NBC Nightly News
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NBC Nightly News | |
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Also known as |
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Genre | |
Narrated by | Bill Hanrahan Howard Reig Michael Douglas Bill Wolff |
Theme music composer | Fred Weinberg Productions (1977) Henry Mancini (1977–1982) Joseph Paul Sicurella, Tony Smythe & Bob Christianson (1982–1985) John Williams (1985–present) |
Opening theme | "The Mission" (1985–present) (for past themes, see section) |
Ending theme | Same as opening |
Composer | John Williams |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 50 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Meghan Rafferty |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company | NBC News Productions |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | August 3, 1970 present | –
Related | |
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NBC Nightly News (titled as NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt for its weeknight broadcasts since June 22, 2015) is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NBC television network in the United States. First aired on August 3, 1970, the program is currently the second most watched network newscast in the United States, behind ABC's World News Tonight.[1][2] NBC Nightly News is produced from Studio 1A at NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City. Select Los Angeles–based editions broadcast from The Brokaw News Center in Universal City, California, or when broadcasting from Washington, D.C., either from the NBC News bureau based at WRC-TV in the Tenleytown neighborhood, or NBC's secondary studio overlooking Capitol Hill.
Since 2015, the broadcast has been anchored by
The program is broadcast live over most NBC stations from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time seven days a week; the "Western Edition" of the program occasionally features breaking news and/or updated information on news stories covered during the original telecast for Pacific Time Zone viewers, and some stations in that time zone carry it live at 3:30 p.m. PT to lead into their late afternoon local news blocks. Its current theme music, "The Mission" (which debuted in 1985) was composed by John Williams.
History
John Chancellor and David Brinkley (1970–1982)
NBC Nightly News replaced
In addition to Brinkley as a holdover from the Huntley-Brinkley Report, McGee had earned praise for his anchoring or co-anchoring of space flights, and Chancellor had also earned praise as McGee's co-anchor for the space missions of Apollo 12 and Apollo 13.
With network executives perceiving the instability of this arrangement as a factor in Nightly News losing
On June 7, 1976, NBC brought Brinkley back to the anchor desk and tried the dual-anchor approach once again. Initially, Chancellor and Brinkley both reported from New York City, however Brinkley would later return to Washington. Chancellor again became sole anchor of Nightly News on October 10, 1979, with Brinkley once again providing commentaries until he left NBC for
Despite the various changes, Chancellor was never able to break the grip that Walter Cronkite and the CBS Evening News had on the American news viewer, although Nightly News was sometimes a strong second place in the evening news ratings for most of the 1970s. After stepping down from the anchor desk on April 2, 1982, Chancellor remained on the program as an editorial commentator until his retirement in 1993.
Tom Brokaw (1982–2004)
On April 5, 1982,
On September 11, 2001, Brokaw joined Katie Couric and Matt Lauer around 9:30 a.m., following the live attack on the South Tower of the World Trade Center, and continued to anchor all day, until after midnight. Following the collapse of the second tower, Brokaw said:
This is war. This is a declaration and an execution of an attack on the United States.[5][6]
On May 28, 2002, Brokaw announced his retirement as anchor of Nightly News, to take effect shortly after the
Brian Williams (2004–2015)
Brian Williams, a frequent substitute for Brokaw for NBC Nightly News, succeeded him as the program's permanent anchor on December 2, 2004. The program held onto the #1 ratings spot among the network evening newscasts from Williams' first day, averaging about 10 million viewers each week until February 2007, when it slipped behind its closest competitor World News with Charles Gibson. However, NBC Nightly News regained the lead a few months later; it has now been America's most-watched evening newscast for over a decade.
Williams rose to new levels of popularity for his live
During Williams' tenure as main anchor of the program,
NBC Nightly News began broadcasting in high definition on March 26, 2007, becoming the first of the three network evening news programs to make the transition (the CBS Evening News began broadcasting in HD on January 7, 2008; ABC World News Tonight began broadcasting in HD on August 25, 2008, during its coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention). Most news video from on-remote locations continued to be shot in standard definition at the time, while the network's news bureaus underwent a conversion to HD, which was completed in 2009.
The Nightly News set in
Embellishment scandal/suspension and replacement
On February 4, 2015, Williams apologized on the program for having
Amid that controversy and questions over Williams' claims that made regarding his experiences while reporting from New Orleans on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, including that he contracted dysentery from accidentally ingesting flood water, the news division decided to launch an internal investigation into the matter that would be conducted through its investigative unit. On February 7, 2015, Williams stated in a memo to NBC News staff that he would take himself "off the daily broadcast for the next several days," with Lester Holt substituting for him on the weeknight broadcasts.[11][12][13]
On February 10, 2015, Williams was suspended without pay for six months due to the scandal which arose after he came under fire for fabricating a story about his reporting on the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina. Williams claimed to have been reporting in Iraq in 2002 when the helicopter he was traveling on was hit by an RPG and he was forced to land. He had told the story several times, including his appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and on Nightly News itself only a few nights before several war veterans who had been with Williams in 2002 claimed that Williams had not been present at the time of the crash, but showed up about an hour later to report on it. Williams issued an apology, saying he had "misremembered" the story in his head and it had been a genuine accident, but many critics accused Williams of fabricating the story and called for his resignation. Williams later announced that he would be taking some time off because he had become "too much a part of the news."[14][15] NBC announced that weekend anchor Lester Holt would anchor the program in the interim.[16]
Lester Holt (2015–present)
On June 18, 2015,
Holt previously served as interim anchor of the weeknight broadcasts from August 6, 2013, to September 2, 2013, when Williams went on medical leave from NBC News in order to undergo knee replacement surgery.[18][19] With his promotion to main anchor, Holt is the first African-American solo weeknight anchor of a major network newscast.[20] Max Robinson was co-anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1978 to 1983, and Gwen Ifill was a co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour from 2013 to 2016.[21]
On June 27, 2016, NBC Nightly News switched to a full 16:9 letterbox presentation, with the existing graphics package being re-positioned for the 16:9 format. On October 10, 2016, the newscast debuted an entirely new on-air look with graphics originally optimized for the full 16:9 presentation, including a new program logo replacing variations of the previous one that had been used since November 8, 1999.[citation needed]
On July 14, 2017, NBC Nightly News permanently moved back from Studio 3B to Studio 3C.
In 2018, NBC Nightly News launched an ongoing series of specials, NBC Nightly Films.
On August 11, 2021, it was announced that executive producer Jennifer Suozzo would be departing the program and Meghan Rafferty would be interim executive producer on August 16, 2021.[22]
On September 13, 2021, NBC Nightly News permanently moved from Studio 3C to Studio 1A, also the home of Today.[23]
On June 19, 2023, NBC Nightly News underwent its first large-scale rebrand since the Brian Williams era as part of a wider rebranding of NBC as a whole; it was unveiled by NBC during an event honoring of 75 years of televised newscasts on NBC. The rebrand includes a new on-air graphics scheme intended to create fewer distractions from the content of stories, as well as a new a new stylized “N” emblem (reminiscent of the network's 1979–86 "Proud N" logo) that can be split apart to display headlines, and is better-suited for digital platforms.[24][25]
Weekend editions
NBC first offered a Saturday evening newscast in 1961, with Sander Vanocur anchoring the NBC Saturday Night Report. Four years later, NBC correspondents Ray Scherer and Robert MacNeil were partnered at the anchor desk on The Scherer-MacNeil Report on Saturdays, continuing until 1967. At that time, the network replaced it with a second weekend airing of The Frank McGee Report, which had been airing on Sundays for several years by that point.[27] The Saturday edition of the Report ran for about a year and a half.
On January 4, 1969, the Huntley-Brinkley Report was expanded to Saturday evenings, with the main anchors working solo on alternating weeks. When lower-than-expected ratings occurred, the network pulled the pair off Saturdays and assigned others such as McGee and Vanocur to anchor the broadcast. On August 2, 1970, two days after the weekday Huntley-Brinkley broadcast ended, the network expanded its evening newscast to Sundays, which also replaced the Sunday broadcast of The Frank McGee Report. For the first year after the Sunday broadcast began, Chancellor, Brinkley and McGee rotated on the program as they did on weeknights; there were no separate weekend anchors. The Saturday and Sunday broadcasts were respectively titled NBC Saturday Night News and NBC Sunday Night News until sometime in the 1970s, when they adopted the NBC Nightly News name.
When Chancellor became sole anchor of the weeknight editions in August 1971, separate anchors were named for the weekend editions.
The weekend editions may occasionally be abbreviated or preempted due to NBC Sports telecasts that overrun into the program's time slot. During the NFL season, the Sunday editions air live in every time zone at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, immediately prior to Football Night in America and Sunday Night Football.
Kids edition
In April 2020, NBC News began producing a version of NBC Nightly News targeted at children ages 6 to 16, featuring stories aimed at children. This edition is hosted by Lester Holt and new episodes premiere every Thursday on NBC News' YouTube channel.[28] Beginning on October 31, 2020, occasional editions of NBC Nightly News: Kids Edition have aired on Saturdays on NBC.[29]
Nightly News anchors
Weekdays
The following are people who have been the principal
- John Cameron Swayze – February 16, 1948 – October 26, 1956 (Camel News Caravan)
- Huntley-Brinkley Report)[a]
- John Chancellor, Frank McGee and Brinkley – August 3, 1970 – August 13, 1971[b]
- Chancellor – August 16, 1971 – June 4, 1976
- Chancellor and Brinkley – June 7, 1976 – October 9, 1979
- Chancellor – October 10, 1979 – April 2, 1982
- Tom Brokaw and Roger Mudd – April 5, 1982 – September 2, 1983
- Brokaw – September 5, 1983 – December 1, 2004
- Brian Williams – December 2, 2004 – February 6, 2015
- Lester Holt – February 9, 2015 – present (interim until June 22, 2015)
Weekends
Weekend anchors have included the following:
- Garrick Utley (weekends, 1971–1973 and 1990–1993, Sundays, 1987–1990)
- Tom Brokaw (Saturdays, 1973–1976)
- Floyd Kalber (Sundays, 1973–1975)
- Tom Snyder (Sundays, 1975–1976)
- Cassie Mackin (Sundays, 1976–1977)
- John Hart (Saturdays, 1976–1977, Sundays, 1977–1982)
- Jessica Savitch (Saturdays, some Sundays, 1977–1983)
- Jane Pauley (Sundays, some Saturdays, 1980–1982)
- Connie Chung (Saturdays, 1983–1989)
- Chris Wallace (Sundays, 1982–1984, 1986–1987)
- John Palmer (Sundays, 1984–1986, 1996)
- Maria Shriver (Saturdays, 1989, Sundays, 1990)
- Brian Williams (Saturdays, some Sundays, 1993–1999)
- Ann Curry, Deborah Roberts, Elizabeth Vargas (Sundays, 1993–1995)
- Giselle Fernández (Sundays, 1995–1996)
- Bob Kur, Chris Hansen, Chris Jansing, Chuck Scarborough, Jack Ford, Jodi Applegate, Len Cannon, Maurice DuBois, Ann Curry, Dawn Fratangelo, Kelly O'Donnell, Faith Daniels, Jane Pauley, Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, Sara James, Fredricka Whitfield, Soledad O'Brien (Sundays, 1996–1999)
- John Seigenthaler (Sundays, 1996–1999, weekends, 1999–2007)
- Lester Holt (weekends, 2007–2015)
- Kate Snow (Saturdays, fill-in anchor, June 20, 2020—February 25, 2024, Sundays, October 4, 2015—February 25, 2024)[30]
- José Díaz-Balart (Saturdays, August 2016—present, Sundays, fill-in anchor, 2016—present)
- Various NBC News correspondents (Sundays, March 3, 2024—March 31, 2024)
- Peter Alexander (March 3 and March 10, 2024)
- Gadi Schwartz (March 17, and March 31, 2024)
- Laura Jarrett (March 24, 2024)
- Hallie Jackson (Saturdays, fill-in anchor, April 6, 2024—present, Sundays, April 7, 2024—present)
Announcer
Theme music/Intros
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2014) |
- "Huntley-Brinkley Report/NBC Nightly News Ticker" (August 3, 1970 – November 10, 1972; the theme had been used since 1962, when the program was still The Huntley-Brinkley Report)
- "NBC News Ticker" (November 13, 1972 – April 22, 1977)
- "NBC TV-Radio Newspulse" by Fred Weinberg Productions (April 25, 1977 – September 5, 1977)
- "NBC Nightly News" by Henry Mancini (September 6, 1977 – June 29, 1979)
- "NBC News" by Joseph Paul Sicurella, Tony Smythe, and Bob Christianson (1979–1985)
- Original version (July 2, 1979 - April 2, 1982)
- Electronic version (April 5, 1982 – September 6, 1985)
- "The Mission" by John Williams (September 9, 1985 – Present)
From late 2007 through 2012, the intro commenced with a timeline showing the different NBC News anchors and logos whilst the show's theme song plays followed by showing the NBC News' filming station in New York (It does not appear when telecasts are filmed in other areas like Washington).
From 2012 through 2016, the intro was different pictures of the earth which formed into the NBC News' filming station in New York.
Notable incidents
In September 2001, a letter containing anthrax was addressed to then NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw as part of the 2001 anthrax attacks. Brokaw was not harmed, but two NBC News employees were infected.
On April 18, 2007, NBC News received a package containing a "
On November 29, 2011, a
What timing... Fire alarm here at 30 Rock goes off at the exact same time we go on air. All is fine in the building & the show goes on. #NN [34]
International broadcast
Ongoing
Canada
NBC's Seattle, Spokane, Detroit, Buffalo, Minneapolis, Boston, Plattsburgh and Bangor affiliates are separately available through most Canadian cable companies. Because of their markets proximity to the Canadian border, NBC affiliates WDIV, WGRZ, and WPBN (through WGTQ's HD2 channel) air live broadcasts of NBC Nightly News without cable.
Caribbean
The Antillean, Cayman, and some of the Leeward islands air live episodes of NBC Nightly News through Miami-based NBC affiliate WTVJ, which is carried by cable provider FLOW TV as part of their lineup.
Europe/MENA
NBC Nightly News is broadcast live on
In Great Britain in 2022 and 2023, NBC News Now was available on Sky and Virgin Media as a linear channel, resulting in NBC Nightly News's broadcasts on the channel being seen in the UK, both as a live broadcast and as a replay.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, the program is broadcast live (or delayed) on TVB Pearl daily at 7:30 AM Hong Kong Time (corresponding to 18:30, or 6:30 PM, in the Eastern Time Zone of the U.S.).
Philippines
In the Philippines, NBC Nightly News returned on Philippine cable and satellite TV starting January 1, 2021, broadcast live daily at 7:30 AM (or 6:30 AM during daylight saving time in the US) on TAP Edge. Starting October 26, 2021, broadcasts of the program were moved to sister channel TAP TV (However, the program will be pre-empted on the other days to give way for the live coverage of ISU Figure Skating Championships events).
US Armed Forces
NBC Nightly News is broadcast on AFN|news, a channel that is available to several American military bases and ships around the world through the American Forces Network.
Discontinued
Philippines
In the
Bermuda
The East Coast feed of the program was broadcast in Bermuda on local NBC affiliate VSB-TV in the British Overseas Territory; the station ceased broadcasting on August 31, 2014. Access to the programme in the Bahamas remains through cable feeds of WNBC/New York or WTVJ/Miami.
Video-on-demand
NBC Nightly News is also available worldwide as an audio podcast,[36] and can be streamed on demand from the NBC News website[37] the night of its original broadcast after 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Beginning with the March 27, 2018, broadcast, Nightly News broadcasts have also started appearing on NBC News's YouTube channel. On January 25, 2015, NBC began indicating that the video podcast of the program would be discontinued[38] and refers users to the news division's website or mobile apps to view editions of Nightly News on mobile devices, although such apps are not compatible with devices that feature podcast support such as early generation Apple TV or Roku devices (current-gen devices offer access to an NBC News app with newscast replays). The video podcast was discontinued on February 14, 2015.
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Bill Carter (April 1, 2010). "Olympics Help NBC's News Shows to Ratings Win". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
- TVNewser. Archived from the originalon August 22, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- ^ "José Díaz-Balart Named Anchor of Saturday NBC Nightly News" (Press release). NBC News. July 13, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ Koblin, John; Rutenberg, Jim (May 30, 2017). "Scott Pelley Said to Be Leaving Post as 'CBS Evening News' Anchor". The New York Times.
- ^ Owen, Rob (September 12, 2001). "Tuned In: This was reality TV at its most horrific". Post-Gazette.com. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
- ^ "NBC World Trade Center Part 12". November 21, 2007. Retrieved November 27, 2011 – via Youtube.com.
- ^ Paul Farhi (February 4, 2015). "Brian Williams admits that his story of coming under fire while in Iraq was false". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
- New York Daily News. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
- ^ Emily Steel (February 6, 2015). "Brian Williams Faces 'Fact-Checking' Inquiry at NBC". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
- ^ Hal Boedeker (February 6, 2015). "Should Brian Williams be fired?". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
- The Times-Picayune. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
- ^ Emily Steel (February 6, 2015). "Brian Williams Faces 'Fact-Checking' Inquiry at NBC". The New York Times. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ^ Stephen Battaglio (February 8, 2015). "Brian Williams takes leave of absence from NBC News over Iraq war story". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Carr, David (February 9, 2015). "Brian Williams, Retreading Memories From a Perch Too Public". The New York Times.
- ^ "Will Brian Williams return to the NBC Nightly News? - CNN Video". CNN. February 8, 2015.
- New York Times. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ^ "Lester Holt named anchor of NBC Nightly News'". NBC News. June 18, 2015.
- ^ "Brian Williams takes off from 'NBC Nightly News' for knee surgery". Los Angeles Times. August 1, 2013.
- ^ "Brian Williams Plans 'Nightly News' Return After Labor Day". The Hollywood Reporter. August 29, 2013.
- ^ Brian Stelter (June 18, 2015). "Lester Holt gets anchor chair in historic moment for black journalists". CNNMoney.
- CNN Money.
- ^ Johnson, Ted (August 11, 2021). "Jenn Suozzo To Depart As Executive Producer Of 'NBC Nightly News'". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ Hill, Michael P. (September 13, 2021). "'Nightly' moves to Studio 1A, with its graphics still a work in progress". NewscastStudio.
- ^ "'Nightly' doubles down on 'N's, unique blend of 3D, flat design in new look". NewscastStudio. June 20, 2023.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (June 8, 2023). "NBC's 'Nightly News' Gets New Logo With Digital Viewers in Mind". Variety. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
- ^ "'NBC Nightly News' prepping new logo, graphics update". June 8, 2023.
- ^ Castleman and Podrazik, The TV Schedule Book, McGraw-Hill Paperbacks, 1984
- ^ "'NBC Nightly News' Launches Kids' Edition (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. April 15, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (October 29, 2020). "Lester Holt Will Bring Kids' 'Nightly News' to NBC's Saturday-Morning TV (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
- ^ "Inside NBC News - Public Relations" (Press release). NBC News.
- ^ "Michael Douglas is NBC 'Nightly News' announcer". USA Today. December 18, 2007. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- The Huffington Post.
- Mediabistro.com. November 29, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ "What timing... Fire alarm here at 30 Rock goes off at the exact same time we go on air. All is fine in the building & the show goes on. #NN". twitter.com.
- ^ "OSN – News". Osn.com. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ "iTunes Store". Apple. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
- ^ Mark Wilson. "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams". NBC News. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
- ^ "NBC Nightly News (video)". NBC. Archived from the original on February 11, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2015.