PBS anchor chides big 3 networks as shirking convention duty

CAMBRIDGE -- Speaking before a crowd of Democrats, dignitaries, and journalists at Harvard University yesterday, PBS "NewsHour" anchor Jim Lehrer rebuked the big three anchors for their networks' decision to air only three hours of prime-time coverage at each national convention this summer.

"I think that starting tomorrow, we're going to have four of the eight most important days we can have as a nation," said Lehrer, criticizing CBS's Dan Rather, ABC's Peter Jennings, and NBC's Tom Brokaw for not getting more air time. "I'm sorry. You guys are a hell of a lot more important than your bosses are willing to admit."

Lehrer's remarks, which prompted audience applause, occurred during a seminar hosted by Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy that featured Brokaw, Rather, Jennings, Lehrer, and CNN "Inside Politics" anchor Judy Woodruff.

The limited prime-time coverage offered by the broadcast networks has been criticized in many quarters and last week, the Shorenstein Center issued a report citing cutbacks in convention broadcasts as a factor contributing to a shrinking viewing audience. At yesterday's forum, Rather said he had no influence over CBS's decision on how much of the convention to air and his two colleagues criticized the gatherings for being too pre-programmed to generate news.

The parties "have to think about how to reconstruct the conventions," said Brokaw. "They've been drained of all their vitality." Jennings noted that "under the current circumstances, there isn't great reason for us to show up," for more than an hour or two a night. That prompted a rebuttal from Lehrer, whose public broadcasting program will air three hours of prime-time coverage each convention night.

"We're not in the business of telling the parties how to run the conventions," he said. "We're in the news business."

Addressing the challenges of covering politics in a politically polarized environment, the anchors acknowledged the impact of criticism and pressure, often from conservatives, that pours into their networks at unprecedented levels. In a January 2004 Pew Research Center survey that seemed to reflect conservative concerns about network coverage, only 24 percent of Republicans said they relied on ABC, CBS, or NBC as a main source of campaign news, compared with 40 percent of Democrats.

Rather stated that "fear has increased in every newsroom in America," and added that reporting on explosive issues can bring a torrent of e-mails and phone calls. That can lead to a situation, he said, in which journalists conclude that "when you run this story, you're asking for trouble with a capital 'T'. . . Why run it?"

Brokaw, referring to the president of the conservative watchdog organization, the Media Research Center, said conservatives "feel they have to go to war against the networks every day." Jennings added, "I hear more about conservative concerns than I have in the past. . . This wave of resentment rushes at our advertisers, rushes at our corporate suites. . . I feel the presence of anger all the time."

Although Jennings defended ABC's coverage of the period leading up to the war in Iraq, several of yesterday's speakers agreed that their news outlets had not been aggressive enough in examining the Bush administration's rationale for the conflict.