Press: How Much Better Twice As Long?

After eight successful years, MacNeil-Lehrer goes to an hour

Almost from the moment that CBS aired the first half-hour national newscast in 1963, the three commercial networks have yearned to expand their evening news shows to an hour. But affiliate stations repeatedly refused to yield lucrative air time, and the hour daily network newscast remains a daydream. That standoff has given the noncommercial Public Broadcasting Service a chance to top its giant rivals: last week Anchors Robert MacNeil and James Lehrer doubled up their MacNeil-Lehrer Report, a nightly half hour on some single topic...

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