Can ABC News Be Saved?

All week I’ve been watching from the sidelines the fallout from the resignation of ABC News David Westin. I’ll have some choice commentary of my own in a few days as I continue to touch base with my friends who were or still are employed there.

In the meantime, below are some links worth reading (in no particular order):

Here’s How to Save ABC News

Can Anything Save ABC News from Extinction?

‘Extinction?’ Prediction ‘Belongs at the Bottom of the Birdcage’

Shoes to Fill at ABC News

Who Pushed ABC News’ Chief?

ABC News Likely to Keep Approach

Network News Changes: Just a Matter of Time

ABC News Reduces London Staffing Again

ABC News has further reduced its London bureau staffing to a single 9 hour shift on weekdays. This comes just days after ABC News President David Westin announced reporting changes at the organization’s NY headquarters.

The staff at World News Now said goodbye, but you will have had to go to Google’s cached version of the show’s Facebook page to tell, as the post was deleted later in the day.

Sad times at the house that Roone built.

ABC Phones-In The News With Skype

I’m glad that Steve Rosenbaum noticed (and the Huffington Post picked-up on) the growing use of Skype at ABC News that Andrew Tyndall and I first blogged about in early February.

Rosenbaum correctly notes that the increasing use of Skype is not to get the story on the air faster, but to save money – lots of money.

You can read my original blog post here.

Skype Journalism

Is Skype as good as shoe-leather on the ground? Andrew Tyndall, in his Tyndall Report blog raised an interesting point in his commentary on Diane Sawyer’s Journalistic Ethos.

Tyndall comments on ABC’s recent reliance on the high-tech but dirt cheap alternative to utilizing stringers or sending producers in the field to report a story. Tyndall says: “The visuals viewers see consist of reporters working the telephone; interviewing sources via speakerphone and Skype; quoting from e-mails and chatrooms and social networking sites; performing Google searches and showing Website screen grabs.”

There’s nothing wrong with using social media to help report the news, but there is still nothing better than an on the scene presence at a breaking news story. And it becomes almost laughable when a network does a Skype interview with someone who is just a ten dollar cab ride away from their headquarters. Yes, times are tough for the networks, but penny wise and pound foolish will come back to bite them again. (Just remember the Atlanta park bombing and Space Shuttle Columbia stories.)