Another Sign of the End of Western Civilization

David Card | January 11, 2006, 10:59 AM

All kidding aside, this is huge.

These stories all broke too late to make the traditional 6:30 p.m. Eastern time broadcast, which airs live on the East Coast and in the Midwest. But ABC got them on the air because last week, a few days after the new anchor team of Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff officially took the helm of "World News Tonight," the network began doing something different — broadcasting live to the West Coast every night.

The nightly news on TV is a nearly 60-year-old tradition. While there's a lot to be said for a common, national news experience, the idea that people in California might need something a little different three hours later than people in New York is astoundingly radical. Bravo, ABC.