Back to You, Bob

Schieffer to Fill In as CBS Weighs Anchor Replacement

Bob Schieffer will temporarily fill the "CBS Evening News" anchor spot being vacated next month by Dan Rather. (John Paul Filo -- CBS)

CBS News settled on a temporary fix for its anchor problem yesterday, tapping veteran correspondent Bob Schieffer to take the job on an interim basis after Dan Rather steps down next month.

CBS will continue its search for a permanent replacement or replacements on the third-rated evening newscast in the wake of Rather's badly botched story charging that President Bush received favorable treatment when he served in the Texas Air National Guard. Both men were at a White House luncheon yesterday with Bush, the first time the outgoing anchor and the president have met since Rather's apology for the story. Rather chatted cordially with the president but did not speak during a question-and-answer session, participants said.

"I'm deeply honored to be asked to do this, but this is not a new job, it's a temporary assignment," said Schieffer, 67. "My job is to give everyone a chance to catch their breath and step back from all this and get back to work. This has been some pretty tough going for everybody, and I hope I can help in getting us to refocus on being a news organization."

In a sign of strained relations at the news division, Rather was said to be shocked that CBS News President Andrew Heyward did not call to notify him of the Schieffer plan either before or after word leaked to USA Today, and several staffers were upset about it.

Schieffer, CBS's chief Washington correspondent, was at the White House lunch -- traditionally held for network anchors on the day of the State of the Union address -- in his capacity as host of "Face the Nation." He is expected to serve as anchor for a few months, buying time for CBS as it mulls a new cast and format for the evening news. On Jan. 10, when CBS released a blistering outside report on the National Guard story, ousted three senior executives and fired Rather's producer, Mary Mapes, it was Schieffer who filled in on the broadcast.

Rather has not spoken to the press since the release of that report, which criticized him and CBS News for the "60 Minutes Wednesday" story that used apparently bogus documents in charging that Bush had received favorable treatment in the Texas Air National Guard.

Rather, 73, preempted the report by announcing he would leave the anchor chair on March 9 -- 24 years after he took over for Walter Cronkite -- and CBS provided a soft landing by saying he would become a correspondent on "60 Minutes Wednesday." But CBS President Leslie Moonves cast doubt on that plan by telling the New York Times that Rather would make the move "provided the show continues," adding that "they are not exactly tearing it up in the ratings over there."

If "60 Minutes Wednesday" is canceled, Rather is slated to be shifted to the Sunday edition of the program, where he worked in the 1970s. But some veteran "60 Minutes" staffers are resisting such a move, angry over those who lost their jobs and not wanting their broadcast to be associated with the tarnished story.

Rather has resisted advice from some associates that he distance himself from the Sept. 8 story, which was mainly reported by Mapes, concluding that anything he says will simply reignite the debate. Instead, those close to him say, he has decided to put his head down and do the kind of field reporting on which he built his reputation, jetting off to Asia after the tsunami, covering the Bush inauguration, then flying to Iraq for Sunday's elections before returning Tuesday night in time for last night's State of the Union speech. In doing so, he hopes to shift attention to his 40-year record before he gives up the anchor chair.

"It happens to be a positive reflection on Dan," said Rather's agent, Richard Leibner, "that Leslie didn't think he had any one person to replace him" who could immediately boost the ratings.

The prolonged period of speculation about who will take over the evening news has been a frustrating one for John Roberts, CBS's White House correspondent and Rather's principal substitute, who has long been viewed by outsiders as the heir apparent. Unlike NBC, which announced 2 1/2 years ago that Brian Williams would succeed Tom Brokaw at the end of 2004, CBS never firmed up a succession plan. Some of Roberts's friends say that he has been unfairly diminished by the discussion about seeking multiple anchors and that he would consider leaving the network if he is passed over entirely.

Roberts said he stopped thinking about the matter some time ago, is concentrating on his job and expects CBS to do what is best for the network. CBS News Senior Vice President Marcy McGinnis yesterday called Roberts "a uniquely talented broadcaster who has a great future at CBS News."

If Roberts is part of the anchor team, he could be paired with CBS staffers such as Mika Brzezinski or Thalia Assuras, or someone from outside the network. CBS's "Early Show" uses a four-person anchor team (one of whose members, Julie Chen, recently married Moonves). But the only previous attempt to split the job on the "CBS Evening News" -- featuring Rather and Connie Chung in the early '90s -- was widely regarded as a disaster and bred competition over who would cover the biggest breaking stories.

Heyward and McGinnis have been discussing with Moonves the shape of the new program and who would headline it, although Heyward may have diminished clout since he was also criticized in the outside panel's report on the National Guard story. The interim choice of Schieffer, McGinnis said, "makes perfect sense" because it allows "a decent, respectable transition until we get to the new show."

Schieffer, who has hosted "Face the Nation" since 1991, has covered the White House, Congress, State Department and Pentagon during more than 30 years in Washington for CBS. A onetime reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Schieffer struck up a friendship with Bush in the 1990s when his brother Tom Schieffer, now the U.S. ambassador to Australia, became partners with the future president in owning the Texas Rangers baseball team. But Schieffer enjoys a reputation for fairness as well as geniality, and was chosen by both the Bush and Kerry campaigns to moderate the third presidential debate last fall.

Schieffer, who has been a weekend evening newscast anchor for 23 years, will be commuting to New York during the week for the nightly news and hosting his Sunday show in Washington. He said that he enjoys the "freedom" of his current job and that "being anchor of the 'CBS Evening News' at this stage of my life is not something I want."