LOS ANGELES, Jan. 18
See CBS chief Leslie Moonves distract a ballroom of reporters from a damning report on the botched Bush National Guard story by dangling the notion that he might dump the single-anchor "voice of God" format from the evening newscast when Dan Rather retires.
Marvel as the Viacom co-chairman refuses to rule out the rumor that media darling Jon Stewart will have a role in that new CBS newscast.
Les Moonves said yesterday that he wants CBS's evening newscast to be "cutting edge."
(John Paul Filo -- CBS via AP)
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Be awed as the former TV actor taps into middle-aged critics' deepest fears by warning that CBS's newscast needs to grab younger viewers if it is to survive -- mirroring memos they've been getting about the papers at which they toil.
Moonves's appearance was the most eagerly anticipated of Winter TV Press Tour 2005. Fox Entertainment chief Gail Berman got a total pass a day earlier when critics distractedly tossed softball questions her way as they focused all their energies on Moonves's upcoming appearance.
They planned to grill him over the independent panel's report last week that detailed the failings of CBS News regarding its discredited story about President Bush's National Guard service.
Several television critics seemed to think CBS News President Andrew Heyward should have been pink-slipped, along with those three CBS News suits and the producer, over the "60 Minutes Wednesday" report delivered by Rather. (The anchor correctly read the tea leaves back in November and announced he will retire in March.) They even rehearsed during a TV Land Q&A session on the re-airing of CBS's sitcom "Murphy Brown," asking former CBS faux news anchor Candice Bergen whether she thought everyone who should have been fired over the Bush story was.
They underestimated Moonves, who, to use his own words, turned lemons into lemonade.
In the middle of the Q&A, after critics' third or fourth stab at the "why not Heyward" question, Moonves let drop word that "it's very possible" that when Rather retires, the evening newscast format "might not be the voice-of-God, single anchor that has been in existence for so many years . . . it might be time to change it up and do something different.
"Right now the average age of the news-watcher is way over 45," Moonves said, "One of the things we're looking at is how do we make [the newscast] younger, more relevant, something that younger people can relate to, as opposed to that guy preaching from the mountaintop."
Critics sat up and took notice:
"Do you worry about alienating the older viewers with a hipper image?" one wanted to know.
"Are you saying that 'The Early Show' might be a model that you are looking at, that you like the idea of bringing a tag team?" asked another, referring to the CBS infotainment show's four-anchor format.
"Very possible," Moonves replied, noting that the morning show's "more ensemble feel" and quicker pace has brought ratings gains.
