Network Newsing

As the State Department works to get American citizens out of Libya, more western TV journalists are going in. And because flying is not a safe option, most reporters are entering Libya by car from the Eastern border with Egypt.

NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel reported on “Nightly News” last night and again this morning on “Today” from the port city of Tobruk, about 75 miles west of the Egyptian border — one of the Eastern areas that has abandoned the rule of Moammar Gadhafi.

ABC News has correspondents on either side of the Libyan border, Alexander Marquardt in Egypt and Jeffrey Kofman in Tunisia. Says ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider, “Like everyone, we’re assessing the security situation on a minute-by-minute basis, looking to see if there are places within Libya from which we can report, keeping in mind that the safety of our correspondents and crews is our highest priority.”

It is for security reasons that CBS News is not revealing the names of two correspondents now in-country. CBS News foreign editor Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews tells TVNewser the two correspondents entered from Egypt. Expect to see reports from them tonight on “Evening News.” A third CBS News correspondent is traveling from Bahrain to Tunisia at this hour.

CNN’s Ben Wededman has been in Libya since Monday, also arriving from the Egyptian side.

FNC’s David Lee Miller entered Libya today, and did his first liveshot from the country this morning.

The CBS Evening News reported today’s horrible news — the beating and sexual assault of correspondent Lara Logan in Cairo’s Tahrir Square last Friday. Here’s how Katie Couric reported the news 6 minutes into her broadcast.

Since the beginning of the uprising in Egypt, more than 50 journalists covering it have become targets of violence, including our own chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan. Lara was covering the celebrations in Cairo last Friday when she was surrounded by a mob, sexually assaulted and beaten. She was rescued by a group of women and Egyptian soldiers. Lara is back in the states now and we’re pleased to report she’s recovering well in the hospital. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and, of course, we wish her the very best.

CNN reported the Logan news in the 5pmET hour of “The Situation Room”

ABC, CBS, and CBS all interrupted programming around 4pmET this afternoon as Hosni Mubarak addressed the people of Egypt. For ABC, Diane Sawyer anchored from New York with Christiane Amanpour in Cairo. For CBS, Harry Smith anchored from New York and Katie Couric made her first appearance from Cairo, having arrived a short time ago. And for NBC, Brian Williams anchored from Cairo where he broadcast “Nightly News” last evening and will again tonight. ABC’s report went the longest wrapping up around 4:13pm and included George Stephanopoulos on set with Sawyer.

CBS Evening News News Anchor and Managing Editor Katie Couric will anchor tonight's broadcast from Liberation Square in Cairo.

• “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams is on his way to Cairo right now. He left New York Sunday afternoon arriving in Amman, Jordan and is now en route to Egypt. He’s expected to arrive in time for “Nightly News.”

• CBS’ Katie Couric, after a weekend in Miami Beach, is leaving for Egypt today. “Evening News” EP Rick Kaplan will travel with her. Harry Smith will be filling in at the anchor desk tonight.

• ABC’s Diane Sawyer is not going to Cairo “at this time,” says a spokesperson. Christiane Amanpour is leading ABC’s coverage in Egypt.

One year after the earth shook under Haiti, TV news reporters and anchors, producers and photographers, looked at the devastation and the recovery with return trips, special reports, and interviews with celebrities making a difference.

• Fox News’ Bill Hemmer told Cincinnati Magazine that last year’s experience was like “traveling to the moon” because they “had to bring everything” with them to an island with “no electricity, in absolute desolation.” Fox News’ Steve Harrigan — who was there last year — went back to report on the tragedy.
• CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, Anderson Cooper and Gary Tuchman are reporting from Haiti this week. Cooper talked to actor/humanitarian Sean Penn about his work in Haiti. (Update: Cooper stayed in New York for breaking news in Tucson, Ariz.)
• MSNBC contributor and Senior Correspondent for TheGrio Jeff Johnson provided analysis from 30 Rock on his trip to Haiti last year.
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TV news analyst Andrew Tyndall released his 2010 year in review report. The report examines which news stories got the most coverage last year, as well as which reporters got the most airtime, among other things.

So which reporters got the most time in front of the cameras last year?

ABC News White House correspondent Jake Tapper led the way with 335 minutes, followed by ABC News domestic correspondent David Muir with 334 and ABC News Capitol Hill correspondent Jonathan Karl with 251.

Rounding out the top five are CBS News White House correspondent Chip Reid with 235 minutes, and NBC News environment reporter Anne Thompson with 234.

One other reporter of note: CBS News Capitol Hill correspondent Nancy Cordes came in at number eight with 218 minutes… despite spending three months on maternity leave last year.

So which stories received the most coverage from the network evening newscasts in 2010?

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All three network morning shows originate from New York City, so all three were affected by the blizzard in the Northeast U.S. yesterday.

Al Roker had to dig out his minivan after the two (!) cars NBC sent to pick him up got into accidents.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

ABC’s “Good Morning America” ran a story about a New York City subway train that was trapped for six hours underground, with no food, water or bathrooms:

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Last night’s NBC primetime interview with former President George W. Bush failed to light up the ratings charts, according to Fast Nationals from Nielsen. Final ratings will be available later today, but the early numbers indicate that the special finished fourth in its time period.

The special edition of “Matt Lauer Reports” drew approximately 7 million total viewers, with a 1.7 rating/ 4 share in the adults 18-49 demo and a  2.2 rating/ 5 share in the adults 25-54 demo.

The interview was the second high profile Presidential exclusive in as many days.

On Sunday, CBS aired an interview with President Barack Obama on “60 Minutes.”

“60 Minutes” drew an average of 15.2 million viewers in its hour, though it had the benefit of airing on a popular TV day, with the NFL as a lead-in.

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The final numbers from the broadcast networks are in, and just as it did in the 2006 midterm elections, ABC topped the nets when it came to election coverage. That said, the ratings for all three of the network news divisions were down sharply from 2006.

• ABC News coverage, led by Diane Sawyer, averaged 6.8 million total viewers and 2.6 million A25-54from 9:30-11 PM.

• NBC’s coverage, anchored by Brian Williams, drew 6.4 million total viewers and 2.9 million A25-54  from 9-11 PM

• CBS’ coverage, anchored by Katie Couric, drew an average of 5.9 million total viewers and 2.2 million A25-54 from 10-11 PM.

• Fox’s coverage, anchored by Shepard Smith, drew an average of 2.8 million total viewers and 1.3 million A25-54 from 9-10 PM

Interestingly, from 10-11 PM, the only hour where all three broadcasters covered the elections, CBS placed second to NBC in total viewers, while ABC slipped to a close third. ABC finished second in the core demo.

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Friday evening all four major broadcast networks, along with a slew of cable channels, aired the Stand up to Cancer telethon.

A few hours before the special, during the network evening newscasts, a clip featuring all three of the 6:30 PM anchors appeared at the end, asking viewers to watch the telethon.

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