Mervin Block is a broadcast writing coach and the author of Writing Broadcast News and Writing News for TV and Radio. He has worked as a staff writer for the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite and the ABC Evening News with Frank Reynolds and as a freelancer at NBC News. Previously, he was a Chicago newspaper reporter and editor. He has written for Ed Bradley, Tom Brokaw, Walter Cronkite, Douglas Edwards, Dan Rather and Mike Wallace. As an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, he taught broadcast newswriting for more than 30 years. In 2004, the Chicago Press Veterans Association selected him as Press Veteran of the Year. He lives in New York City.

Weighing Anchors

A Veteran TV Newswriter Critiques the Networks’ Top Anchors

By Mervin Block

Marion Street Press

Copyright © 2012 Mervin Block
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-936863-39-6

Contents

Preface,
1. ABC News: How News Causes Blues,
Diane Sawyer: When Words Fail Her,
ABC Anchor Fill-In Impaired by Learning Problem,
ABC’s David Muir: A Man of Learning.,
ABC’s Muir Seems to Think Using Tonight Works Muiracles,
ABC Anchor Tampers with Clock and Calendar,
Scripts That Need an Editor Who Edits,
When Now is Not Now on ABC’s World News,
World News Scripts That Need Work,
2. NBC News: The Tonightly News,
The Overnight Life of Brian,
Brian Williams: Nightly Problems,
Brian Williams: Lack of Copy Editor Causes Problems,
Brian Williams Trips on the Learning Curve,
How Brian Williams Beats the Clock,
Network Newscasts Mess With the Clock Big-Time,
Brian Williams: History-Maker,
Network Newswriting That’s Snoozewriting,
When a Hit Is Amiss,
Network Script Gets a Hard Look — and Crumples,
Network Anchor Makes Time Fly at Warp Speed,
Former NBC Writer Slams Brian Williams’s Scripts,
NBC’s Pete Williams Catches a Mistake: Mine,
3. CBS News: Mistakes Happen — and Happening Now,
Scott Pelley: Wearing Two Hats Can Cause Headaches,
Anchors’, Reporters’ Use of Confirmed Questionable,
60 Minutes Story About Singer Hits False Note,
Alas, Poor Couric,
Couric: When Exclusive News is Not Exclusive — and Not Even News,
Couric: Time Twisting, Time Wasting and Other Problems,
Producer Says My Article About Evening News Had Errors,
How CBS’s First Didn’t Last,
When a Network Script Should Be Scrapped,
How Two Network Newsmen Turned Day into Night,
Hard Look Finds Weak Script Fading to Blah,
60 Keeps on Ticking, But Its Writing Takes a Licking,
4. CNN: Trying to Keep Them Honest,
Autopsy of an Anderson Cooper Script,
Cooper’s ‘Keeping Them Honest’ Raises Questions,
CNN: ‘Keeping Them Honest’,
CNN: Blitzer Cries Wolf,
When Hype Turns to Tripe,
When Breaking News Needs a Brake,
CNN Anchor Fobs Off Old News As New,
CNN: When Bad Things Happen to a Sad Story,
CNN Anchor Likes Astrologer, Astrology and Astrologizing,
CNN: Out in the Open,
5. Two-timing, Incorrect, Unhealthy News,
Wanted: Network News People Who Can Spell,
Network News Often Gives Us a Bad Time,
How Newscasts Fiddle with the Time and Day,
Network Mistakes Leave Big Tips,
Network Scripts That Need Work,
Health News That’s Not Healthful,
Networks Mangle and Strangle Language,
6. Tips, Tests and Quizzes,
The Eyes Have It: a Broadcast Writing Cliché,
Overnight Needs Oversight,
Test Your Newswriting I.Q. Against Networkers’ I.Q.,
Write This Way, Please,
Are You Ready for the Big Time, Say, 60 Minutes?,
60 Minutes Quiz,
For Want of a Nail — and an Editor,
The Unexamined Script is Not Worth Using,
Index,

CHAPTER 1

Diane Sawyer: When Words Fail Her

Diane Sawyer has a problem: her scripts.

As anchor of ABC’s World News, she reads about six minutes’ worth of scripts every weeknight. Let’s review a few:

“Good evening. Something terrifying took the South by surprise last night. No warning, 25 tornadoes striking in less than 24 hours, roaring through four states in the darkness.” (Jan. 23, 2012) No warning? The chief meteorologist for the ABC affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama, blogged that Sawyer was wrong, that the storm had been forecast days in advance.

On the next night, Sawyer didn’t mention her mistake, but the ABC correspondent covering the tornadoes in Alabama said on Sawyer’s newscast, “Their [residents’] trusted forecasters started spreading the word last Thursday, days before the storm.”

Sawyer said of the Occupy Wall Street movement (Oct. 10, 2011), “As of tonight, it has spread to more than 250 American cities, more than a thousand countries….” A thousand? Both the U.N. and the U.S. State Department list fewer than 200 countries.

More Sawyer: “Good evening. There is a kind of collision course in the Gulf of Mexico tonight. Tropical Storm Alex, almost hurricane strength, is barreling toward south Texas.” (June 29) A kind of collision course? What kind of collision course is that? What kind of writing is that? A storm can’t collide with a coast: only moving objects collide.

And grammarians say that when kind of and sort of are used to mean somewhat, they’re unacceptable. Also, there is, there are and it is are all weak ways to start a story or a sentence. There are exceptions, of course. But is and are express no action.

Along with what’s scripted, Sawyer has another problem: the unscripted.

When Hurricane Earl belted the East Coast recently, Sawyer was found slipping on the job. The ABC weatherman, Sam Champion, was saying, “100 miles from the eye are hurricane-force winds….” (Sept. 1) And he spoke of 30-foot waves. Maybe Sawyer wanted to reinforce what he was saying by repeating it — like a kindergarten teacher — or was just poking her oar into his boat. She chimed right in — and got it wrong: “30-foot waves. And again, you said 100 feet [he said 100 miles]from the eye of the storm, you’ll still get hurricane winds?” Champion ignored her fumble and replied discreetly, “100 miles, that’s right, from the eye of that storm.”

Another unfortunate Sawyer presentation:

“And now we want to show you the latest accomplishment from a man whose mind has amazed us time and again. He has Asperger’s syndrome. His brain is simply acrobatic. Our Nick Watt watched him learn an impossible new language [Icelandic] at impossible speed [one week].”

Then the mental marvel Daniel Tammet was shown performing on TV in Iceland, and Sawyer exclaimed: “Unbelievable. How do you say ‘wow’ in Icelandic? And you can see more of Daniel Tammet’s amazing abilities, along with other people capable of things you do not believe is possible [isn’t they?] — tonight on a special 20/20.“ (June 1)

But six days later, TVNewser reported that 20/20 had recycled the footage of Tammet from a 2004 British documentary, Brainman. TVNewser then quoted a statement made that day by ABC’s 20/20: “ABC News should have cited the documentary and made clear when it was recorded. We apologize for the errors.” Errors?

The TVNewser article credited the Australian Broadcasting Corp. with breaking the story. Its Media Watch had quoted the producer of Brainman as saying the 20/20 report was a “gross distortion of facts.”

I know of no one who suggests that Sawyer was aware of the Tammet story’s provenance and of ABC’s “errors.” But Sawyer has broadcast a raft of errors. Even if her faulty scripts were written by someone else, she has read them on the air, thus giving them her imprimatur.

A grammatical misstep: “And we turn next to court hearings today in a story you think you only see in the movies.” (Sept. 27) Only in that sentence is a misplaced modifier. The sentence should read, “you see only in the movies.”

“The final report was in today about that drama that caused the beer summit at the White House.” (June 30) No one causes a summit. And those two thats are too close to each other; change the first that to the.

“Emboldened by a judge’s rebuke of that law yesterday, hundreds of opponents of the crackdown took to the streets today.” (July 29) Rebuke means scold or reprimand. A person or a group can be rebuked, but not a law. Emboldened isn’t a word to start a sentence with. Or maybe even use. Better: “Opponents of the crackdown were energized by a judge’s ruling — and took to the streets today.”

Another wrong word, this time in a story about Iran: “You’ll remember one young woman became the symbol for the revolt when she was shot dead by government forces.” (June 21) The demonstrations by the reformist Green Movement weren’t a revolt. They were street protests.

Sawyer also said, “He pled not guilty to all six counts.” (Aug. 30) The past tense of plead is pleaded, not pled. Stylebooks of The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post plead with staff members, Do not use pled.

“And now,” said Sawyer, “the second part of the World News investigation we first brought you last night about young American teenage girls in Portland, Oregon …” (Sept. 23) Did Sawyer bring us the second part of the investigation last night? That’s what she said. Young … teens? In contrast to old teens? Is that a story worthy of network coverage? If ABC could find a big city that has no child prostitutes, that might be worth a story.

After a correspondent reported on Greece’s use of “Google Earth” to find pools whose owners had not paid taxes on them, Sawyer said, “While the rest of us bite our nails about the world economy.” As we used to say when someone said something irrelevant or incongruous, “What’s that got to do with the price of tea in China?” Besides, we don’t all bite our nails. Anyway, the reference to nail-biting is a corny cliché.

Sawyer has latched onto two words that she must think will hold the attention of viewers: startling and stunning. She even used startling and staggering for the same story. Then, in reporting that story, ABC’s medical editor, Dr. Richard Besser, used alarming (April 26). On another evening, she used stunning twice, both in relation to the same story (July 27). ABC correspondents also toss in those flashy adjectives.

Sawyer began a story this way:

“As we told you last night, the fishing waters of the Gulf are reopening, the surface oil fading. But is there oil in the creatures underneath?” (July 30) If you told us last night, why are you telling us again tonight? And telling us that before telling us what’s new? In the world of broadcast news, yesterday is history.

When George Stephanopoulos sat in for Sawyer, he said, “The war crimes trial of Liberia’s former president, Charles Taylor, has become something of a Star Chamber.” (Aug. 9) Something of a Star Chamber? It’s nothing of a Star Chamber. The Star Chamber was a notorious court in England abolished in 1641. At various times, its proceedings were arbitrary, closed to the public, and it tolerated torture to extract confessions.

Taylor is being tried by the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone. The open trial is being held at The Hague, in the Netherlands; unlike defendants in the Star Chamber, those in the Special Court have the right of appeal. And as far as I know, no one there has been tortured.

On Sawyer’s watch, ABC correspondents have also contributed to the stack of World News’s quirky and faulty scripts. A few more fumbles:

“Yeah, Diane, it is a welcome gesture from B-P, but I have to be honest with you. It dwarfs what B-P owes the people of the Gulf….” (David Muir, June 8) Whenever someone says, “to be honest with you,” I wonder, Haven’t you been honest with me till now?

On World News Saturday, which Muir anchors, a correspondent at the Gulf of Mexico said many local officials had seen no BP cleanup crews — but when President Obama arrived, several hundred cleanup workers showed up. Which led Muir to say, out of the blue, “All right. Keeping them honest, Matt.” (May 29) What does that mean? Keeping whom honest? How? How can you tell they’re honest? Were they previously dishonest?

When Muir sat in for Sawyer on July 2, a correspondent at the Gulf told of economic problems. Muir’s tag: “Feel so badly for those business owners.” ABC News should feel bad that no one caught the grammatical error. Someone who feels badly can be a piano tuner who has lost his touch. Otherwise, people feel bad.

Another Muir contribution: A correspondent said a policeman who acted quickly when a man tried to set off a bomb in Times Square would be honored at a dinner with the mayor of New York City. To which Muir added, “As he should be.” (May 2) What shouldn’t be is a mini-editorial.

Muir scored (or lost) points in ABC’s intramural competition on July 30 when he responded to a question from Sawyer: “Great question, Diane.”

When the ABC correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi was at the Gulf of Mexico, she reported on the skipper of a fishing boat: “Yesterday morning, the father of four walked into the boat’s wheelhouse and shot himself.” (June 24) Neither she nor Sawyer said whether he was slightly wounded or what. In fact, he was shot dead.

In another piece, Alfonsi said, “Chris Smith wrote the cover story on Stewart for this month’s ‘New York’ magazine.” (Sept. 17) Wouldn’t you think someone on the World News staff, based in New York City, would know that the magazine is a weekly?

Another correspondent, Neal Karlinsky, said, “Their fellow neighbors call them heroes …” (Sept. 14) Fellow neighbors? Redundant.

The World News correspondent Pierre Thomas said a rape victim’s story “is going to make you angry.” (Sept. 14) Don’t tell me what’s going to make me angry. I’ll tell you what makes me angry: scripts that predict my reaction — usually incorrectly. I’ll be the decider.

(September 28, 2010)

CHAPTER 2

ABC Anchor Fill-In Impaired by Learning Problem

Some of broadcast news’s biggest names are among the biggest learners: they tell us they’ve learned this or learned that. And though they usually imply they’ve learned something important, whatever they’ve learned is often not new, or not true or not theirs alone.

A severe learning disorder became evident at ABC News on Feb. 6. ABC’s senior White House correspondent, Jake Tapper, was anchoring World News Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET when he introduced a story:

“We’re learning more tonight about an unusual story of survival in Wisconsin. During the [correct: a] blizzard, Joe Latta slipped in waist-high snow at the end of his driveway and then was buried when a snowplow pushed snow on top of him. He was stuck for four hours and feared he would die. But then a neighbor saw his hand.”

Learning more? Tonight? About an accident that happened four and a half days earlier? What was learned that hadn’t been reported elsewhere days earlier? Tapper’s story was ABC News’s first about Latta’s ordeal. So you might be tempted to call the ABC crew slow learners.

An article in Wisconsin’s Janesville Gazette said Latta slipped in the snow about 5 a.m. CT, Wednesday, Feb. 2. The paper said a curious neighbor was looking through binoculars and noticed Latta’s hand. Although Tapper told viewers, “We’re learning more tonight,” he delivered a lot less than the Gazette and The Associated Press did the day after the accident.

After Tapper said a neighbor saw Latta’s hand, he presented nine words from Latta and 33 words from his rescuer. Tapper then said Latta was treated in a hospital. End of ABC’s story.

But Tapper didn’t tell us Latta’s age: 66. Or occupation: autoworker, retired. Or when Latta had the accident — four and half days before Tapper’s newscast. Or even where Latta lives: Janesville.

Diane Sawyer had a curious learning experience:

“Today [Jan. 3], we learned new details about what the Navy calls clearly inappropriate video shown to six-thousand sailors aboard a giant nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.” And she called the skipper “one of the Navy’s most powerful commanders.” The (now former) skipper’s rank is captain. Was he one of the most powerful (whatever that means)? He commanded a carrier. But the Navy has 11 carriers — and a few thousand captains in various posts. And he’s outranked by all admirals, 215 or so.

As for those new details Diane Sawyer promised: the only fact in the ABC package new to me was the captain’s middle initial. In fact, what she called “new details about what the Navy calls clearly inappropriate video” had all been previously reported in one place or another, as had every other element of ABC’s presentation.

The correspondent whom Sawyer introduced, Martha Raddatz, had been credited at abcnews.com with reporting, “The U.S. Navy will temporarily relieve Capt. Owen Honors of his post pending investigation of the series of explicit videos he is said to have produced….” Raddatz’s article was posted at 3:26 p.m. ET. But Sawyer’s evening newscast did not mention that news.

Three hours after ABC’s posting, the NBC anchor Brian Williams said on Nightly News,“Tonight, NBC News has learned what the punishment will be for the captain of an aircraft carrier….” NBC’s Pentagon correspondent went on to say the captain would be “temporarily relieved of his command” — as ABC’s Raddatz had said. That news did deserve reporting at 6:30, but NBC’s script would have been cleaner and leaner without the learning.

Another learner, NBC’s White House correspondent, Savannah Guthrie, was co-host of the Today show’s Sunday edition on Jan. 30, when she said, “We’ve learned that the president spoke to Saudi King Abdullah, and the king told President Obama there should be no bargaining about the stability and security of the Egyptian people.” Well, I, too, did a little learning: the AP moved a story from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at 4:40 a.m. ET that day about the telephone conversation. AP’s lead: “The Saudi press agency says King Abdullah has told President Barack Obama that there should be no bargaining about Egypt’s stability and the security of its people.”

(Continues…)Excerpted from Weighing Anchors by Mervin Block. Copyright © 2012 Mervin Block. Excerpted by permission of Marion Street Press.
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