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Washington Week

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Washington Week
Also known as
  • Washington Week in Review (1967–2005)
  • Washington Week (2005–2023)
Presented by
Narrated byPaul Anthony
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons55
No. of episodesover 2,000
Production
Production locationsWETA-TV Studios, Washington, D.C.
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesWETA-TV (1967–2021)
NewsHour Productions (2021–present)
Original release
NetworkNET (1967–1970)
PBS (1970–present)
ReleaseFebruary 23, 1967 (1967-02-23) –
present
Logo used from July 13, 2018 to August 4, 2023

Washington Week with The Atlantic (originally Washington Week in Review from 1967 to 2005 and Washington Week from 2005 to August 2023) is an American public affairs television program, which has aired on PBS and its predecessor, National Educational Television, since 1967. Unlike other panel discussion shows which encourage informal (sometimes vociferous) debates as a means of presentation, Washington Week consistently follows a path of civility and moderation. Its format is that of a roundtable featuring the show's moderator and two to four Washington-based journalists. The program is produced by WETA-TV in Washington, D.C.

History

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Washington Week in Review was first broadcast on February 23, 1967, on National Educational Television and was picked up by PBS in 1970. Since its first episode in 1967, the program's announcer has been Paul Anthony.[2]

In 1999, Dalton Delan fired Ken Bode.[3] On October 1, 1999, Gwen Ifill became the host of the program until her death on November 14, 2016. A successor was not announced immediately. It was Ifill who shortened the name of the program when she took over, as a sign that "the show would spend more time looking forward."[4] On April 20, 2017, WETA announced that Robert Costa of The Washington Post would become the next moderator of Washington Week.[5]

On January 8, 2010, Washington Week began broadcasting in high definition, with broadcasts presented in letterboxed and pillarboxed format for viewers with standard-definition television sets watching either through cable or satellite television. The program also introduced a new set and upconverted its existing graphics package to HD.[6][failed verification]

Ifill and other personalities chat after filming a special edition at the Hanna Theatre in Cleveland during the 2016 Republican National Convention

On July 13, 2018, the program underwent its first major change in presentation in years, adopting a new graphics package and a reorchestrated version of its theme music (with a new set, and music by Stephen Arnold).[7][8][9]

In January 2021, Costa left the program to devote his time to co-authoring an upcoming book with veteran journalist Bob Woodward; guest moderators were used in Costa's place.[10]

In May 2021, Yamiche Alcindor, at the time the White House correspondent for PBS NewsHour, became the ninth moderator of Washington Week. Alcindor had previously been a regular Washington Week panelist.[11] In December 2021, WETA subsidiary NewsHour Productions began producing Washington Week.[12] In February 2023, Alcindor announced that she would step down to focus full-time on her job at NBC and writing her memoirs, saying that her final date as moderator would be February 24.[13] After Alcindor's departure, various other journalists served as guest moderator until August 2023.

On August 2, 2023, it was announced that Jeffrey Goldberg, who has served as editor-in-chief of The Atlantic since 2016, had been named as the program’s tenth moderator, and that the politics and culture publication would also enter into an editorial partnership with the television program – which was retitled accordingly as Washington Week with The Atlantic – similar to the earlier collaboration with the National Journal.[14][15] The first episode under the longer title, and with Goldberg as moderator, was broadcast on August 11, 2023.[16]

On June 21, 2024, Washington Week moved to a new studio, designed by Eric Siegel and George Allison.[17]

National Journal

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In 2006, Washington Week made an agreement with National Journal which ensured that at least one National Journal reporter would be on the show.[18] This agreement is no longer in effect.

Format

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Since moving to PBS, Washington Week has used a panel discussion format moderated by a host. Panelists come from various national media organizations.

Distribution

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Washington Week is on PBS's national primetime lineup. Because of the subscriber nature of PBS, local presentation of Washington Week is scheduled by individual stations, and air times vary by market. The most common airing pattern is the show leading off primetime on Friday evenings with weekend afternoon encores on most PBS member stations, and several airings per week on the affiliated network, World Channel.

Notable personalities

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Moderators

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Regular panelists

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Further reading

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  • Hirsch, Alan (1991). Talking Heads: Political Talk Shows and Their Star Pundits. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-05521-9.

See also

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Reception

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Washington Week has received generally positive reviews from television critics. Barry Garron of Current wrote, "Favor[s] balance over frivolity."[22] Angelina Chapin of The Cut wrote, "[Alcindor's] job requires staying on top of a constantly evolving, 24/7 news cycle and then making those stories digestible for viewers."[23]

References

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  1. ^ Shepard, Alicia C. (June 1999). "Unplugged". American Journalism Review. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  2. ^ "Washington Week | The Backstory: The Voice of Washington Week". YouTube. February 22, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  3. ^ Kurtz, Howard (February 23, 1999). "Ken Bode's Bad 'Washington Week'". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  4. ^ Ifill, Gwen (November 30, 2006). "Washington Week". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Meet Robert Costa, new Washington Week moderator". PBS.org. April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  6. ^ Ifill, Gwen (January 8, 2010). "Washington Week". WETA. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  7. ^ P. Hill, Michael (July 23, 2018). "'Washington Week' on PBS debuts new set, part of larger makeover". NewscastStudio. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  8. ^ P. Hill, Michael (July 23, 2018). "'Washington Week' overhauls logo, graphics and music". NewscastStudio. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  9. ^ "Stephen Arnold Music Updates PBS' 'Washington Week' Identity With New Sonic Brand And Custom Music Package". SHOOTonline. August 8, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "Washington Week Host Robert Costa Departs Program". WNET. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  11. ^ Weprin, Alex (May 4, 2021). "Yamiche Alcindor Named Moderator of PBS' 'Washington Week'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  12. ^ Wyllie, Julian (December 6, 2021). "NewsHour Productions takes over management of 'Washington Week'". Current. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  13. ^ Mastrangelo, Dominick (February 13, 2023). "Yamiche Alcindor leaving PBS's 'Washington Week'". The Hill. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Jeffrey Goldberg named new moderator of Washington Week". PBS (Press release). August 2, 2023. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024.
  15. ^ Malone, Michael (August 2, 2023). "'Washington Week' Gets New Moderator, New Name". Broadcasting & Cable. Future US, Inc. Archived from the original on August 3, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  16. ^ "Jeffrey Goldberg moderates Washington Week with The Atlantic". YouTube. PBS. August 11, 2023. Archived from the original on March 3, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  17. ^ Dillon, Dak (June 27, 2024). "PBS's 'Washington Week' upgrades discussion with move to new facility, studio". NewscastStudio. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  18. ^ "'Washington Week' Forges Editorial Partnership with 'National Journal'" (Press release). WETA. April 29, 2005. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  19. ^ "Washington Week: Mark Landler". PBS. April 26, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  20. ^ "harrison kinney bio". harrisonkinney.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2003. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  21. ^ "Jonathan Martin". Washington Week. PBS. July 23, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  22. ^ Garron, Barry (August 1, 2017). "New 'Washington Week' host aims to favor balance over frivolity". Current. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  23. ^ Chapin, Angelina (August 16, 2021). "Yamiche Alcindor Knows Her Job Is Serious Business". The Cut. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
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