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February 05, 2005
Bob Schieffer?
This last week CBS News announced that Bob Schieffer, the host of "Face the Nation" would become the interim anchorman of "The CBS Evening News" after current anchor Dan Rather retires in March.
The New York Times put the story on the first page of its Business Day section below the fold with headline "'Face the Nation' Host Is Interim Anchor at CBS." I found it a little strange that the Times didn't mention either Schieffer or Rather in the headline, but did mention "Face the Nation," a show that no one watches--among the four major networks that have Sunday morning talk shows, "Face..." is the lowest rated. If CBS News took it off the air, no one would know, let alone complain.
And Bob Schieffer? He's five-and-ahalf years younger than Rather, but looks older (at least Rather colors his hair in an attempt to look younger), so Schieffer won't appeal to anyone under 65. I think the reason the Times didn't put his name in the headline is because it couldn't spell his hame, let alone pronounce it. Besides, it's too long to put in a headline; therefore, for the three or four months that he's the interim anchor, he'll get no headlines, no promotion (unless he screws up like Rather did), which should tank the CBS Evening News even more and set it up for the cutsey-poo team of anchors that Moonves will make CBS News hire--anyone it hires will look good compared to...who?...Bob Schieffer?
Posted by Charles Warner at February 5, 2005 11:18 AM
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Comments
Neil Derrough at February 5, 2005 01:56 PM writes:
The comments about Bob Schieffer miss the mark for me. First CBS News has to do something to feel better about who they are. Schieffer may not be the long term fix but he does represent the best they have left of their former good reputation. For now this should give the in house people something to feel better about. It's not a ratings game right now. It's regaining the self respect CBS News once had that will provide the only chance for their survival. This is just one step. Removing Heyward is the next. One step at a time they can try to deal with the future.
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