We have just lived through the worst September in the history of the networks' evening news programs in terms of their reporting on a presidential election. No sense beating around the bush. The Hess Report has been tracking Dan Rather, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw since Labor Day, and that's our conclusion.
Every investigation starts with a hunch.
Mine was that 2000 would fit between these two points, but would be closer to '92 because this is such a close race and no incumbent is running. Instead, after four weeks, the networks are below the 1996 level. Politics gets less attention when urgent stories are competing for limited time. It's an explanation worth exploring. In September 1996, our TV screens were filled with dramatic pictures of angry surf and people seeking high ground to escape Hurricane Fran.