NewsNight with Aaron Brown: Weeknights, 10 p.m. ET
Friday, May 7, 2004

Good Evening,

The note tonight is going to be very different, very personal with only a brief mention of the program itself. The program first. It's good. Watch it. There's a fair amount on the prison mess, a couple of spots from Iraq itself, and a wonderful still photo tribute to mom. I could go on, but then the first line would make no sense so I'll just stop.

Of other things. This is the last program we will do from the ratty old building on 34th and 8th. To us, of course, it is more than that and to some of you it is as well. Newscasts aren't about buildings and they aren't about sets and graphics and all that wiz bang stuff. They are about written words, about pictures, about an idea, and I suppose in the case of NewsNight about a voice. NewsNight clearly has a voice, nasal though it may be. But if ever there was a program that was in some way defined by a building, this one is it. It is on top of this building, on the roof two and a half years ago, that the program was born. On that horrible day of 9-11, NewsNight, which had no name at the time but did have an idea, began. As I walked in today, I thought back on that day and of so many others since. When I finish this, I will walk upstairs to the roof and just think for a few moments about all that has happened since 9-11 for the program and the staff. As surely you must know, I have enormous pride in what NewsNight is. This group of people has created a program that is thoughtful and smart. It wins awards like no other daily newscast and deserves them. It is one part traditional and one part risk taking. We have never been afraid to try things because, as a group, we have never been afraid to fail. We believed in still photos and created a form that others now copy. We've discovered ways to show you how the world covers what we cover. We created segments around young up and coming entrepreneurs and made it fun. We have Nissen. We are a place where "fair and balanced" isn't someone’s pr slogan, but a treasured value. Even as we do serious work, we are also not afraid to laugh. We've tried some things that were truly horrible. How else can you describe the accordion man:) We believed we could succeed without yelling, screaming, and name- calling and we have. NewsNight will be NewsNight wherever it is, but this ratty old building will always mean something. So, if I seem a bit wistful tonight that is why.

I know from your notes that many of you have been with us since the start. Know how much we, everyone one of us, appreciate that. You invite us in for an hour to chat each night, to talk of the big and important, and batboy too. You have patiently stayed with us as we figured this thing out. You let us know when we do great and when we let you down. Most always, you regular viewers do that with a thoughtfulness that exists too little in the culture today. Thank you. On Monday, we'll sit on an interim set in a beautiful new building with food choices galore. We will also remember where we came from and why.

Have a great weekend.

Aaron and the staff of NewsNight