CBS Taps New Evening News Chief

Broadcast news veteran Rick Kaplan has been named as the new executive producer of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

CBS News President Sean McManus made the announcement Thursday in a message to the staff.

"Few broadcast journalists have a list of accomplishments and the history of success that Rick has had — the list is truly extraordinary," McManus said.

Kaplan replaces Rome Hartman, a former 60 Minutes producer who took over the evening broadcast in January 2006. The change comes six months after Couric became the Evening News anchor.

Said Kaplan: "I spent the first 10 years of my career at CBS News, including three years working on the 'CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite,' so coming home to that broadcast, especially as executive producer, is particularly thrilling."

---

Photos: Katie Couric

---

Kaplan, who has won dozens of Emmys, has a unique breadth of experience as a journalist, network executive, and innovator, as the champion of numerous news and talk programs and the founder in 1987 of what later became E! Entertainment Television.

Most recently, Kaplan was president of MSNBC (2004-06), during which time the ratings for virtually every hour of the program day experienced significant double-digit growth.

"Rick Kaplan is a big personality with big ideas," Couric said. "Though I've never worked directly with him, I know Rick is an extraordinarily experienced producer who has exciting plans for our broadcast. I'm thrilled he has decided to come home to CBS News."

Rome Hartman, who will remain with CBS News, received a standing ovation from the news staff on Thursday morning.

"I love this place and I'm really grateful for the chance that I've had to work with you," Hartman said. "This is one of the great jobs in journalism."

Couric weighed in with warm praise for Hartman.

"This is a very hard day and a sad day and a terribly disappointing day," she said. In a separate blog post Couric noted: "Rome was one of the reasons I came here to CBS."

The change at CBS was the second major personnel move this week on the evening news front. On Monday, Alexandra Wallace was named executive producer of the NBC Nightly News. She replaced John Reiss.

ABC News' evening news show, "World News," recently knocked the NBC Nightly News from the No. 1 spot in the ratings. NBC has been the longtime ratings leader in the evening. The CBS Evening News has remained in third place since Couric took over six months ago.

[canaima]

"You mean the AMERICAN Media that just recently revealed that our Troops were being treated like Animals by the Bush Administration? Well that was the "LIBERAL" Media wasn't it? The Nazi Rags still haven't covered the story!! Sieg Heil!" -
Posted by MCVet

No, that's NOT what jerryomara meant, MCVet. You're SUCH a fool & a chump.

[perception5]

Dear CBS, your news organization needs to implement "affirmative action" programs in include NOT EXCLUDE reporters that are "moderate" and "conservative" and should mirror the country as a whole......... when you purposely "censor" news .........for example Katie did not mention during the Geffen saga a quote that everyone else mentioned and that comment by a close Clinton donor was this "Everybody in politics lies, but (the Clintons) do it with such ease, it's troubling". If a big donor of Bush's had said the same thing........CBS would have repeated it "constantly". Your corrupt liberal bias is hurting you more than you can imagine.....Give the American people the "news" right down the center without the "left tilt"........if you do so you can capture the highest ratings...

[mcvet]

Any change to CBS news would be welcomed its more like entertainment then news like the rest of American Media
Posted by jerryomara at 05:24 AM : Mar 08, 2007

You mean the AMERICAN Media that just recently revealed that our Troops were being treated like Animals by the Bush Administration? Well that was the "LIBERAL" Media wasn't it? The Nazi Rags still haven't covered the story!! Sieg Heil!

[CBSTV]

I don't see how hiring a new executive producer will overcome the poor judgment of hiring Katie Couric to anchor "The CBS Evening News." Both she and the transformation of the broadcast into a hybrid news/feature/entertainment program are what pushed me away.

For CBS News' next act, can we try returning to a straightforward, solid news broadcast? The News Division was more successful when it was operated by seasoned journalists. I still get the impression that CEO Les Moonves is pulling the strings at CBS News.

[alphaa10-2009]

Few of us are privy to the thinking in CBS management circles-- the point is, we should not have to be, to have quality journalism delivered on a regular basis.

Do we need a Ted Koppel or handwriting on the screen to understand any network news product is a genre of its own? Marketers struggle to understand, and never really do. News is... the "news" and nothing else is like it. News is the closest thing most Americans will have to a continuing education.

In times of crisis, Americans want the truth more than ever. The rub is, only the news can tell Americans there is a crisis.

So, why make CBS News productions a species of entertainment? Sean McManus may be a newcomer, but we must trust him to start placing professionalism foremost at CBS News.

[candojj1]

Let's see how many prevacid and vioxx and pepcid ac commercials there are tonight honey. Oh yeah and lets see how many sob stories and let's see what Katie's wearing. Oh, I just love watching all 18 minutes of the mousey news about useless information and twelve minutes of pharmacy news. Great show! Oh, I'm sure they'll figure a way of making the news more interesting around the prevacid commercials. And those hero stories of soldiers with blown off linbs I just can't wait to see those every other night. Or their crying families. And how many times we see the videophones or how patriotic our soldiers are.

How about a little more realism? How about the other 80% of America that disapproves of the administration. How about those that have no health care? How about those who want a single source for prescription medicines? How about populists. How about the Governor of New Mexico (Richardson) for President - give him equal air time. After all the last 40 sitting senators that have run are 0-40!! How about talking about how much the war costs? How about talking about Medicare Part D's cost?