1970s in American television
Another influential genre was the television newscast. It built on its initial widespread success in the 1960s. Each of the three television networks had widely recognizable and respected journalists helming their newscasts: CBS anchor Walter Cronkite was voted "The Most Trusted Man in America" many times over. He led in the nightly ratings. NBC's John Chancellor and David Brinkley were a strong second, while ABC was in third place in the news department until the 1990s. It had a newscast helmed by Howard K. Smith.