Is there an anchor in the house? An ABC spokesman tells TVNewser.com that Nightline (Weeknights, 11:35 pm/ET, ABC) anchor Cynthia McFadden fell down some stairs in New York's Penn Station yesterday afternoon and was unable to anchor last night's show. Coanchor Martin Bashir was brought in, but he cut his head on something hanging over the World News set and required stitches. So much for Plan B.But the show must go on. Luckily, Terry Moran, the third member of the three-anchor rotation, was nearby and was called in about an hour before the broadcast. He got through the show unscathed. McFadden is expected back in the anchor chair tonight. Bashir is recovering from his injury. — J.R. Whalen
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Question: Welcome back! Now how about some Nightline spoilers!
Answer: I see you guys haven't lost your sense of humor.
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ABC, which on Monday ran an extended World News with limited commercial interruption, will continue its coverage of the shootings at Virginia Tech, the deadliest shooting rampage in American history, tonight with an hourlong edition of Nightline, originating from Blacksburg, Virginia. Then, on Tuesday's Good Morning America, Robin Roberts and Chris Cuomo will anchor from Blacksburg, and David Muir will report from the Virginia Tech campus. Charles Gibson will anchor Tuesday's World News from Blacksburg, an area he covered as a reporter earlier in his career.
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Pregnant shmegnant. ABC News' Elizabeth Vargas has scored a sit-down interview with President Bush, to air on World News Tonight and Nightline on Tuesday, and on Good Morning America on Wednesday. The topics to be covered include W's imminent trip to India and Pakistan, the six-month anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the war in Iraq.
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In the good old days — say, a month ago — Nightline (weekdays at 11:35 pm/ET, ABC) spending a week in war-torn Iraq would have been something truly special. But Ted Koppel is gone, and with him goes a tradition allowing for context and perspective.
Instead, in the first week of a jumbled Nightline makeover, three correspondents/anchors jousted for airtime most nights. In the process, Terry Moran’s first-person stories — highlighted by a ride-along on a dangerous night patrol with U.S. and Iraqi troops — were just part of a very mixed bag.
The new Nightline isn’t terrible, but it no longer seems as essential because it feels so much less distinctive. In look and tone, especially when ill-chosen coanchor Martin Bashir revs up his strident tabloid engine, this Nightline lite resembles an uneasy cross of (yawn) the evening news and (yuck) a 20/20-style newsmagazine. Given its multitop
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