Nightline's gonna cover THREE topics again tonight ... WTF?

[Bozita]

This was unheard of a year ago. Now it's happening twice a week.

Take a look at the show's daily email:



Nightline

July 25, 2005


It's been a growing fear. Now that suicide bombings have hit the heart of London this month, the question is no longer whether the United States will be hit, but when. After the deadly July 7 attacks and the failed July 21 bombings in the British capital, the debate is growing over religion's role in fueling the violence. How much responsibility should Islam bear for the attacks perpetrated by people who are using their faith to launch acts of terror? Tonight, Chris Cuomo talks with two Muslims who see the role of religion and terrorism in starkly different terms.


Tomorrow morning, if all goes well, the shuttle Discovery astronauts will be heading into space. The recent delay and the catastrophe during the last shuttle flight have overshadowed one of NASA's success stories, the Mars rovers that have been exploring the Red Planet since January 2004. They've sent pictures back to Earth that offer strong evidence that Mars once had liquid water. As one scientist tells us, it's important because it helps tell us our place in the universe: "If you can show that life arose independently on two different worlds, just in this one solar system, life might be common throughout the universe." Pretty heady stuff from correspondent Ned Potter.

Finally tonight, ABC's Chris Connelly reports on Hollywood's box office blues. You'd think with summer blockbusters raking in millions, the executives in Tinseltown would be feeling good. Trouble is, fewer people are beating a path to the theater. There's high anxiety on the soundstages, as the filmmakers tally up receipts and realize that for a recent 19 weeks in a row, their movies were under-performing compared with last year's numbers. The trend is not good. And one of the concerns is that the gap between a theatrical and DVD release is getting so short that many people are waiting to watch the film at home. In fact, the Motion Picture Association says Americans spent an average of 78 hours watching DVDs last year, that's up 53 percent from 2002. And with the advent of home theatres and specially designed recliners with popcorn and soda holders, Hollywood's anxiety will only grow.

We hope you'll join us.

Richard Harris and the Nightline Staff
Senior Producer
ABC News Washington Bureau

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Didn't I hear

Nightline was being canceled?

[Bozita]

3. It sounds more like suicide to me

It once was the only place on commercial TV where a half-hour was spent on a single topic.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Our local ABC affiliate

airs it after midnight. So very few people watch it here.

[vogonjiltz]

2. They cold definitelydo without the

Hollywood crap. I much prefer the single subject format.

[Robbien]

4. There was an article that the three item format was going to be

the new standard format for the nightly news.

[Bozita]

6. Three topics for the nightly network news could be a good thing

For Nightline, it's suicide.

The term "in depth" had a shallow enough meaning with a single topic on Nightline.

I have a feeling that Nightline in any format will disappear soon after Koppell's departure in December.

Very soon after.