Lesson plan
ABC Scope
ABC Scope is a public affairs program that appeared on the ABC television network from November 11, 1964 to March 2, 1968, hosted by Howard K. Smith, the future anchor of the ABC Evening News. News reporters Louis Rukeyser, Frank Reynolds and John Scali also appeared. The program provided its viewer with an in-depth look at the important political, economic and social issues that the world faced in the mid-to-late 1960s. Although Smith hosted the show, the program provided its audience with one-on-one interviews of important newsmakers, documentaries on various subjects and roundtable discussions between a group of experts. Many editions dealt with a review of the week in the Vietnam War. Despite winning plaudits with critics, ABC Scope got little respect from its own network. Already scheduled in an impossible timeslot (Saturdays at 10:30 PM, up against the second half-hour of Gunsmoke on CBS), not one major affiliate (not even flagship station WABC-TV in New York) carried it in that time period, preferring to schedule local or syndicated programming in its place. Most affiliates aired it in "fringe time" during the weekend.
Article summary
ABC Scope is a public affairs program that appeared on the ABC television network from November 11, 1964 to March 2, 1968, hosted by Howard K. Smith, the future anchor of the ABC Evening News. News reporters Louis Rukeyser, Frank Reynolds and John Scali also appeared. The program provided its viewer with an in-depth look at the important political, economic and social issues that the world faced in the mid-to-late 1960s. Although Smith hosted the show, the program provided its audience with one-on-one interviews of important newsmakers, documentaries on various subjects and roundtable discussions between a group of experts. Many editions dealt with a review of the week in the Vietnam War. Despite winning plaudits with critics, ABC Scope got little respect from its own network. Already scheduled in an impossible timeslot (Saturdays at 10:30 PM, up against the second half-hour of Gunsmoke on CBS), not one major affiliate (not even flagship station WABC-TV in New York) carried it in that time period, preferring to schedule local or syndicated programming in its place. Most affiliates aired it in "fringe time" during the weekend.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.