From The Executive Editor's Desk...

Nightly Business Report Celebrates 25 Years of Delivering Business News

On January 22, 2004, the award-winning Nightly Business Report celebrated its 25th anniversary, marking a quarter century since it first aired on WPBT2 in Miami.

NBR created the genre of the daily business news program upon its debut in 1979, and since that time, has become the longest-running and most-watched program of its type.

Airing on more than 270 public television stations nationwide, making it available in 92% of U.S. television households, the program is watched by an average of 850,000 viewers each night.

I remember the early days of NBR when people said, "Business news on television will never work. It's not visual." Over the years, graphics, sets and the technology of newsgathering on the program have changed, but our goal from 25 years ago remains unchanged today to provide viewers with business and financial news that will help them make more informed decisions for their financial lives.

NBR has become one of the most influential and trusted sources of business news largely by avoiding "of the moment" hype. Instead, its objective is to provide solid business facts and information to help long-term investors. Viewers turn to Nightly Business Report for straightforward, concise and reliable information. The program combines fast-breaking business and economic news, extensive financial market coverage and mutual fund reports, in-depth analysis, corporate profiles and commentary by noted economists and experts in the business world.

Over the course of its 25 years, Nightly Business Report has been cited many times for excellence. It received three different awards from the Excellence in Personal FInance Reporting competition held by American University and the ICI Education Foundation. In 1994, it won the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel. And in 2002 and 2003, it earned three Platinum Awards in the WorldFest-Houston International Film and Video Festival, including one for in-depth coverage of the economic impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

NBR is anchored by Paul Kangas in Miami, who has been with the program since its inception, and Susie Gharib in New York, a dynamic and experienced reporter who's been on the print and television sides of financial news.

Kangas, dubbed "the Walter Cronkite of business broadcasters" by the Detroit Free Press, is a stockbroker-turned-financial-journalist.

Gharib, recognized in 2001 with a "Gracie" ™ Award for Outstanding Achievement by Anchor of a News Program or News Magazine by the American Women in Radio and Television, has spent 20 years in financial journalism.

Nightly Business Report marked its 25th anniversary milestone in several ways. On January 19, 2004, it aired a special program unveiling The 25 Most Influential Business Persons of the Past 25 Years, as selected by a panel from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Then, on its 25th anniversary program airing on January 22, 2004, NBR announced The Most Influential Business Person of the Past 25 Years.

Linda O'Bryon
Executive Editor, Nightly Business Report
(Originally published to the web in 2004)