All Blog Posts from Public Eye

It’s been one year for Katie Couric at the anchor desk of the “CBS Evening News.”

And the media isn’t hesitating at all to give her a letter grade, a progress report, some premature obits and some “stay the course”s to mark the occasion.

But nearly unanimous in all the coverage is the fact that CBS News apparently overshot its goal, choosing not only to install a new anchor and begin a new era, but also to use that occasion to redefine the entire concept of the network evening newscast – and therefore capture the younger audience.

And that it didn't work out.

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Last week, the Chicago Tribune published a column by Phil Rosenthal in which he complains that "[w]hen Gerald Ford died Tuesday, CBS didn't even interrupt a 'Late Show With David Letterman' rerun. It just ran the news as a headline across the bottom of the screen." Rosenthal contrasts the decision not to break into the Late Show with CBS' handling of Lyndon Johnson's death in 1973, when Walter Cronkite took a phone call from the former president's spokesman live on the "Evening News."

"There was pride in relaying big stories first, putting one's stamp on them, reminding viewers this was the channel to watch for the latest news. But that was almost 34 years ago," writes Rosenthal. He argues that the era of people like Frank Stanton, "the man who made it possible for Edward R. Murrow to go after Sen. Joseph McCarthy," has "probably" "passed" at CBS.

I asked CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus to respond to Rosenthal's comments. He did so in an email. "…I think our extensive coverage of the funeral, including breaking in Friday for over 20 minutes during a live football game and the coverage of the Saddam execution and breaking into the network for that, shows that our commitment to covering the news and breaking stores is as strong as it has ever been," wrote McManus.

The decision to break into the football game, in fact, garnered complaints of a very different shade than Rosenthal's. "CBS broke into the Brut Sun Bowl game just to 'let us viewers see' Pres Ford's casket being carried out of the hearse at the family's funeral service. It's the family's private funeral after all! Good grief!," wrote one e-mailer to Public Eye. "Now they have a big mouthy political analyst yapping."

Wrote another: "Please stop interrupting our football game today with long, wasted TV shots of the church and finally Ford's casket.....interrupting for a minute or two wouldn't be so bad....interrupting for a long period of time when obviously anyone watching is on CBS for the football game is stupid."

The death of a former president puts television broadcasters in a difficult position. Obviously, it's impossible to please everyone with your coverage. Ford's death probably did merit at least a brief interruption of the Late Show, and interested viewers could have switched to a news channel or gone online for more extensive coverage. One can even look at the decision not to break in as evidence that entertainment trumps news at CBS. Of course, the decision to interrupt the football game provides evidence in the opposite direction.

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This was the scene outside of the CBS Broadcast Center a few minutes ago, with CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus giving a press conference concerning the death of longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent Ed Bradley. There were maybe 50 reporters gathered below the Broadcast Center awning for the occasion, and there have been reporters milling around in front of the building since the news broke this morning. You will be able to watch the video of McManus' comments soon on CBSNews.com – we will provide a link when the video goes live.

Update: Video after the jump.

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In an announcement this morning, CBS News said it will become the first network to simulcast its evening news broadcast on the Internet when the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” debuts next month. According to a news release, the broadcast can be seen live online or be viewed at any time afterwards as an on-demand program. CBS News President Sean McManus said:

This is a groundbreaking development in making the program available to the largest possible audience. For people who can’t be in front of their televisions when the "Evening News" is on, they can now watch the program live on their computers. It’s another giant step towards providing CBS News content to people wherever they are – in their homes, in their offices, in their cars, on their computers or on their cell phones.

It sounds bold, but it is really just reflective of what’s happening all across the media landscape (you can read more about how the simulcast works at TVNewser). For example, Broadcasting & Cable’s Allison Romano takes a look at the increasing trend of newspapers getting into the online video game:

As interest in online video surges, newspapers are taking the fight to TV stations on the Web. Across the country, newspapers, suffering from declining readerships, are ratcheting up their online offerings, launching video pages and Webcasts. In Wilmington, Del., part of the Philadelphia market, The News Journal Webcasts daily morning and evening local news. Midsize and larger papers, including The New York Times and Atlanta Journal-Constitution, are training reporters to shoot video and hiring videographers and “multimedia” journalists like Spidle. The Associated Press provides video clips for more than 1,100 newspapers' Websites.

Clearly, video (both news and otherwise) is moving at least partly online at a rapid pace. Here are my questions for you, dear readers: Do you watch video online, on your cell phones or anywhere else than on your television sets? Will you watch an evening news broadcast online? What else do you want from your online, on-demand video? And what am I supposed to do with that big-screen, HD-TV I bought anyway?

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CBS News’ Senior Vice President for News Coverage Marcy McGinnis announced to colleagues today that she will be stepping down next week. In a note, McGinnis writes:

“It's time for a changing of the guard at CBS News, and I'll be leaving on Friday, November 18.



Sean McManus told me when he arrived last week that he felt it was important to appoint his own "number two" -- a decision I understand.



In 1970, just two weeks after graduation from Marymount University in Arlington, VA, I began my career at CBS News as a secretary in the Special Events Unit. I had no idea where I was headed and no idea where I would end up. But I did know that I wanted to travel a path that was interesting and adventurous, fun and exotic, stimulating and challenging. I wanted to make a difference. CBS News sounded like it might offer some of those things, and boy was I ever right.

CBS President Sean McManus sent a note as well, reading in part:

“I would like to thank her for a distinguished 35-year career with us, a tenure remarkable for its unwavering dedication to making every event she was involved in the best it could possibly be. Marcy has guided our worldwide newsgathering operation through some of the most complicated and challenging events of our lifetimes, from 9/11 to the Iraq war to Hurricane Katrina. As all of you know, events like those test the strength, resourcefulness and professional skills of every individual involved. Marcy led the way, and CBS News’ exceptional coverage of those and other events is proof of that.”

Like former CBS News President Andrew Heyward, McGinnis has been supportive of our mission at Public Eye and has made many of our behind-the-scenes looks possible. We thank her for that.

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On his second day on the job, CBS News President Sean McManus addressed the troops this afternoon, laying out his early vision for the division and handling questions tossed at him by the likes of Ed Bradley and Andy Rooney. In an exchange that lasted just over 40 minutes, McManus began by paying tribute to his “friend,” outgoing CBS News President Andrew Heyward, saying, “I can’t tell you how much respect I have for his leadership ability, his integrity, his intelligence and most of all his love respect for honest journalism and outstanding reporting.”



Some of the themes McManus struck included a pursuit of excellence, a competitive desire to take CBS News up in the ratings and a willingness to experiment combined with a respect for the traditions of CBS News. McManus several times tied himself to the future success of the news division, commenting on leaving a comfortable spot as head of CBS Sports where his golf handicap had fallen in recent years to head a network number three in many categories.



McManus at one point noted, “If I didn’t think we could get it done, I wouldn’t have taken it because I certainly don’t want to be associated with anything remotely considered failure.” While McManus remains president of CBS Sports, he said 95% of his time will be spent focusing on the news division for the foreseeable future.



McManus sought to put to rest questions that some in the news division have been asking, beginning by voicing his admiration for CBS News tradition, noting, “I have an enormous respect for the ... quality and excellence of news coverage now being produced by all of you. … there’s a great heritage and a great prestige here at CBS that I hope to maintain, and indeed, build upon.” Within CBS News, these were important words because over the years some CBS and Viacom executives have said that tradition is more burden than benefit.

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Amid the whirlwind of change at CBS News today, I spoke with both outgoing president Andrew Heyward and newly announced president Sean McManus. (Just because I’m part of Public Eye doesn’t mean I have a special place in the hearts of CBS’ PR department.)



I suspect it will be nearly impossible to read or hear a story, today or in the coming days, about this change without a line about the “60 Minutes Wednesday” National Guard story and its impact on Heyward’s departure. But he doesn’t see it that way, telling me that, “on a scale of 100, last year’s event … had zero to do with this.” Heyward sees a much bigger picture, saying “this needs to be seen against the broader backdrop of almost 10 years in this job, which is a really long time, in a very rewarding and challenging assignment. In fact, I think this institution has moved well beyond the events of last year, much further than the people who cover us have. … One of the things that I feel good about is leading us past that and that is not a factor here, this needs to be seen in a broader context.”



McManus also believes the story is in the past and says “the time is right for CBS News to move beyond the issues it has been dealing with over the past year.” He acknowledges it is now part of CBS News and is “never going to totally go away.” But he sees the opportunity for a “new chapter” at the news division. And, in case anyone wonders about his approach, McManus vows that CBS News will not be “intimidated or demoralized” by the past.

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We’ve been asked many times over the course of the past weeks why we’ve not covered the speculation and rumors about the future of CBS News. The answer, simply, is that we’re not here to engage in idle chat about who’s in or who’s out, who’s up or who’s down. We leave that to the professionals at Page Six.



But these are momentous times for the news division and since there are now real changes taking place that will have real impact on its products, we would be remiss to ignore it. That seems to be in line with our basic mission to help bring more transparency to CBS News. In the days and weeks to come, much will be written and many questions asked. We’ll be covering that discussion and some of those developments as they happen. First, I wanted to provide a snapshot of the initial reaction at the news division and some of the questions being asked.

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Big changes afoot at CBS News with the announcement today that President Andrew Heyward will leave his position when his contract is up at the end of the year. In conjunction, CBS announced that CBS Sports President Sean McManus will replace Heyward at the news division while retaining his position within the sports division.



As of this morning, there’s plenty of buzz surrounding these announcements and Public Eye will be here to help sort it all out so stay tuned.



I want to take this opportunity to note the important role Heyward has played in the creation of Public Eye. Not every news division president welcomes the kind of introspection and questioning PE is here to facilitate, but Heyward possessed the foresight and guts to not only cooperate with us, but support our mission. For that, he deserves credit and our thanks.



Much more to come …

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