CBS Evening News

I just watched the 6:30 CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. There were seven main stories presented in the 30 minute broadcast and they are as follows:

1. Supreme Court Justice Souter announced that he is stepping down. The coverage included a portion about Justice Souter's appointment and background on the Court, why he was leaving and speculation of who President Obama will/should nominate. There was a clip of President Obama saying that he would only nominate someone who supports abortion rights and empathizes with minorities and the disadvantaged. There was also a clip of a Senate Republican stating that President Obama will receive a tough fight from the Senate Republicans if that is part of his criteria. Then Katie Couric spoke with Correspondent Jeff Greenfield who talked about different possible candidates to fill the slot on the Supreme Court. I would say that this segment took between ten and fifteen of the thirty minutes in the show.

2. Swine Flu: Katie Couric said the swine flu outbreak is "looking a bit less ominous tonight". There was a clip from a press conference with the CDC in which they stated that the strain does not carry the genes necessary to turn into a mass killer. Then there was a related story about a plane making an emergency landing because a passenger on board felt ill and they were worried about the swine flu. CBS continued the coverage with a story about American Farmers who are worried about the virus. Harvest is in three weeks, and since no Mexican workers are able to get work visas to come to America for the harvest season, they are worried that they will not have the manpower necessary to harvest all of their crops. Not only will this be a huge problem for the farmers, but it will also effect prices for consumers. They concluded the swine flu coverage with a piece about the perils of the pork industry. Several countries including Russia and China have banned North American Pork products, thinking that the swine flu could infect pork (which it cannot). The total amount of money at stake for American and Mexican industries as a result of the swine flu is $350 billion.

3. Hydroxycut recall: The popular weight loss supplement Hydroxycut has been linked to severe liver damage and at least one death. The FDA is urging Americans not to use Hydroxycut anymore. The manufacturer is recalling fourteen Hydroxycut products, but 9 million packages were sold last year alone.

4. Chrysler files for bankruptcy: All the sales in the auto industry are down. Chrysler is idling all North American plants for sixty days and closing five plants all together. They are leaving the dealerships open to try and sell the already manufactured cars with big incentives to buy. The American government is backing all of Chrysler's warrantees.

5. John Demjanjuk: A retired auto worker from Cleveland is closer to being deported to Germany to face charges that he was a guard at a Nazi Concentration camp during the Holocaust. He claimed he was too weak to travel, but the Prosecutor released a video of him walking on his own.

6. Danny Gans, a star impersonator from the Vegas strip, passed away. The segment included a feature of his acts in Vegas and a history of his career.

7. Assignment America Segment: Seventy year old Andy Mackee was told that he would die without his medication a long time ago, but stopped taking it anyway. He uses the money he would have spent on prescriptions to buy musical instruments for children and travels to different schools to give lessons. He has already given children over 13,000 harmonicas and has made thousands of string instruments. He gives free lessons and occasionally buys other instruments for children who seem really interested.

Overall, I felt that the stories were ordered from the most important to the least important. I do not know if I would have put the Hydroxycut recall before the Chrysler bankruptcy, but otherwise the stories seemed to be ordered properly. Since there were only seven stories, it is hard to tell what there would have been with more stories or a longer broadcast, but from what I saw tonight, it appears that CBS Evening News chose to put the most important stories first, leaving the feel good story for last. I also thought that the length of the segments varied from beginning to end, with the most important getting the most time, and the least important getting less time. I have to say good job to CBS for properly presenting the stories in order of importance.