Do we really need news anchors anymore? Is it a position that is no longer required, given the multiplicity of news sources and the sheer velocity of information that is readily available? New York Magazine thinks the position needs re-thinking. Many media critics would take the position that today’s anchorman is more news reader than news reporter (perhaps that position hints at the credibility issues that took Brian Williams off the air at NBC), and every year it seems the evolution of the position is more in the direction of entertainment than in journalism.
What’s really needed is a vastly more modern concept of delivering the news–one that understands the reality of the digital immersion that surrounds all of us. Not so much a news anchor, as a news coordinator, who delivers some of the news and points to the direction of other news items that should/might be of interest. A modern network newscast is simply not fast–and often not current–enough to keep up with a Twitter newsfeed.
There is no doubt that we are in a new generation of news coverage, journalistic standards, technological innovation and news/information delivery. But we have yet to find the right medium(s) and the very best mix to take advantage of the opportunities available.
A new business and delivery model is necessary.
And it almost certainly will not involve an “anchorman”.