It strikes me watching the Olympics on NBC that this kind of thing -- a big, worldwide event -- is precisely what the major TV networks do well.  In fact, it is one of the few things they do well.

News isn't one of them.

Now, those of you who know me recall that I come from the mainstream media.  I wrote for The Associated Press for the final half decade or so of my journalism career.  In today's fragmented media environment, organizations like the AP will always survive because they dig up and share news.  They're a primary source for other media outlets.

But for those who put a far greater emphasis on presentation than gathering -- "sound bites," "live standups," "interview gets" -- the future will be much tougher.

I'm not anti-TV news.  When it works, it works well.  Video is an incredibly powerful medium.  Yet, it's mostly the cable newsrooms that are doing exceptional work these days.  The networks tend to sound exactly like each other.  For about 30 minutes each night, they regurgitate the AP's top stories, throw in a feature of their own and ... that's it.  Zzzzzzz.

The confusing thing is this: Why is network news so bad?  Especially given the rich tradition it has and the groundbreaking reporting it has done.

I saw the answer in a post on Jim Romenesko's media blog, which quoted a recent Newsweek interview with CBS CEO Les Moonves.  He said the following:

I don't think the network is a network without an evening newscast.

Yikes.  If a network defines itself by having a horrible 30 minutes of news each night, then maybe it's better not to be a network!  

What is particulalry troublesome about this is the huge waste of resources and talent.  There is so much money spent on network news and so many good people working at those organizations that it is a stunning reality that the product is so bad.  They are trying to be so broad that they have no depth whatsoever.  In the work I do helping businesses communicate, it's extraordinarily rare for me to ever work with network news.  Why?  They're just not on my radar screen.  They can't cover business news.  They really can't do it.

So what do we learn from the network news?  Unfortunately, these days, practically nothing.  If those same journalists picked one area of focus, they could do great news.  Imagine if they broadcast national news on Monday nights, international news on Tuesdays, business and finance on Wednesdays, sports on Thursdays and lifestyle stories on Friday nights.  They'd actually have enough time to do great stories. 

Unfortunately, this will never happen.  It would erode their ratings.  So they will continue seeking to be everything to everyone -- until they lose their very last viewers, those who continue to tune in by force of habit.  Then, they'll be gone.

And the networks will have to find some other way to be ... networks.