--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Watching the evening news in 2011 is a…" description: "\"Watching the evening news in 2011 is a strange time-travel experience. 'The CBS Evening News,' 'ABC World News' and 'NBC Nightly News' haven't changed ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/rob-sheffield-1368_abc_watching-the-evening-news-in-2011-is-a-s_770519.jpg" --- # Watching the evening news in 2011 is a strange time-travel… ![“Watching the evening news in 2011 is a strange time-travel experience. 'The CBS Evening News,' 'ABC World News' and 'NBC Nightly News' haven't changed their style over the decades, still going for that old-fashioned mix of voice-of-authority pomp and feel-good fluff. The difference is that people…” quote by Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/rob-sheffield-1368_abc_watching-the-evening-news-in-2011-is-a-s_770519.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/rob-sheffield-1368_abc_watching-the-evening-news-in-2011-is-a-s_770519.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/rob-sheffield-1368_abc_watching-the-evening-news-in-2011-is-a-s_770519.jpg) > “Watching the evening news in 2011 is a strange time-travel experience. 'The CBS Evening News,' 'ABC World News' and 'NBC Nightly News' haven't changed their style over the decades, still going for that old-fashioned mix of voice-of-authority pomp and feel-good fluff. The difference is that people aren't watching.” [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even as formats stay the same, audiences have stopped watching, making news feel like a relic. **In simple terms:** News looks unchanged but viewers have left. Key Takeaway Adapt news to new audiences. Themes media nostalgia audience change Mood critical contemplative Type media sociological When to use this quote - newsroom strategy - media literacy classes - content redesign - advertising decisions Key Concepts broadcast journalism media studies technology Questions to Reflect On - How can news stay relevant today? - What drives audience disengagement? A Different Perspective The format may be outdated; simply changing style may not regain viewers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Difference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difference/) [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [News](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news/) [Nightly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightly/) [Old fashioned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-fashioned/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > ['The Daily Show,' at its core, is the answer to the nightly news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wilmore/the-daily-show-at-its-core-is-the-answer-to-the-nightly-news/) [Larry Wilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wilmore/) > [A lot of times we work across multiple platforms. We'll go to Japan working on the tsunami for 'Nightly News' and it'll end up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-holt/a-lot-of-times-we-work-across-multiple-platforms-we-ll-go-to-japan/) [Lester Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-holt/) > [If you really want to see something scary, turn on the nightly news. To me, for people to say 'look at the films' is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-cullen/if-you-really-want-to-see-something-scary-turn-on-the-nightly-news-to/) Brett Cullen > [Every night I watch the nightly news. It's funded by the pharmaceutical companies. Virtually every ad is a drug ad. They get their say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/every-night-i-watch-the-nightly-news-it-s-funded-by-the/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [I think I have a pretty good take on popular culture that maybe makes up for the fact that I'm not a sound-bite politician…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-i-have-a-pretty-good-take-on-popular-culture-that-maybe-makes/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The trouble with progress is that it tends to happen slowly and quietly. It's not necessarily going to shout about itself, or make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-koblin/the-trouble-with-progress-is-that-it-tends-to-happen-slowly-and/) [Aaron Koblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-koblin/) > [As anchorman of the CBS Evening News, I signed off my nightly broadcasts for nearly two decades with a simple statement: "And that's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/as-anchorman-of-the-cbs-evening-news-i-signed-off-my-nightly/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [I can swear on a stack of Bibles that not once in doing the 'CBS Evening News' for 19 years - well, I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/i-can-swear-on-a-stack-of-bibles-that-not-once-in-doing-the-cbs/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [Not a single story on 'BBC World News' is any different from the British foreign policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-simonyan/not-a-single-story-on-bbc-world-news-is-any-different-from-the/) [Margarita Simonyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-simonyan/) > [“World news carefully edited so that it’s not too disturbing, but disturbing enough to make you glad that you weren’t born in a foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/world-news-carefully-edited-so-that-it-s-not-too-disturbing-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As a 13-year-old girl, it was never my intention to be the center of world news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dekker/as-a-13-year-old-girl-it-was-never-my-intention-to-be-the-center-of/) [Laura Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dekker/) > [The world news might not be therapeutic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/the-world-news-might-not-be-therapeutic/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [If I've learned anything from listening to world news, it's that the world is full of countries I've never even heard of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-ve-learned-anything-from-listening-to-world-news-it-s-that-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The gospel, then, is not a message about the salvation of individuals from the world, but news about a world transfigured, right down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wink/the-gospel-then-is-not-a-message-about-the-salvation-of-individuals/) [Walter Wink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wink/) > [The only gossip I'm interested in is things from the Weekly World News - 'Woman's bra bursts, 11 injured'. That kind of thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/the-only-gossip-i-m-interested-in-is-things-from-the-weekly-world/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) ## More by Rob Sheffield > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I suck at fighting. I have never really learned how to talk and be mad at the same time. If I have angry words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-suck-at-fighting-i-have-never-really-learned-how-to-talk-and-be-mad/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Morrissey was my Mrs. Garrett, the house mother from the Facts of Life, a soothing adult figure giving me words of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/morrissey-was-my-mrs-garrett-the-house-mother-from-the-facts-of-life/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I had never gotten the hang of dating — I was always going to be somebody who either had a girlfriend or didn't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-had-never-gotten-the-hang-of-dating-i-was-always-going-to-be/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [The hottest trash-disco star in the world: Ke$ha! She has a lot in common with Kiss, actually, even spelling her name with a dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/the-hottest-trash-disco-star-in-the-world-ke-ha-she-has-a-lot-in/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“on the 11th of every month my friend elizabeth would say, "well we made it through another month. so do we get her back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/on-the-11th-of-every-month-my-friend-elizabeth-would-say-well-we-made/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“What doesn't kill you maims you, cripples you, leaves you weak, makes you whiny and full of yourself at the same time. The more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/what-doesn-t-kill-you-maims-you-cripples-you-leaves-you-weak-makes/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“But when you're a teenage boy, you can be narrow-minded about things that are girlie, things that are frivolous, things that are pop. Boys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/but-when-you-re-a-teenage-boy-you-can-be-narrow-minded-about-things/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I've never heard of anybody getting rid of their prized Exile postcards, much less actually writing on them and sending them through the mail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-ve-never-heard-of-anybody-getting-rid-of-their-prized-exile/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's always that one song that gets to you. You can hide, but the song comes to find you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/it-s-always-that-one-song-that-gets-to-you-you-can-hide-but-the-song/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [There are all kinds of mix tapes. there is always a reason to make one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/there-are-all-kinds-of-mix-tapes-there-is-always-a-reason-to-make-one/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“By the time you're an adult, you're used to seeing your friends disappear into their five-year plans. They drop out to get married, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/by-the-time-you-re-an-adult-you-re-used-to-seeing-your-friends/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“Last fall, I was sitting at the kitchen table of two friends who have been together since 1972. They tell me a story about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/last-fall-i-was-sitting-at-the-kitchen-table-of-two-friends-who-have/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Tonight, I feel like my whole body is made out of memories. I'm a mix-tape, a cassette that's been rewound so many times you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/tonight-i-feel-like-my-whole-body-is-made-out-of-memories-i-m-a-mix/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“You're in a physical landscape you share with this bizarre and fundamentally alien creature, not alien because she's female but alien because you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/you-re-in-a-physical-landscape-you-share-with-this-bizarre-and/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) [Explore all 249 Rob Sheffield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) ## More Abc quotes > [ABC Family is really restructuring their network because there's a new kind of family, so I think they're really trying to step away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-dallas/abc-family-is-really-restructuring-their-network-because-there-s-a/) [Matt Dallas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-dallas/) > [When you are producing for ABC, you are producing for a big tent network. So when you are thinking about your story lines and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sweeney/when-you-are-producing-for-abc-you-are-producing-for-a-big-tent/) [Anne Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sweeney/) > [My first job with a network was 'General Hospital,' and that was ABC. I feel like I have so much history with them, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-ray-newman/my-first-job-with-a-network-was-general-hospital-and-that-was-abc-i/) [Jaime Ray Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-ray-newman/) > [Professional highlight of 2011 was definitely getting the job at ABC.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginger-zee/professional-highlight-of-2011-was-definitely-getting-the-job-at-abc/) [Ginger Zee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginger-zee/) > [Six months after I moved to L.A., I booked the ABC pilot 'Commander-in-Chief' with Geena Davis. I played her son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-lanter/six-months-after-i-moved-to-l-a-i-booked-the-abc-pilot-commander-in/) [Matt Lanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-lanter/) > [ABC is owned by Disney, so it's a little more conservative than Adult Swim. Polar opposites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-andre/abc-is-owned-by-disney-so-it-s-a-little-more-conservative-than-adult/) [Eric Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-andre/) > [If you turn on ABC 7 in the morning San Francisco, you'll see them using an iPad with Waze on it, and actually talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-bardin/if-you-turn-on-abc-7-in-the-morning-san-francisco-you-ll-see-them/) [Noam Bardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-bardin/) > [The ABC's are attitude, behavior and communication skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-chertavian/the-abc-s-are-attitude-behavior-and-communication-skills/) [Gerald Chertavian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-chertavian/) > [I was sure 'Summer Heights High' would be a cult ABC thing; I had no idea it would be such a big hit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-was-sure-summer-heights-high-would-be-a-cult-abc-thing-i-had-no/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [Prior to working for Fox, I worked for ABC and NBC, spent a lot of time at CNN, and almost ended up at CBS.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-estrich/prior-to-working-for-fox-i-worked-for-abc-and-nbc-spent-a-lot-of-time/) [Susan Estrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-estrich/) > [You can't get any better than TV on HBO, ABC and BBC3.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/you-can-t-get-any-better-than-tv-on-hbo-abc-and-bbc3/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [The value of the television network is partly tradition, serving as a navigation device and as a brand. Research shows that people do know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sweeney/the-value-of-the-television-network-is-partly-tradition-serving-as-a/) [Anne Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sweeney/) > [ABC Family is ready to get a new image for themselves, and I think 'Greek' really kind of started that change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-michael-foster/abc-family-is-ready-to-get-a-new-image-for-themselves-and-i-think/) [Scott Michael Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-michael-foster/) > [Of course ABC and its parent company Disney were right to cancel the sitcom 'Roseanne' after its eponymous star, Roseanne Barr, wrote a racist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/of-course-abc-and-its-parent-company-disney-were-right-to-cancel-the/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [You know, it is a funny thing, but 'The Flintstones' was bought by ABC and the sponsors when they discovered adults were watching and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hanna/you-know-it-is-a-funny-thing-but-the-flintstones-was-bought-by-abc/) [William Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hanna/) Browse all 58 Abc quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Watching the evening news in 2011 is a strange time-travel experience. 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