Precious Minutes

In an arena where time is finite, the producers of the evening news broadcast must know their audience

"I'll take any old keyboard you have..."

Even Peter Jennings, one of television's most recognizable figures after nearly two decades as the senior editor and anchor of ABC's World News Tonight, must deal with computer headaches. On the Thesday after Labor Day, Jennings is having trouble with his keyboard in the middle of the network's New York newsroom, and as a hovering MIS staffer tries to solve the problem, a flurry of activity surrounds him: Producers, reporters and writers work the phones in hushed tones amid the sound of tapping keystrokes.

"I hate those things," says Jennings as he breezily rips a security sticker off a visiting reporter's lapel before returning to his terminal.

Video monitors, which none of the staffers seems to be watching, show CNN and other news feeds, as well as The Price Is Right. An unfamiliar news theme, thick with kettle drums, rolls softly out of a nearby office, accompanied by the voice of an unseen staffer singing a few "ba ba ba bas" of his own. Hearing the sound makes it impossible to forget: This isn't just about the news. It's also entertainment.

"What's the status of the Putin tape?" Jennings calmly inquires of a producer across the room. Within moments, footage of the Russian leader pops up on a nearby monitor.

While ABC's half-hour newscast will include a variety of stories, both foreign and domestic, the presidential sweepstakes are slated to lead the broadcast. What the network covers, not to mention how and why, is inevitably a decision for executive producer Paul Slavin.

Already, in a morning speech to seniors in Allentown, Pa., Republican presidential hopeful George W. Bush has announced his plan for reforming Medicare and lowering the cost of prescription drugs for low-income seniors. Bush's speech represents one of the few opportunities the press has had to dissect the candidates on the issues, and Slavin and his team have decided to cover it aggressively.

"Today is a good example of a news event driving our coverage," Slavin says.

The news item is important for World News Tonight for two reasons: Seniors are a large and very keen group of voters, and, perhaps even more important, they represent a significant portion of the newscast's audience. It's a perfect World News Tonight story: breaking news with potentially significant impact that gives the network a chance to both report and explain. Above all, in a business driven by ratings--where the competition with Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather is monitored like a daily horse race--the producers must know their audience.

"We knew yesterday that Bush was going to make his announcement," Slavin points out. With the advance notice, the staff has had time to lay out a plan that is blueprinted during a 9 a.m. staff meeting and a 9:45 a.m. divisionwide conference call with the network's domestic and international bureaus. Other than the Medicare news, there's not much on the political front. By 3 p.m., senior producer Jonathan Banner says that Bush's announcement will likely be the lead story for the broadcast, barring other major breaking news. Slavin and company have decided to create a three-element package: Correspondent Dean Reynolds will cover the Bush press conference and plan from Pennsylvania; White House correspondent Terry Moran will handle the response from Vice President Al Gore's campaign in Cleveland; and special-assignment correspondent Jackie Judd will file something called For the Record, which will break down the Bush and Gore agendas on the issue.

"We have to tell our audience what the facts are," Slavin says.

Slavin moves seamlessly back and forth from his office to a chair in the newsroom's rim, a large octagonal desk where Banner and fellow senior producers Fiona Conway, Tom Nagorski and Steven Alperin spend much of the day culling through a wide variety of news items. Around the rim, sushi, coffee and Fresca are being consumed as palms caress eye sockets, and Post-It notes, delivered to Banner with phone extensions hastily written on them, flutter down onto his computer and desk like pastel-colored Monarchs.

Slavin, an ABC veteran of 21 years--he started as a desk assistant at ABC Radio, working the overnight shift fresh out of college--held almost a dozen different producing jobs before becoming executive producer five months ago.

In following what will likely be a closely contested race over the next seven weeks, Slavin believes that many of the most interesting stories will involve the small group of undecided voters. "This race seems to be set except for the swings," Slavin says while fielding phone calls in his large, sun-filled office. His news day started at 6 a.m. with his first scan of the front page of The New York Times, and it will end tonight at about 8 p.m., well after Jennings signs off.

While Slavin directs the coverage, Jennings is at the center of the action, clearly involved in helping to shape the broadcast. He says he believes that the candidates are utterly different in ideology, background and positions, and that his organization has a responsibility to demonstrate those differences to the public. "If we can help people understand that, we'll have done our job," says Jennings, taking a quick break in his large office adjoining the newsroom.

As the campaign develops, Jennings says, he hopes to avoid using polls in the program's coverage and to keep viewers conscious of the fact that what they see and hear during the final weeks of the race may be misleading. "What's worth plumbing is the place where the candidates try and establish a connection with the American people," he says. "We'll be watching them do it and calling them on it if they do it dishonestly and disingenuously."

No other major news breaks, so the Medicare report runs as the top story. With an introduction and some shepherding from Jennings, the Reynolds piece on Bush lasts about three minutes. It's followed by Moran's coverage of Gore's rebuttal--including mention of an ad taking Bush to task on health care--which runs about another three minutes. Judd's report, which contrasts the two campaigns and explains the possible impact, takes the newscast to 6:40.

Over the course of 10 minutes--an eternity in network time--World News Tonight has presented a highly complicated news story and aired it to millions of viewers. To make those 10 minutes accurate and compelling, various reporters, producers, writers and technicians have invested the entire day. The editorial judgments that the ABC journalists have made will help shape the way the candidates are viewed across the nation.

"It's a challenge, because there are so many balls up in the air," Slavin says. "If I was sitting in a quiet room for three hours, it wouldn't have been that hard. What makes it difficult is taking the time to concentrate enough to achieve some clarity."

Jim Cooper is Mediaweek's news editor. He's based in New York.

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