Journalism

In an election year when voting has never been more important — or more complex — E.W. Scripps has rolled out voter resource pages across its 42 markets aggregating local deadlines, rules and instructions, along with drawing from a well of Scripps and Newsy election coverage. Above, a Scripps voter resource page from Cincinnati, similar to ones found in each of the group’s 42 markets.

New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include openings for a director of sales, an assistant news director and a neteorologist for a leading news operation in Laredo, Texas.

Lesley Stahl told President Trump up front: “You know, this is 60 Minutes. And we can’t put on things we can’t verify.” On Sunday night, the show remained true to its word. The venerable CBS newsmagazine aired significant portions of the interview it conducted with President Trump earlier this week, even though the White House broke an agreement that a tape it made of the proceedings would only be used for archival material.

Jay Wallace, president of Fox News Media and several of the network’s top anchors — Bret Baier, Martha MacCallum, Dana Perino and Juan Williams — have been advised to quarantine after being exposed to someone on a private flight who later tested positive for the coronavirus, two people with direct knowledge of the situation said on Sunday.

Under AT&T, CNN chief Jeff Zucker felt blindsided by a recent overhaul of WarnerMedia that slimmed down his role. The 55-year-old’s contract expires next year and he hasn’t committed to extending his deal in meetings with WarnerMedia brass and communications with CNN employees, people familiar with the situation say.

The second presidential debate Thursday will finish well below the first in terms of viewership. Fox News drew 14.7 million viewers, ABC was second with 10.7 million. NBC finished in a close third place with 10.2 million viewers and CNN was fourth with 7.2 million. MSNBC was fifth with 6.7 million and CBS was sixth with 5.5 million.

Content with a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest has driven a 23% increase in national and local TV news consumption in September versus the same month a year ago, says Nielsen — down from the near 50% increase in the second quarter. Weekly time spent watching TV news content rose to 7 hours/5 minutes in September 2020 versus 5 hours/46 minutes in September 2019.

ABC News will elevate Derek Medina to executive vice president, giving him oversight of many of the Walt Disney unit’s business operations and freeing president James Goldston to devote some of his time to broader strategies.

While the time consumers spend watching TV news has been rising since the fall of last year, it peaked at just under nine-and-a-half hours each week in April of this year — the height of the stay-at-home period in the U.S. Fast-forward to September, American adults are still engaged with news, watching an average of 7 hours and 5 minutes of TV news per week, which is up 23% from the same period last year.

The ABC Owned Television Stations explore the Black experience in an unprecedented collaboration that unleashes the power of collaboration to break new ground in local TV news.

Having to muzzle the president to salvage a debate is nothing to brag about. But at least it worked.

The NBC News White House correspondent worked hard Thursday to keep control of the second and final encounter between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, steering but not stifling exchanges. Midway through the debate, she even received a compliment from the Republican president, who said, “So far, I respect very much the way you handled this.”

A good working relationship between the media and the FAA should serve both parties well as specifications are developed. There’s no question that both groups are committed to and concerned for aviation safety. “Given the news media’s support of the overall adoption of a remote ID regime, it is highly likely that the parties will be able to come to accommodations in the final rules,” says attorney M. Anne Swanson.

Outnumbered co-host Melissa Francis, who recently filed a pay discrimination complaint against Fox News, is off the air and her status is in doubt.

Lesley Stahl’s interview with President Donald Trump will air Sunday on 60 Minutes, despite the White House’s decision to air unedited footage of it on Facebook, CBS News said Thursday.

The footage, posted by the president on Facebook ahead of its scheduled Sunday broadcast, shows Trump growing increasingly prickly as CBS anchor Lesley Stahl presses him on a host of topics, including his response to the coronavirus pandemic, his slipping support among suburban women, the lack of masks at his rallies, and the “Obamacare” replacement plan he has long promised but failed to unveil.