We’ve been writing here for a few months now on the various challenges, criticisms, and concerns we have about the TV news business. We recognize that some readers might get the impression that, after spending an entire working life in the craft, we might not believe in it as much these days. Maybe the challenges of the moment are too much to overcome, and we are witnessing the first turns of the death spiral that seems to befall any media at a certain point in its existence. The rise of technology that has led to the fall of those platforms that have gone before, now must certainly be coming for the likes of television. The internet has put the ability to broadcast in everyone’s hands, so the power of broadcasting must be diminishing.

Allow us to state it clearly. We still believe in the power of TV news, perhaps now more than ever.

We have an example of that power in just the past few hours. A 69-year-old man from Chicago walked out onto a balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square in Rome as the new and 267th Pope of the Catholic Church. And we saw it happen live on television. Across seemingly every station and channel, from the major networks of each nation to the smaller and less notable outlets that are dedicated to serving the faithful in their own way.

It was truly a moment, and seeing that moment on a screen in our home is the reason we believe.

Let us add that while we believe in the power of faith, we are not typical practitioners of it, at least in the organized sense. We are not Catholic, but we respect it and all religions as institutions that bind like-minded disciples together to practice the faith of their choice. Whatever your personal beliefs may be, we respect and admire your choices in striving to live a better life.

While we (and others) may not share your beliefs, surely we can all appreciate the gravity of the moment when a spiritual leader is selected for a worldwide congregation of over 1.4 billion people. The pomp and circumstance of it is one of those moments that captures the world’s attention.

And there it is. That’s what the news on television does well. It can capture the moment and allow anyone to experience it, almost as if they were there in person.

We can always quibble about the skill of the journalists charged with capturing and narrating the moment and the effectiveness of the tools they may use in the course of their work. Much like dissecting the athleticism in a post-game show, there can always be something to criticize. (Though we would argue that the drone cameras that provided the soaring aerial viewes of the moments when the bells rang out over the square are as cinematic as anything Hollywood has ever produced.)

But one of the truths learned in maturing is that moments truly matter. The enduring power of television is seeing those moments as they happen and being able to appreciate them for yourself. Whether you view it on a 65-inch screen in your home, a 14-inch screen in your lap in the airport, or a 6.7-inch screen in your hand while being almost anywhere near civilization, we believe that it is still fundamentally television.

The “Magic Lantern” was the name of the device invented in the 1600s that could project images onto a surface. Lanterna magica in Latin, came into being in the decade that saw another Pope Leo lead the Catholic Church. Alas, Pope Leo XI would only be the Pontiff for some 27 days in 1605, and likely never witnessed the remarkable effect of the Magic Lantern. His future successor to take the name of Leo for the 14th time in history, Pope Leo XIV, was likely seen delivering his first prayer by a global audience of billions today, thanks to the eventual successor of the Magic Lantern.

Television News is at its very best when it captures the crucial moments as they happen. From the globally watched moment introducing a new Pope, to the smaller, yet equally important local moment when a new Mayor is elected. Moments of joy to moments of tragedy, such as one when a man dies at the very hands of those sworn to “protect and serve” their community. And the moment when those who object to that action take to the streets to protest.

They are all moments that make up what has been accurately called “the first rough draft of history."

In the 1950s, during television’s infancy, CBS created a show that presented significant moments of history as they might have been covered as a television news event, long before the medium had been invented. The program, anchored by a young CBS News journalist named Walter Cronkite, was titled “You Are There.” (CBS apparently liked three-word program titles during that era, including “See It Now” and “Face The Nation.") Each episode began with Cronkite on camera, delivering a newscast-style introduction at an anchor desk. He would conclude with the words “Everything is, as it was, except…You Are There. A dramatic reenactment of the historical event would follow, ostensibly unfolding in front of television news reporters. Here’s an example of the program as it “covered” the signing of the Declaration of Independence

Our point here is that covering moments in time, both big and small, is what television news excels at. Aside from introducing a new Pope, the first from the United States, said to be a humble man from the South Side of Chicago who also happens to be a Cubs baseball fan. That story will be covered extensively by the local TV newscasts in the Windy City tonight. And there will be other moments covered by journalists working in local TV newsrooms, both across this country and in other countries worldwide.

To each of them, we say, take pride in your work and give it your best today and every day. This is what TV news can and should do well.