PBS NewsHour is more than a current affairs bulletin. It is a national institution. As the name suggests, the show is an hour long, allowing for a more in-depth assessment of important stories behind the headlines as well as broader coverage of world affairs.

Since its launch in 1975, the NewsHour has earned a strong reputation for the quality and balance of its reportage -- winning a handful of awards in its first year on air and a dozen honours in 2011 alone, including the USC-Annenberg Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism. A tight rein is kept on the quality of the show's output by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions -- a company part owned by respected former NewsHour anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil. In the age of the soundbite, PBS NewsHour devotes more time to presenting the news in its correct context. Screened here in the UK a day after its US transmission, it is an invaluable source of information, particularly in the run up to the US presidential election.