Inside Edition (alternately titled as Inside Edition with Deborah Norville in program introductions for its weekday broadcasts since 1998) is an American television newsmagazine that is distributed in first-run syndication by CBS Television Distribution. Having premiered on January 9, 1989, it is the longest-running syndicated-newsmagazine program that is not strictly focused on entertainment news. The program features a mix of hard news stories, entertainment news and gossip, scandals, true-crime stories and lifestyle features.
Since 1995, the program's weekday broadcasts have been anchored by Deborah Norville. Since 2005, Diane McInerney has anchored the program's weekend editions (originally as a co-anchor with Paul Boyd until his departure in 2014) and also serves as a substitute for Norville on the weekday broadcasts.
Overview
Format
Inside Edition is broadcast in two formats: the weekday edition is broadcast as a half-hour program and features a broad mix of news stories of various types and feature segments; a weekend edition (titled Inside Edition Weekend, though visually referenced as Inside Weekend in on-air graphics) is also produced, which also runs for a half-hour, and is composed of a selection of stories featured on the Monday through Friday editions the previous week. During major holidays occurring on a weekday, that episode may feature a format similar to the weekend edition but featuring a compilation of stories from past editions and occasionally features lifestyle-oriented stories in relation to certain major holidays (such as Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas); from 2002 to 2012, certain episodes aired during the summer months also followed a similar format, mixing feature packages from past episodes introduced by the anchor of that day's broadcast with current news stories introduced by one of the program's correspondents from its newsroom.
The program is based at Studio 45 at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City, which houses its main newsroom and production facilities as well as the set for the broadcast (which switched from a physical set to a computer-generated one in September 2013). Some editions, however, are conducted from the program's West Coast newsroom in Los Angeles (from where the program's L.A.-based correspondents sometimes introduce story packages) or on location at the studios of television stations which carry the program or from the sites of events which are being covered for the broadcast. Inside Edition is recorded live at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time each Monday through Friday, with occasional updates to each broadcast being conducted to account for new story details or other timely news pieces, and to correct technical or script issues in the original live broadcast.
History
The program was created by John Tomlin and Bob Young, whose concept was picked up by King World Productions (which CBS Corporation – itself having acquired King World through its December 2005 split from Viacom – folded into CBS Television Distribution in September 2007) in the winter of early 1988, for a debut during the 1988–89 television season. When Inside Edition first premiered in January 1989, the program's format originally took on a high-brow approach, focusing on general news and investigative reporting. The first anchor of the program was David Frost, who was demoted to a correspondent role after approximately three weeks, due to poor ratings under the original concept.
In February of that year, Frost was replaced as main anchor by Bill O'Reilly. By then, the program had shifted towards a mix of tabloid crime stories, investigations and celebrity gossip. In point of fact, Inside Edition was one of the original "Big Three" tabloid-style newsmagazines of the early 1990s on American television – alongside A Current Affair and Hard Copy – which fiercely competed with each other in syndication during that period (and is the only one that remains on the air). In addition to being one of the first American broadcasters to cover the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, O'Reilly obtained the first exclusive interview with murderer Joel Steinberg and was the first television host from a national current affairs program on the scene of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
In September 1992, the program launched a spin-off newsmagazine, Inside Edition Extra, which was co-produced by King World and then CBS affiliate WHDH (channel 7, now an independent station), which broadcast its parent series in the Boston market. Tom Ellis, who had previously served as an anchor at WHDH, served as host of the program; unlike its parent show, Inside Edition Extra was not able to attain high ratings and was canceled at the end of the 1992–93 season. O'Reilly departed from the program in March 1995 (O'Reilly had expressed a desire to quit the show in July 1994) and was replaced by former Today anchor/correspondent Deborah Norville.
By the late 1990s, as its similarly formatted syndicated competitors had already begun waning in the ratings, the program tweaked its format in an effort to retain viewers. While its focus continued to revolve partly around entertainment and crime stories, it also began phasing in additional hard news content (consisting of select major headlines of given warranty and other notable general news and legal-related stories) as well as lifestyle and human interest features. In the late 2000s, as video sharing websites such as YouTube came into prominence, Inside Edition began incorporating viral videos in most broadcasts, either those in relating to a news story covered in that day's edition or, more commonly, humorous or amazing videos (including clever marriage proposals, people and animals displaying interesting talents or stunts, active military personnel returning home from duty surprising family members and practical jokes); videos of the latter type are typically included in the "D" block which closes each broadcast.
Criticism
Inside Edition has been classified in the past by the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism as "tabloid press" and a "pseudo news program".