What do you think about new ABC anchors Woodruff & Vargas?

[serryjw]

Yes, I know that network news is worthless. I was more referring to the TEAM approach vs one anchor. Do you think it will worK

[davidinalameda]

1. it hasn't in the past

and I'm sure that it won't work now

[chookie]

2. IMHO, they just don't cut it

Peter Jennings may not have been Edward R Murrow (I know a lot of people at DU diss him for not taking a stand against the war), but he was a polished professional who brought a lot to each broadcast. He actually used to be a journalist, covering majors stories, and it showed. Through the years he worked hard to try to educate the American people about the world -- he was very knowledgeable.

Vargas and Woodruff leave me cold. They simply do not have the personal charisma and heft to fill Jenning's shoes. I became a Bob Woodward fan during Katrina because of the compassion he showed, but even so, I really don 't think he adequately replaces Mr Jennings. Vargas strikes me as a lightweight who has never had a heavy beat, which is such a necessary background for an anchor.

Bob Schieffer -- I've become a fan. A lot of people on DU thought he might be too close to the administration to be unbiased, but I think he has done a great job. He sounds the right note on the important stories -- like just yesterday he insisted on reciting the names of the miners dead in WV. He did not stay "objective" during Katrina -- he made blistering commentary. I hope CBS is not planning to replace him, because I think he is a marvelous anchor, and is my fave. I love it when he and Lara Logan do stories together -- CBS sizzles.... I hope he lives to be 100.

[kstewart33]

6. Too little experience, too light a resume

I agree with you. Schieffer is far better because he has the background and experience needed as the network's spokesman for the news. Brian Williams' experience is much less but far more than Vargas and Woodruff.

When Vargas first became noticed at ABC, I remember reading an article or two about her being a 'party girl' of sorts on the NY scene. If true, that's not what I'd look for in a network anchor.

[pop goes the weasel]

3. a return to form

When I was a kid, I loved ABC's Howard K. Smith and Harry Reasoner. It was easier for me to pay attention to the two anchors than the one on the other networks. Maybe that makes me the only person who didn't care for Walter Conkrite, but I'm thinking that what appealed to me when I was 8 might be an approach that appeals to an America that seems to have the attention span of an 8 year old now.

[tularetom]

4. No - they belong on Access Hollywood

or Entertainment Tonight or another one of them silly ass shows. True lightweights.

[Berry Cool]

5. Schieffer recited the names of the dead miners?

Good for him. Olbermann did that too. I think it shows pure class on both their parts, to remind people that human individuals died, and their loss is a hole in the worlds in which they lived.