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Reflecting Upon An Age On Anchors

Jerome Campbell |
April 11, 2011 | 2:13 a.m. PDT

Staff Writer

Creative Commons
Creative Commons

It seems that the icons of the news are stepping out of the limelight, leaving their established roles on television to pursue other aspects of their lives. However, their absence will leave a void in both the news market and more importantly—the homes of Americans across the country.

Within the past week, sources reported that Katie Couric will be leaving her position on CBS’ evening newscast when her contract expires on June 4 with Meredith Vieria and Matt Lauer, stepping down from NBC’s top-rated “Today” in the near future. In addition, The Wrap reports a trend of iconic anchors stepping down from their established roles including “Anderson Cooper, who’s made a deal for a syndicated talk show outside of CNN; Keith Olbermann, who bolted from MSNBC last winter; and Glenn Beck who split from Fox on Wednesday.”

With the departure of familiar faces that have entered America’s living rooms every morning and evening, the absence of these original newscasters will leave viewers bittersweet to see them go. These anchors have come to play a part in our lives. They forge personal relationships with their audience byjoining them in the privacy of their own home. They also serve as the symbols of unwavering truth that many Americans swear by during debates on issues. For this young journalist, the anchors of the “Today” show especially inspired and transformed the way I look at the news.

I remember watching the “Today” show every morning over a bowl of cereal before I left for school. Like most children, I started to watch the show when my parents insisted that listening to affairs of the world took precedence over morning re-runs of Pokémon. As expected, I usually grumbled to myself while the two talking heads on the television babbled on about things that were not important to my 8 year-old self like “presidential elections.” However, my opinion changed after I no longer viewed these people as just voices but people that joined my daily routine before going to school.

By the time I started 5th grade, Matt and Katie were an integral part of morning routine. I looked forward to seeing them and hearing what they had to say. For the most part, I did not understand every topic in the newscast, but I knew that whatever they said sounded very important and I wanted to one day speak like that. In fact, they are the reason I decided to go into journalism.

With these anchors leaving their golden roles, it makes this young journalist both sad to see his role models leave and aware that the news industry calls his generation to attempt to fill their shoes. Hopefully I do not end up in Katie Couric’s heels.

Reach reporter Jerome Campbell here or follow him on Twitter.



 

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