Network News Online

I may be old school, but I still enjoy the nightly news (though I’m rarely home from work in time.) Some have said the nightly national news is no longer relevant, I don’t think that’s true, and feel free to disagree with me, that’s what comments are for.

While the breaks may be packed with Cialis ads (I may be the youngest person in the world still watching) the nightly news remains the most important 30 minutes of network programming each day. So here’s a look at how to catch up online with in the non-linear workaholic DVR-enabled world we live in.

In order to stay relevant, or at least relatively so, all network news organizations now have blogs and offer online video in some form. Here’s a look at what they offer.

NBC’s DailyNightly has consistently been my favorite network news destination because it really gets into the decisions that go into covering the news on a nightly basis. Their Early Nightly offers a quick preview of the evening broadcast and Brian Williams blogs about what gets in, what is cut, and what that led to editorial decisions.

NBC was the first network to offer their broadcast online, but while CBS & ABC quickly followed suit, the broadcast is only available at 10PM ET each night.

CBS is the only network to stream their nightly news broadcast live, but the rest of their content leaves a lot to be desired. They have a blog, Couric & Co which highlights some of the news they are covering and links to their nightly First Look a preview of that night’s broadcast, modeled after NBC’s but it’s not very original or compelling.

ABC News was the first to offer an original online only newscast. The 15-minute webcast at 5pm daily offers a look at the day’s events independent of their nightly television broadcast. ABC’s World Newser, updated every few days leaves a lot to be desired but Brian Ross’ The Blotter is one of the best news blogs there is.

Slowly these networks have started syndicating their news content to places like iTunes and offering RSS subscriptions, but don’t expect to see network news content embedded anywhere any time soon. News coverage is not cheap, covering a story somewhere like Iraq costs money and networks have so far been unwilling to give that content away.

That may change, but in an era of media fragmentation these news organizations offer the highest levels of built in integrity of any source, and that is the most valuable thing there is.