Rick Kogan`s Tempo article on the 10 o`clock news was absolutely on target (”Time to pull the plug on the 10 p.m. news,” Feb. 3).
I am an avid news consumer. My primary sources for news are, in daily chronological order, the Tribune, World News Tonight (ABC), MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (PBS) and Chicago Tonight (WTTW). Secondary sources include WXRT news, C-SPAN, Nightline, Frontline, 60 Minutes and CNN during breaking events. Never, under any circumstances, do I consider watching the local news products offered by the three network affiliates. I am more impressed by MTV News than by the 4, 5, 6 or 10 o`clock news. They are 100 percent irrelevant. The Tribune and Chicago Tonight provide all the local coverage necessary.
The proposal made in Kogan`s article, to devote most of the show to a single topic with a short summary of other stories, is a solid idea. That is the basic format of MacNeil/Lehrer and Chicago Tonight, and it is that focus that makes those programs excellent. The affiliates` lack of focus makes them unwatchable.
