CBS Sports Chief Also Will Head News Division

Sean McManus, the president of CBS Sports, didn't have any trouble naming his professional role model during a conversation last month with his boss.

The son of legendary sportscaster Jim McKay, McManus spent much of his childhood in control rooms with ABC sports impresario Roone Arledge, including during the terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics. So he told CBS Chairman Les Moonves that Arledge was his idol.

And what, Moonves asked, had Arledge accomplished that McManus hadn't? The answer was obvious: Arledge went on to run ABC's news division at the same time as its sports empire. "Bingo," Moonves said.

McManus, 50, was "totally taken aback," Moonves recalled yesterday as the network announced that its top sports executive was also being put in charge of CBS News, replacing Andrew Heyward.

"Look, this guy is a phenomenal executive," Moonves said. "He took CBS Sports from being a doormat to being the dominant sports network. . . . This is not a schlockmeister. He's a great leader."

McManus said he would spend 95 percent of his time on the struggling news division for the next two years.

"I'm pretty good at doing Super Bowls and Final Fours," said McManus, whose father, Jim, changed his last name to McKay. "I understand those are different from elections or conventions, but there are more similarities than differences. I pride myself on really good storytelling. We do a lot of really good reporting, although the subject matter may be different, steroids or coaching changes."

The coaching change at CBS News ends the decade-long tenure of Heyward, a tenacious and thoughtful executive whose stock declined after last fall's botched "60 Minutes II" story about President Bush and Heyward's subsequent failure to sell a permanent plan for replacing anchor Dan Rather.

"Ten years in this job is a really long time," said Heyward, who plans to remain in the media business. "These are tough assignments. I'm pleased I'm leaving in an amicable, civilized, mutually respectful way. Leslie felt it was time for a change and so did I."

McManus clearly faces what Moonves calls "a learning curve" in taking over the news operation without a news background. But while Arledge's 1977 appointment to lead ABC News sparked considerable unease among journalists there, many CBS News staffers regard McManus as a proven winner.

"This is an excellent choice," said interim "Evening News" anchor and "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer. "I've just always been impressed with the guy. He's got a very good record not only as an executive but as an innovator."

Tony Petitti, executive producer of CBS Sports, said "the place was a little bit down" before McManus arrived, but staffers noticed "he was so confident in the way he talked about how he was going to win." When McManus started calling in during games, or even to discuss two-week-old broadcasts he had watched on tape, "all of a sudden they realized, 'Hey, this guy's watching.' "