.
The show recognizes its past in its opening seconds, with small photos of past anchors and sets and the voices of
John Cameron Swayze, Huntley, Brinkley, Chancellor, and Brokaw, as well as an orchestral version of the "G-E-C"
NBC Chimes, before going into the opening headlines read by Williams. The voices of McGee and Mudd are not included.
The most recent permanent set of the ''Nightly News'' (in Studio 3C) was retired on the broadcast of
May 4,
2007. It had first appeared in
1999. The broadcast's temporary location since then, Studio 8G, features the same set used for
Sunday Night Football broadcasts by
NBC Sports. It is also where NBC's 2006 congressional election coverage originated.
Weekend Editions (The Lester Holt era 2007-present)
The weekend editions of Nightly News are anchored by
Lester Holt.
John Seigenthaler, previously served as anchor of the Saturday and Sunday editions of the ''NBC Nightly News'' from
July,
1999 through the
April 1,
2007 broadcast.
[1]
During the current renovations, the weekend edition is temporarily originating from a second-floor area of
Studio 1A, which is the home of the
Today Show.
The weekend editions of ''NBC Nightly News'' began
January 4,
1969, when ''Huntley-Brinkley Report'' was expanded to six nights a week (Monday–Saturday). When lower-than-expected ratings occurred, the network pulled the pair off Saturdays (where they had been alternating weeks reading the newscast alone) and assigned others such as
Frank McGee and
Sander Vanocur to that evening, renaming it ''NBC Saturday News.'' On
August 2,
1970, two days after ''Huntley-Brinkley'' ended, the network finally introduced Sunday evening newscasts. Former anchors of the weekend ''Nightly News'' include
Garrick Utley,
Douglas Kiker,
Brian Williams,
Tom Brokaw,
John Hart,
John Palmer,
Connie Chung,
Maria Shriver,
Giselle Fernandez,
Tom Snyder,
Jane Pauley,
Jessica Savitch and
Stephen Frazier.
Theme music
''NBC Nightly News'' open,
1974.
★ "Huntley-Brinkley Report/NBC Nightly News Ticker" (1970–1973); the theme had been used since
1962, when the program was still known as ''The Huntley-Brinkley Report'')
★ "NBC News Ticker" (1973–1976)
★ Untitled theme (1976–1977)
★ "NBC Nightly News", by
Henry Mancini (1977–1982)
★ "NBC News", by Joseph Paul Sicurella, Tony Smythe, and Bob Christianson (1979–1982 as a
bumper; 1982–1985 as the main theme)
★ "The Mission", by
John Williams (1985— )
Correspondents
★
Peter Alexander - National Correspondent
★
Ron Allen - National Correspondent
★
Jane Arraf - Middle East Correspondent
★
Robert Bazell - NBC News Chief Science Correspondent
★
Mika Brzezinski - MSNBC anchor, NBC News Correspondent
★
Tom Brokaw - NBC News Special Correspondent and former NBC Nightly News anchor
★
Richard Engel - NBC News Chief Middle East Correspondent and Beruit Bureau Chief
★
Bob Faw - National Correspondent
★
Martin Fletcher - Middle East Correspondent and Israel Bureau Chief
★
Dawn Fratangelo - National Correspondent
★
David Gregory - Chief White House Correspondent
★
George Lewis - National Correspondent and Los Angeles Bureau Chief
★
Jim Miklaszewski - Chief Pentagon Correspondent
★
Andrea Mitchell - Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent
★
Lisa Myers - Chief Investigative Correspondent
★
Michael Okwu - West Coast/California Correspondent
★
Roger O'Neil - National Correspondent
★
Chip Reid - Chief Capitol Hill Correspondent
★
Tim Russert - Washington Bureau Chief and Anchor of Meet The Press
★
Martin Savidge - New Orleans Bureau Chief
★
Dr. Nancy Snyderman - NBC News Chief Medical Editor
★
Anne Thompson - NBC News Chief Environment Correspondent
★
Pete Williams - Chief Justice Correspondent
★
Lester Holt - Anchor, NBC Nighlty News Weekend Edition and Anchor, "Today" Weekend Edition
Nightly in HD
''NBC Nightly News'' began broadcasting in
1080i high definition on
March 26,
2007. Field footage is still shot in standard definition while the network bureaus complete their own conversion to HD, set to be completed in 2008.
ABC and
CBS have announced no plans to broadcast their evening newscasts in high definition. However, both stations would most likely switch to HD by
2009 because of the termination of
analog television.
Trivia
★
Australia's
Seven Network has been using variations of ''The Mission'' news theme on its
bulletins since the late
1980s, including a club mix version of the theme used from
1999 to
2004. The
Seven Network also called their flagship bulletin Seven Nightly News for several years.
★ From
1983 to
1984, the intro featured an animated globe which spun west-to-east instead of east-to-west. It was an attempt to represent the Earth as it is seen by
space shuttle astronauts in orbit, but many viewers assumed it was a mistake and wrote in. Tom Brokaw noted the concern on the air, and the spin was reversed in 1984.
★ The background shown behind Brian Williams is not the real newsroom or
control room. Instead, it is a sixty-second loop of footage shot at around 1 a.m. one day in
1997 from
MSNBC's feed room. This was done because a real live shot would be much too busy and distract the viewer. This bit of trickery also makes the set appear much larger on TV than it actually is. This setup will be discontinued when the program moves to its new permanent location at the end of
2007.
★ The announcer for the program is long-time
NBC staff announcer
Howard Reig. He retired to Florida in
2005 but a recording he made before his retirement continues to be used. When the show is on the road or a new substitute anchor is employed, Reig records a new introduction in a
Miami studio. Since Holt took over as anchor, the weekend editions has been voiced by a different, unidentified announcer who has also worked occasionally on special weekday editions when Reig was unavailable.
★ The liberal think tank
Center for American Progress criticized ''Nightly News'' for devoting 3 minutes and 13 seconds to
Anna Nicole Smith on the day of her death,
February 8,
2007, as compared to 14 seconds to the
Iraqi War.
[1].
Broadcasts outside US
In Europe, ''NBC Nightly News'' is shown live on
CNBC Europe. NBC News programming is also shown for several hours a day on the 24 hour news network
Orbit News in Europe and the Middle East. In the Philippines, ''NBC Nightly News'' is shown on
ETC 2nd Avenue. In Japan, NBC Nightly News is shown on NTV NEWS 24. It is televised at 7:30 pm
Atlantic time on
VSB-TV in
Bermuda.
Notable Incidents
In September 2001, a letter containing anthrax was addressed to then ''NBC Nightly News'' anchor
Tom Brokaw as part of the
2001 anthrax attacks. Brokaw wasn't harmed, but two NBC News employees were infected.
On
April 18,
2007,
NBC News received a package containing a "
multimedia manifesto" from
Cho Seung-hui, the gunman responsible for the
Virginia Tech massacre that occurred two days earlier, the largest
school shooting and
spree killing in American history. Upon the package's discovery, NBC News handed the package over to federal authorities. The specific details of the package contained a
DVD disc of Cho reading from a typed manifesto (also in the package), as well as more than forty pictures of Cho brandishing weapons, including the two handguns believed to have been used in the massacre. Some of the packages contents were shown, albeit copied from the originals and edited for
profanity, on the April 18th edition of ''NBC Nightly News'', with anchor Brian Williams and NBC senior justice correspondent
Pete Williams (no relation) examining the package's contents in the opening moments of the broadcast.
Credits
;Weekdays
★ 'Anchor & Managing Editor:'
Brian Williams
★ 'Executive Producer:'
Alexandra Wallace
★ 'Senior Broadcast Producer:' Bob Epstein
★ 'Director:' Brett Holey
★ 'Senior Producers:' M.L. Flynn, Tracey Lyons, Albert Oetgen, Richard Latour
★ 'Broadcast Producer:' Ed Deitch
★ 'Anchor Producer:' Subrata De
★ 'Tape Producers:' Anne Binford Allen and Robin Skolnick
★ 'New York Producers:' Donna Bass, Marisa Buchanan, Clare Duffy, Mario Garcia, Julie Holstein; Joo Lee, Bita Nikravesh, Charles Schaeffer, Sam Singal, Kelly Venardos, and Robert Windrem
★ 'News Writers:' Christine Colvin and Barbara Raab
★ 'Editors:' Robert Kaplan, Bob Croce, Jody Henenfeld, Beverly Chase, Maggie Kassner
★ 'Website Producer:' Constance Parten and Robert Merrill
★ 'Music by:'
John Williams
★ 'Graphic Designers:' Joe Incorvaia, Art Director; Collin Pisarra, Designer
;Weekend
★ 'Anchor:'
Lester Holt
★ 'Executive Producer:' Pat Burkey
★ 'Senior Broadcast Producer:' Matt Saal
★ 'Director:' Patricia Lang
★ 'Associate Director:' Roberta Spring
★ 'Producers:' Buba Adschiew, Carol Eggers, Tom Dawson, Lydia Lively (Washington), and Maria Alcon
★ 'Graphic Designers:' William Donovan, Art Director
★ 'Tape Producer:' Lauren Fairbanks
★ 'News Writers:' Barbara Bernhard
★ 'Music by:'
John Williams
See also
★
NBC News
★
ABC World News with Charles Gibson
★
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
External links
★
''NBC Nightly News''
★
''The Daily Nightly'': Official Blog of ''NBC Nightly News''
★
References
1. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-TV-Seigenthaler.html
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