Other shorts: And good ones for Sawyer's debut: 8.9M
By Louisa Ada Seltzer Dec 23, 2009
Strong numbers for Gibson's goodbye: 8.96 million
ABC has been decidedly low key about the transition it has going on in the evening news the past week, wary of the hoopla that turned Katie Couric's coronation into a semi-disaster three years ago. Nonetheless, the departure of anchor Charles Gibson delivered the best Friday numbers for ABC’s “World News” in almost two years. Gibson’s final telecast on Dec. 18 averaged 8.96 million total viewers, up 11 percent from the 8.04 million “World News” is averaging this season and its best Friday since February 2008. The newscast also finished No. 1 for the night, outdrawing NBC’s “Nightly News,” the usual No. 1, by 250,000. While Gibson’s farewell after three years provided ABC with a decent boost, it was a far cry for the turnout another recently departed anchor, Tom Brokaw, drew for his final “Nightly News” in 2004. Brokaw, who anchored the show for 21 years, averaged 15.36 million total viewers on his final night, a 42 percent increase over the 10.8 million viewers he averaged during his full final week.
And good ones for Sawyer's debut: 8.9 million
As for the woman who took over for Gibson on Monday, Diane Sawyer, she, too, saw decent opening-day numbers, though nothing like what Couric attracted in her first broadcast. Sawyer averaged 8.9 million total viewers Monday, according to preliminary data from Nielsen that's subject to revision when final numbers come out next week. These numbers measure data from ABC stations in the 6:30 to 7 p.m. timeslot, but "World News" does not air in that slot in every market. Still, "World News" was up 500,000 from the show's usual Monday number and averaged 3 million more than third-place Couric, who drew 13.6 million for her debut in September 2006. Sawyer's no-frills telecast, which included an interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, got decent reviews from critics. Wrote the New York Times' Alessandra Stanley, "Behind a twinkly warmth, honed in countless 'Good Morning America' appearances with pets, babies and diet experts, Ms. Sawyer appears to have the same high-octane drive and ambition as Brian Williams and Katie Couric." Wrote USA Today's Robert Bianco, "Shown mostly in tight close-up, Sawyer made a strong, if over-animated, debut. (There was more head-bobbing and grimacing than was necessary.)"
Pew: Americans happy to leave 2000s behind
Goodbye and good riddance: Americans are ready to move on to a new decade after a rather rocky start to the 2000s that was defined by 9/11, and later the war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and the financial meltdown. They have higher hopes for the decade that begins in a matter of days, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, released Monday. Fifty percent of respondents said they have a negative view of the 2000s, nearly double the 27 percent who have mostly positive feelings. By contrast, when asked about the prior four decades, respondents had mostly positive feelings. The aforementioned issues were all cited as the most important event of the decade, with 9/11 receiving 53 percent of the vote. But Americans have a generally sunny view of the coming decade, with 59 percent saying they think the 2010s will be better than the 2000s. Among the other insights gleaned by Pew: most people say cell phones brought a change for the better to people's lives, as did green products, the internet, increasing racial diversity and online shopping. By contrast, nearly two-thirds said reality shows marked a change for the worse, while blogs made little difference either way.
Bummer year for local TV: Down 22.4 percent
Against an election year, 2008, this year wasn't going to look that good anyhow for local TV stations, but now it appears it's going to end up worse than anyone expected, with revenues now expected to tumble by 22.4 percent, coming in at $15.6 billion, or that's the latest word from BIA/Kelsey, a consultancy specializing in local media. Blame for the decline goes in large part to the recession, which has been particularly tough on local advertising. But another factor is audience erosion in the face of competition from the likes of local internet and cable. The sort-of good news is that 2010 and the years ahead will see a rise in spending, though without ever returning to levels seen earlier this decade, when revenue ran upward of $20 billion each year. BIA expects 2010 revenues to reach $16.1 billion and by 2013 they should reach $16.4 billion. Driving some of that growth will be online advertising, which BIA expects to grow quickly, from $518 million this year to $130 million in 2010 and by 2013 reaching $1.1 billion. That's an optimistic outlook. While local online has seen huge growth in recent years, the pace has slowed, and at the same time the competition for web ad dollars has grown fierce.
Facebook: This year, people were talking about us
We know that millions of people log onto Facebook every day, but just what are they talking about on the social networking site? It turns out they’re talking about Facebook. The Facebook data team tracked the top trending words and phrases throughout the year that appeared in users’ Facebook status updates, or the blurb on a user’s homepage that lets people know how they’re feeling or what they’re thinking. The top status trend of 2009? Facebook applications, most notably Farmville and Farm Town. But it wasn't all fun and virtual games this year. Facebook's top-trending status updates also included evidence that people were none too happy with their circumstances. No. 2 behind "Facebook apps" was “FML,” vaguely translated as “F My Life,” which appeared most in the months in which students had exams. No. 3 on the list was swine flu, followed by celebrity deaths and family. Other entries in the top 15 reflect the things people were discussing in pop culture during 2009: No. 8 was health care, no doubt related to the push for healthcare reform; No. 10 was Twitter, the micro-blogging web site whose popularity skyrocketed this year; and No. 12 was Lady Gaga, the singer with the outrageous outfits like a Kermit cape.
Louisa Ada Seltzer is a staff writer for Media Life.
