Network Anchor Blogs?



Reuters reports today that the network suits are mulling the idea of pimping out their anchor talent ("journalistic sweet ass") in the blogosphere. Whatever happened to iconic stature? Has blogging jumped the shark? Even Fox overlord Roger Ailes is praising the genre. (The Corsair sniffs haughtily) According to Reuters:

"NBC could create Internet blogs for its top news anchors and celebrity interviewers as it seeks to maintain the appeal of U.S. network news, its top executive said on Tuesday.

"NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker said entering the generally opinionated world of blogs might be one way television networks could keep their grip on viewers who increasingly use the Internet for news.

"'Over the next two years, network news is going to go through a lot more changes,' Zucker said at a Yahoo conference on high-speed Internet use. 'This is one of the biggest issues facing traditional network news divisions.'"

Or could it be the staleness of Today, which, as Drudiepoo today reports, is losing ground to Good Morning America (The Corsair covers his ears in anticipation of all caps): "FLASH: MORNING NEWS RACE (WEEK OF 4/11/05) NBC TODAY 5,690,000, ABC GMA 5,420,000."

"'I don't know why Brian Williams isn't blogging right now,' Zucker said of the anchor of NBC's top-rated evening news program who took the helm after veteran journalist Tom Brokaw stepped down in December. 'We should be looking for a more interactive component ... and be experimenting more.' "

The milkfed Brian Williams has already made his opinions on bloggers clear, on which we wrote at the time:

"Bland, boring, antiseptic white bread anchor-elect Brian Williams, that helmet haired Washingtonian sissy, had some choice words -- dare I prithee to say (air quotes) "zingers" -- for bloggers, words that stung like a bitchslap delivered with ... particular brio (The Corsair rubs his cheek, ruefully) and more than a touch of dash. According to CBS MarketWatch:'Williams, 45, is capable of showing good humor and a dry wit in public. When Time magazine held a lunch to discuss the candidates for its Person of the Year issue, he exposed a side of his personality that is seldom seen on the air.

"'When a fellow panelist mentioned that bloggers had a big impact on the reporting on Election Day, Williams waved that point away by quipping that the self-styled journalists are 'on an equal footing with someone in a bathroom with a modem.'"

A touch. I do confess it. I fear I breathe my last. Reuters continues:

"Zucker said he was considering a blog for Williams and could envision a similar blog for Katie Couric, the co-host of NBC's 'Today' show. He noted that the morning program hadn't changed its format much in more than a decade. NBC is owned by General Electric Co."

A perky Katie Courc blog. (Averted Gaze) God help us. (PS: The Corsair would not be averse to a bitter Matt Lauer wedding's-in-shambles blog -- 3rd item)