C'mon, man, I'm gettin' old! Old! See... Hearing? Hearing? Yes!
Posted on 12/13/2005 5:52:05 PM PST by wjersey
In today's installment of "As Katie Couric Turns," Bob Schieffer says he's wild about the Today star.
Schieffer, "interim" anchor of CBS Evening News since March, would do a happy dance if the network signed Couric as his successor when her NBC contract expires in May.
Couric "is a big-time journalist. I'm hoping we can get her," says Schieffer, scheduled to anchor Evening News from the National Constitution Center tomorrow, eve of the world premiere there of the traveling Ben Franklin exhibition. (CBS's KYW is a sponsor.)
Like his new boss, Sean McManus, and his boss, Les Moonves, Schieffer waxes rhapsodic over Couric.
"She's a great interviewer, people know who she is, and she has enormous credibility. People believe her. They take her seriously. She's also a very nice person to have around this place. She would make us a better news department."
After months of post-Memogate turmoil, "things are finally starting to move, at long last," says Schieffer, 68. "I can see a light at the end of the tunnel... . It will only be a matter of months before we get all the pieces in place."
The key piece, of course, is Couric. Many think that at 48, she's the right person to compete against NBC's Brian Williams and ABC's newly named Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff - all fortysomethings.
Timing is crucial. Mired in third place for a decade, Evening News is just starting to show signs of Nielsen life, and CBS wants to capitalize on that momentum.
McManus, also head of CBS Sports, has said repeatedly that he's going after anybody and everybody in the industry. Schieffer compares his zeal for on-air talent to that of legendary ABC News-Sports czar Roone Arledge, McManus' mentor.
"When Roone got David Brinkley [from NBC], he didn't know what to do with him. He just wanted him on the team. Then he reinvented Sunday television [with This Week]. Sean's the very same kind of leader. He's a player.
"This is just like baseball. When you send out the word that you're going after big-salary players, it means you're serious about trying to win the World Series. That's the feeling around here."
In Schieffer's view, TV news has evolved to the point where gender isn't a factor in choosing a solo anchor. (Like CBS would be this hot for Ken Couric? Right.)
"It's no longer a case of whether it's a man or a woman. It's who it is.... Putting together the best news team is not about formats. You get the best people you can find, and the format evolves out of that."
Anchor (or anchors) aside, Schieffer says that younger correspondents such as Lara Logan, Trish Regan, Lee Cowan, Byron Pitts and Jim Axelrod will play "a major role" in the revamped broadcast.
Back to Ben Franklin and the NCC. Schieffer is a fan of both. He labels the latter "the most wonderful new museum in the country" and has visited three times.
Moving up. George Stephanopoulos yesterday was named ABC's chief Washington correspondent, in addition to his duties as anchor of This Week.
Stephanopoulos will oversee coverage of Congress, reporting for all ABC "platforms" (we hate that word), including World News Tonight, Nightline and "digital properties." Also, he'll do an hour-long prime-time political special in '06.
Technically, Stephanopoulos isn't replacing anyone, though he will take over much of the current turf of senior congressional correspondent Linda Douglass, who's leaving at the end of this month.
The new role puts Stephanopoulos at par with Tim Russert of NBC's top-rated Meet the Press and Schieffer, of CBS's No. 2 Face the Nation. Stephanopoulos joined ABC in January '97 as a news analyst for This Week after serving as a senior adviser to President Bill Clinton.
March "convicted." Stephanie Marchwill reprise her Law & Order: SVU role of Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot on Dick Wolf's latest NBC legal drama, Conviction. Cabot was last seen in '03, when she was sent into the Witness Protection Program after being shot.
Conviction, set to launch early next year, follows a group of young New York ADAs. Costars include Eric Balfour, Julianne Nicholson and Anson Mount.
Schieffer wants to tap it?
I guess the definition of "journalist" has really, really changed since my J-1 and J-2 classes almost forty years ago.
Or she already gave it up, and this is the payoff....enquiring minds wanna know.
That sound you hear is Ed Murrow spinning in his grave.
don't we all?
"She's a great interviewer, people know who she is, and she has enormous credibility. People believe her. They take her seriously. She's also a very nice person to have around this place. She would make us a better news department."
----
CBS News must have a Deathwish for "Nightly News" in 2006.
Old Charley Paley and FRed FRiendly must be spinning in their graves/tombs/urns. :-)
A Lewinsky at most.
C'mon, man, I'm gettin' old! Old! See... Hearing? Hearing? Yes!
Those early mornings are taking their toll on Katie and Matt, by the way they look.
Diane Sawyer seems spunky like the Katie of old.
Could somebody please photoshop Scheiffer's head on to Katie's cheerleader photo?
Bob Scheiffer is probably SEETHING inside and cursing why HE didnt get the cushy dig!!
She has enormous credibility? Not in my house!
LOL!
I wasn't expecting that and it completely floored me!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.