Brokaw Move Rekindles Rumors of Rather Retirement (Inside CBS's Dilemma)

RatherBiased.com ^ | 2003-11-30

[RatherBiased.com]

Brokaw Move Rekindles Rumors of Rather Retirement. Following Dan Rather's historically low ratings at the 2000 political conventions, speculation abounded in the television industry that CBS wanted to replace its 72-year-old anchorman.

Those rumors have continued to swirl about as Rather's ratings have declined and CBS's entertainment division has seen impressive gains. But the No. 1-ranked entertainment network is having trouble getting someone to boost its perennially last-place Evening News out of the cellar.

The network's predicament is partly of its own making. At this point, there is not really anyone at CBS News in whom network execs and market researchers have confidence. Younger correspondents like John Roberts and Scott Pelley are said to be jockeying for position behind-the-scenes but do not seem to have gained much traction. Neither has scored well with viewers and aside from an exclusive interview Pelley scored with President Bush on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, neither aspirant has managed to snare any memorable scoops.

Some within CBS believe the current situation is partly due to Rather's efforts to escape being forced out in a fashion similar to the way in which he ousted his predecessor Walter Cronkite. By preventing younger colleagues from acquiring any real power or notoriety, Rather has managed to remain in the anchor's chair.

"The most masterful thing he's done at CBS over the years is to convince one news director after another not to bring along a successor," argues one producer.

Bill Carter, television reporter for the New York Times agrees:

"If [CBS's] news division was stronger, I think he'd be gone. But right now nobody could point to a single person who is of a similar stature."

"Their audience has dropped to under seven million - some of the lowest numbers they have ever seen. There is a crisis at their news division."

Rather has said repeatedly that he has no intention of quitting and corporate brass have had little help in their quest to replace him from the likes of news president Andrew Heyward who is known for his fealty to Rather and a status-quo approach to management.

Speaking of a similar situation at 60 Minutes, one producer argued to the New York Observer that Heyward and his underlings are fecklessly procrastinating the inevitable:

"As a manager, how could you take that kind of a trademark and allow yourself to get this point?"

"Imagine you were running the world and you suddenly discovered everybody was 85 and you hadn't made plans for next year? Everybody's taking their long summer vacation and pretending it's business as usual."

But the dynamics of the succession struggle appear to be changing, though not due to actions of anyone at CBS. The impending retirement of NBC's Tom Brokaw (who has led the ratings race for most of the past 15 years) is causing everyone at CBS to wonder what kind of impact it may have on the Eyemark network's Evening News.

On the one hand, keeping Rather on while Brokaw successor Brian Williams settles in may boost CBS out of last-place but it also might also give a new CBS anchor room to breathe. Or it may have little effect at all.

Whenever CBS does decide to show Rather the door is not clear at present but it is apparently giving serious consideration to replacing the Texan following the 2004 election, one which Rather had earlier said he did not intend on covering.

"After the election, we are looking at changes," the Web site DrudgeReport.com quoted a "top network source" as saying.

[Cicero]

If Rather leaves, will RatherBiased.com retain its name?

I suppose you could, since all the rest of them are biased too.

[Paleo Conservative]

If Rather leaves, will RatherBiased.com retain its name?

I suppose you could, since all the rest of them are biased too.

If Rather goes into the kind of retirement that Cronkite did, there will be plenty of reason for RatherBiased.com to continue its existence.

[Mears]

All these anchors do is read what's handed to them,look good,and earn lots of money.

Most of the folks on FR could do that so what is the big deal about this?

They aren't newsmen anymore,just overpaid readers.

[Recovering_Democrat]

The networks are dying dinosaurs. Brokaw, Rather and Jennings still reach huge audiences, but these audiences are diminishing in their importance, especially regarding electoral politics. Let's face it: none of them are "hip" and none of them reflect the basic love for country that is prevalent these days. As the "raised on cable" generation grows older, the audience of the Big 3 Network News divisions are going to swirl down the commode of irrelevancy. And I love it.

[dogbyte12]

They stay on way too long in that job. Jennings has been anchor since 1983 (20 years), Brokaw, has been the anchor since 1983 (20 years), Blather has been anchor since 1981 (22 years).

Enough already. Thankfully, the big 3's influence has diminished, but I find it sad, that these 3 guys have been the major source of news for most americans for close to a quarter of a century.

If President's can be term limited, so should anchors. 8 years, and it's time to get a new warm body there. There is a certain cynicism inherent in being a top dog all the way since the first Reagan term. I think it is obvious in the way they cover the presidency. I would rather have some somebody who is 35 now take the job until they are 42. They make enough money so they can retire, write their memoirs, or teach at that point.

[RatherBiased.com]

There are some people at CBS who think the network should not even bother hiring a replacement for Rather. They'd prefer to give the time to the entertainment side. Many affiliates would prefer to have the time to themselves.

[lilylangtree]

Dan Rather, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw need to resign or retire. They're has-beens with credibility problems lacking since the '92 campaign. Plus, none are doing the networks any good at all.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

In an new Time of War...

with an Enemy that is now...

just around the Corner and...

up your street...

it's still the Friends of HILLARY

DAN RATHER
TOM BROKAW
PETER JENNINGS

who are still allowed to hide her own worst misbehaviors from the American People

[Mr. K]

I asked that same question once and was told that Rather and the other major on-air people are also editor-in-chief of content that gets read too. This would explain why CBS news sucks so bad (besides RatherBiased and his spin)

[bethelgrad]

I know he's a lib, but I really respect Brokaw. Maybe it's more personal, I just like him.

[Loyalist]

Courage!

[mountaineer]

If I could understand a word of what ol' "mush mouth" Brokaw said, I might like him, too!

[Timesink]

Schadenfreude

This is the New York Times CBS News Schadenfreude Ping List. Freepmail me to be added or dropped.

[hosepipe]

Dan Rather = Archie Bunker no common sense...

[ALOHA RONNIE]

...After the CLINTONS had Columbia University award AP a quick Pulitzer Prize for a false story about the U.S. 7th Cavalry's Massacring Korean civiilians at the Bridge of NO GUN RI during the Korean War...

...Friend of HILLARY TOM BROKAW promoted this Media Lie on NBC's
'Nightly News' & 'Dateline NBC.'

...After a Pentagon Investigation, JOE GALLOWAY's U.S. News Investigative Reports and Major ROBERT BATEMAN's book 'NO GUN RI: A History of the Korean War Incident' found there was no such Massacre...

...TOM BROKAW never rescinded his TV Lie to the American People. Nor has Friend of HILLARY Columbia University ever taken back AP's ill-gotten NO GUN RI Pulitzer.

The Enemy is now Within...
and always has been.

[SwinneySwitch]

Old anchormen never die,

they just smell that way!

[Grampa Dave]

This may be why the nets are keeping these old left wing hacks. When the ratings drop enough on one of the them, the net will just cancel the program like you noted in your reply.

"There are some people at CBS who think the network should not even bother hiring a replacement for Rather. They'd prefer to give the time to the entertainment side. Many affiliates would prefer to have the time to themselves."

When this happens, the other two nets will drop their old left wing goats.

If GW is re elected with a big landslide inspite of the 3 nets and their old liberal nightly news hacking, all 3 nets will drop their evening news in the next year.

[FreedomCalls]

Give Dan Rather's job to Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, or Michelle Malkin and watch the ratings soar!

[ALOHA RONNIE]

DAN RATHER
TOM BROKAW
PETER JENNINGS

...will all keep their TV News Anchor Jobs at least long enough to do all they can to get their Friend HILLARY back into our Oval Office in 2004.