Posted on 03/08/2007 2:46:23 AM PST by abb
The shake-ups at the evening newscasts continued last night.
In the latest disruption, CBS News replaced Rome Hartman, the executive producer of the “Evening News with Katie Couric,” with the long-time TV news executive and producer Rick Kaplan, said several people who were informed of the move.
The decision follows a run of disappointing ratings for the CBS newscast, which had introduced Ms. Couric as its anchor with great fanfare in September. Though the program initially scored impressive ratings, and had increased ratings among some audience groups like younger women, it had sunk back to its long-established spot of last place among the three network newscasts in terms of total viewers.
In recent weeks, the newscast had fallen short of the audience totals achieved this time last year by Bob Schieffer, the anchor that Ms. Couric replaced. CBS executives had made it clear that they expected the program to be more competitive.
CBS News executives, contacted last night, declined to comment. But two of the people who were informed of the decision said that Mr. Hartman was told after last night’s newscast. Several staff members were also told that Mr. Kaplan would become the executive producer.
It was not clear last night when Mr. Kaplan would take over. But according to two people who know both Mr. Kaplan and Ms. Couric, they had established a good working relationship when Mr. Kaplan worked at the MSNBC news channel and Ms. Couric was at NBC News.
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(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Ping
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3iccd35af0628c62cd3d51239c37f2f76f
Kaplan in at 'CBS Evening News'
By Paul J. Gough
March 8, 2007
NEW YORK -- Rick Kaplan, the legendary producer and former president of CNN and MSNBC, will be named executive producer of the "CBS Evening News With Katie Couric."
Sources said late Wednesday that Rome Hartman, who had been named producer of the broadcast in late 2005, would be replaced by Kaplan as early as today. Hartman, a former "60 Minutes" producer and a favorite of CBS News president Sean McManus, will be reassigned to another high post at CBS News.
CBS News declined comment late Wednesday.
Sources said McManus made the decision and not Couric, who also is managing editor of the broadcast, though she was aware of it happening. The broadcast's third-place ranking in the ratings was a major factor in the decision, and the network wants a harder-edged, faster-paced newscast than has been seen in the six months since Couric took to the air.
The announcement marks the return to network television of one of its most accomplished producers. Kaplan most recently was president of MSNBC before leaving in June. He was president of CNN from 1997-2000 and was a senior vp at ABC News during his second stint at the network. Kaplan was executive producer of ABC's "World News Tonight With Peter Jennings" beginning in 1994 after creating and executive producing "Primetime Live" from 1989-94 and stints as executive producer of "Nightline," "World News This Morning" and "Good Morning America." At CBS he was an associate producer of the "CBS Evening News With Walter Cronkite" from 1974-79.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/08/AR2007030800046.html?nav=rss_artsandliving/entertainmentnews
CBS Makes Change at Struggling Newscast
By DAVID BAUDER
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 8, 2007; 1:32 AM
NEW YORK -- CBS News on Thursday is expected to fire the executive producer of Katie Couric's struggling "CBS Evening News" broadcast and appoint former CNN and MSNBC president Rick Kaplan to the job.
Kaplan will replace Rome Hartman, who has been doing the job since before Couric began at CBS last September, according to sources with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A spokeswoman for CBS News declined comment on Wednesday evening. Kaplan, reached at home, also declined to comment.
The newscast has been a distant third in the ratings behind ABC and NBC. During last month's pivotal ratings "sweeps" period, Couric's average of 7.6 million viewers was 6 percent down from what Bob Schieffer recorded in February 2006.
More troubling to many who watched it was the newscast's apparent confusion in direction, driving viewers away from an anchor given a multi-million dollar commitment to jump from NBC's "Today" show.
CBS' shift comes less than a week after NBC News announced that the executive producer of "Nightly News," John Reiss, was leaving. Longtime ratings leader NBC and anchor Brian Williams have been sliding in the ratings as ABC's "World News" with Charles Gibson has won for three of the past four weeks.
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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/08/entertainment/main2546298.shtml
Change Afoot At CBS Evening News
NEW YORK, March 8, 2007
It won't make a bit of difference.
Sorry, Katie, but you can't put a spit shine on a steaming pile of dog crap.
put up your deck chair pic. applicable here, LOL!
Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Nay, stupidity is simply doing a series of things without any idea what you are about. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is idiocy (not the same thing as insanity).
On = Only
Couldn't resist.
prisoner6
Yes, but getting all the media pieces in place for Her Heinous's run is what this is all about.
Who are Katie Colic and Rick Kaplan?
Gee, Katie. Maybe your ratings would improve if you didn't lie so much.
There is a word for when the entire Main Stream Media is not lying......SILENCE!
That's the generally accepted definition of insanity, not stupidity...
Trying to attract women to the nightly news is like trying to attract men to the View...
He's the Matt Millen of television executives.
That was like for a week, correct?
Coming from being a heavyweight at MSNBC, I'm sure Kaplan will fix Katie's show. LOL.
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