The Robert MacNeil Report

I have been a committed fan & supporter of my local PBSNC station for years, off & on. The PBS News Hour is a program I rarely miss. Along with Democracy Now with Amy Goodman, the PBS News Hour ranks, in my opinion, as a trustworthy source of accurate information about current events. Please consider using "The United States" when referring to our country as opposed to simply "America". The entire western hemisphere is the Americas, and our nation is but one of many making up The Americas. The US is the United States of America, & calling it America is wrong and insulting to other countries of the hemisphere.

.... since all TV news shows followed the same basic format - Impartially speak in detail about the news stories of the day, with maybe a human interest story at the end. Then came the 80s, and newsrooms across the country were commercialized so that network and cable news alike resemble the National Inquirer. Everybody has staked out a demographic that they want and simply tells that demographic what they want to hear.

Thus, PBS NewsHour is a relic of a bygone era, and I'm glad it's still here. The show informs rather than pontificates, and employs actual journalists doing actual journalism. I dread the day it may no longer be available.

Overall, this is my favorite news program, although that doesn't mean I don't have my complaints. I DVR the show every night, and watch parts of it to get intelligent and insightful coverage and analysis of the days events.

The first 15-20 minutes is usually very informative and provides a well rounded summary of the days news. Unlike CNN and other networks they don't spend 99% of the time talking about Donald Trump or other meaningless news in order to grab people's viewership for shallow reasons. On Fridays they have Brooks and Shields which is my favorite part of the program. Two political pundits who have a genuine, intelligent, non- partisan discussion about political topics, it's one of the few places on television you can find that. Shields and Brooks is definitely the most important part of the show.

Unfortunately, after the first half of the program it usually goes down hill and I rarely would watch an entire episode. They go into depth on special topics and social issues which don't ordinarily get covered on news shows. While these special topics are certainly valuable and informative, it's not something I feel is appropriate for a "news" program because these special programs are not really news. I have a limited time in the evening to watch the news, and I don't usually have time to spend it exploring topics that don't particularly interest me on a daily basis. It would be better if there was a different program on PBS that covered these social issue segments and focus the news hour on actual news.

I thought that the show was better when Jim Lehrer in charge. Nowadays most of the main news cast are women. In my opinion, this gives the show a point of view which is a bit too feminist for my taste. They oftentimes express attitudes about issues which they think is objectively correct but to me seems biased (e.g. see the interview of the author of the discredited Rolling Stone rape story).

When Jim Lehrer was in charge the Newshour had a much greater respectability, but since then has increasingly decreased in quality. It now lacks competence, seems to be run by a group of like minded associates, and is little more than msnbc. They extend beyond incompetence and obnoxious ideological bias to a degree of dangerous propaganda. It's a sad loss to American journalism, and probably should be defunded unless a new group is brought in to fix the administration and oversight.

I am tired of hearing the same people who are the purported experts on this show. they provide little new views or perspectives and i do not know why the news for PBS Newshour should have so many contracted regulars when there are so many experts out there that have more insight to provide. Especially the Friday night editorializing which is really stupid as the two regulars that present simply provide there bias over and over. Judy Woodruff is boring and always saying "more to think about" and her interviews are shallow and lacking in direct challenges to those who lie on the program. She is really a weak interviewer and has little strength. Amanpour is so very much more well educated about the issues and direct in her speech and not as timid and weak as Woodruff, who i believe has passed her usefulness. I actually get angry when I listen to these regulars on PBS Newshour that are so redundant and lacking in depth. It is more of a small high school social group of people than real intellectual content and challenging ideas and good interview skills.