Good Morning America's keys to success: Replace hard news with tabloid stories and viral videos, that according to Baltimore Sun critic David Zurawik. The columnist appeared on Fox News, Sunday, and derided ABC's obsession with superficial topics: "This is what it looks like on a daily basis when video is driving what you do. And it's astonishing."
Speaking of GMA's George Stephanopoulos, MediaBuzz anchor Howard Kurtz noted that when the host joined in 2009, he "talked about trying to do more in-depth [stories] and instead he's tossing to pieces about sensational murders." Kurtz chided, "It kind of seems like a waste of his talent."
Highlighting the program's promotion of fluff, Zurawik mocked, "[It's] like the worst local news in America!" Kurtz marveled that how often GMA hosts "begin to talk about shocking video, shocking consumer warnings." [MP3 audio here [1].]
The show's interest in light-weight topics has come at the expense of hard news, particularly involving the Obama administration. On May 20, 2014 [2], the network devoted 12 minutes to strippers, models and reality TV. The latest on the embattled Veterans Affairs department went unnoticed.
On July 25, [3] ABC devoted twice as much airtime to the birth of the royal baby than it had the IRS targeting scandal.
In other words, GMA has managed to be both liberally biased and superficial at the same time.
A transcript of January 4 segment is below:
11:22
KURTZ: Good Morning America broke the Today show's 16-year winning streak in 2012, and the ABC program has been on top ever since. But it's hard to miss the fact that George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts and the gang are devoting less time to traditional news and much more time to murder and kidnappings and consumer stories that are just plain scary.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: On alert, the hunt for a tiger on the loose. Hundreds of police and helicopters searching for the big cat.
ROBIN ROBERTS, ABC NEWS: Also ahead, the shocking story of a young woman suing her estranged parents for college tuition.
STEPHANOPOULOS: We begin with that shocking home invasion. Two lawyers charged with stabbing and seriously injuring a Virginia couple in a savage attack.
LARA SPENCER: Also coming up, we do have a dramatic 911 call as the family pursues their stolen iPhone, telling the police they are tracking the bad guys. This is a warning for everybody. Listen up.
KURTZ: Joining me now for the Z block, David Zurawik, television and media critic for the "Baltimore Sun." Well, look, David, America has voted. Based on ratings, that is a winning formula.
DAVID ZURAWIK, BALTIMORE SUN: It is. It's beyond tabloid. It's really interesting to see George and Robin, I think two of the smartest people on network news, so comfortable. At first I thought, "Wow, this is really tabloid." It's beyond tabloid. But the interesting thing about it, Howie, is and you saw it in one of those clips, where it said viral videos. Videos are driving. You know, I just wrote a piece for year-end about raw video driving our national agenda. This is what it looks like on a daily basis when video is driving what you do. And it's astonishing. I saw a segment two weeks ago where they showed an SUV stuck on the freeway and then cars slamming into it at 60, 70 miles per hour. They just kept playing it over and over and over!
KURTZ: And you kept watching.
ZURAWIK: I did. Okay, Howie, but this is the interesting part. They then said, hey, if you see a car stop, you should try to go around it. One of the anchor women actually said, "that is a very good idea." That's news you can use. It was like the worst local news in America!
KURTZ: On Friday, it was a man who killed a sleepwalking neighbor who was thought to be an intruder. But look, "GMA" does some good journalism and some good interviews, of course, but I was shocked, and we saw some of this, how often the story begins to talk about shocking video, shocking consumer warnings, and somebody must have research showing this is what gets people to stay put.
ZURAWIK: Oh, this is right out of a consultant's handbook. But it's also where we are in terms of technology. This is win, win, win. You show this on air, people watch it, but it also translates to your online products. So you're already driving an audience to online to want to go see this video. And this is the name of the game. These kind of videos, these viral videos, as you know, this is the coin of the realm across all media now. Legacy newspapers want it on their web sites.
KURTZ: Right. You have George Stephanopoulos, who is so steeped in politics, that when he got the GMA job and also keeping "This Week," he talked about trying to do more in-depth, and instead he's tossing to pieces about sensational murders. It kind of seems like a waste of his talent.
ZURAWIK: Well, you know, he's making a salary, they're number one. So --
KURTZ: It's hard to argue -- in television, it's hard to argue with being number one.
ZURAWIK: I wouldn't judge that. But Howie, the American public is being cheated, when you ask what stories aren't they doing because they're doing these? And when you don't use the wisdom of Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts, and you have them introducing pieces like these, that anybody could introduce, you're wasting it. And, really, I don't want to overstate this, but when you talk about dumbing down a country, dumbing down a national discussion, this is in the morning. You talked to their producers and they'll tell you, we give people the news and information they need to get through the day. You really think that's the news and information you need?
KURTZ: Just briefly, the Today show now in second place. Matt Lauer it seems still lands big interviews like the Ray Rice interview. CBS This Morning is in third place, but some modest increase in the ratings there, with a little bit more of a hard news approach. So at least people have a choice.
ZURAWIK: Yes, the Today show still goes to celebrity interviews and performances, Garth Brooks, Nicole Kidman. That's what they are promoting all night in the football games this weekend and this week on Today.
KURTZ: CBS?
ZURAWIK: CBS - look, you don't hire Charlie Rose and then have him -- maybe Charlie will be doing these videos pretty soon. There you go, that's the formula. There it is, CBS, Charlie Rose doing tigers chasing people.
KURTZ: You're giving me the perfect out. David Zurawik, thank you for stopping by this morning and getting up early to watch these shows.
— Scott Whitlock is Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Scott Whitlock on Twitter. [4]