CBS-TV: Going Beyond the Ads

by Sean Balewski
sbalewski@gmail.com


In a week where Sarah Palin and the stock market have consumed network news coverage, it was interesting on Monday’s broadcast on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric when the final story of the night focused on the fallacies in the ads of both Obama and McCain.

Wyatt Andrews went beyond the television ads that both presidential campaigns have launched, and picked apart the specifics of each. It was interesting to see what parts of the claims that each candidate made were true, which ones were partially true, and which ones were just flat out false.


Wyatt Andrews campaign ad Fact Check report

It was the first time that I had seen or heard a report on an evening news broadcast that really honed in on the issues and plans that each candidate has proposed. So often we here about voting records or experience, but rarely do we actually focus on the specifics of a candidates’ proposal. This line of exploration actually can help voters see if a candidate’s plan is indeed feasible, and to what extent it will actually impact and affect our lives.

CBS Evening News with Katie Couric may be the lowest of the big three networks in ratings, but the piece they ran Monday night sure caught my eye. It will be interesting to see if CBS continues to give voters a little broader perspective and view into the cold hard facts of each campaign.