Recently, Eyewitness News has been running promos on both WEHT Local and Local 7 WTVW inviting viewers to "see the difference" and explaining that the stations put viewers first.
When I first saw the spots, my first reaction was, "This is fluff; it's nice, but is it real?"
It didn't take long to get my answer: Last night, there was indeed a difference ― and it was sufficient to put Eyewitness News head and shoulders above 14 News.
So what happened?
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| Differences in fiscal cliff coverage notable last night |
As the U.S. House of Representatives finally voted on the long-delayed "fiscal cliff" legislation (which happened during the 10 p.m. newscasts), Eyewitness News carried a live report from ABC in Washington. 14 News was a bit behind, with Jackie Monroe reporting that Congress would vote within the hour when, as it turned out, voting was already underway. The station did catch up ― on the vote, at least ― later.
But then Eyewitness News went a step further, carrying President Obama's comments on the results of the vote at 10:20 p.m. 14 News ... didn't.
In this writer's view, when it comes to big news events, being able to follow what's going on is extremely important, and in a situation like what many of us were watching last night, to have the opportunity to get the facts without the cable news spin is always a plus. Eyewitness News provided that type of quality coverage last night, and it's refreshing to see.
14 News has long been the leader (at least from a ratings standpoint), but when leadership mattered, it found itself following last night. If the folks on Mt. Auburn Road don't take a good, close look at the differences in coverage last night and make some changes, they may find themselves in that position a good deal more often.
"THE WAY I SEE IT ..." commentaries express the opinion of JDTVB's editor, Jacob Newkirk.
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