Dateline World Wide Web

For several weeks now, I have been preparing an article for the September 2 issue of The Badger Herald in which I will discuss how the retirements of Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw, coupled with the passing of Peter Jennings, mark an end to network news as we know it. My arguments, which I will share in greater detail when the piece is published, center around a thesis that cable news and the Internet in particular have rendered largely moot much of the three networks’ evening news programs’ original purposes.

As I note fleetingly in the forthcoming article, one of the tragedies of this reality is that Brian Williams (Mr. Brokaw’s successor on NBC) is actually quite a fine newsman. And while I have been confident in this assertion since his initial days on MSNBC, a piece in today’s New York Times adds an interesting element to his persona. Mr. Williams, it would seem, maintains an active blog through NBC.

In an era where reality television garners ratings that oftentimes dwarf the evening news, Mr. Williams may well have struck a real chord. His blog, it would seem, is a veritable behind-the-scenes look at NBC Nightly News. Surprisingly frank and blunt, he details editorial meetings throughout the day, inner-office arguments and criticisms of his own work. The blog makes for a genuinely intriguing read, and I am adding a link to it on The Right Side of the Road’s sidebar.

Is it possible that by tapping into both this reality television obsession of America’s and the vast potential of the Internet, Mr. Williams might be able to save his own broadcast from extinction?

It’s too early to tell. But you sure have to admire the guy for trying.