CBS Sports Chief Also Will Head News Division

McManus served notice that he is "not happy" that CBS's morning and evening newscasts are languishing in the ratings. "I'm a very competitive person," he said. "Being No. 3 in any area is just not acceptable. I'm not going to sleep well until we're out of third place."

McManus said the sports division he has run since 1996 -- which includes college basketball, golf, tennis and, after he negotiated its return seven years ago, the National Football League -- will not suffer because long-term contracts are in place with the leagues and with such broadcast stars as Jim Nantz, Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason. McManus is a hands-on manager who often calls with advice during games, "which producers hate," he said.

His most immediate challenge is to fix the "Evening News," which Schieffer has been anchoring since March, far longer than originally planned. "How do you make it more relevant to people sitting at home who have so many choices?" McManus asked.

Heyward has presented pilots to Moonves and pushed White House correspondent John Roberts as at least one of Rather's successors, given that Moonves favors a multi-anchor format, but never got the green light.

Moonves said he liked some of Heyward's elements and disliked others, but declined to say he will definitely use several anchors. "I want to let Sean see, think and come up with a game plan," Moonves said, breaking his vow to stay away from sports analogies.

Asked about a New York Times Magazine article that quoted him as saying he wanted "to bomb the whole building" at CBS News, Moonves said he was being tongue in cheek. "I'm really not looking for a revolution," he said. "I'm looking for an evolution. We need to do something different. I'm not talking about doing the news for my 18-year-old son. I'm talking about getting 40-year-olds to watch the news."

Heyward, a CBS producer and executive for a quarter-century, overcame a rocky start after his 1995 elevation. CBS took hours to cover the news of Princess Diana's death, Heyward's hiring of former GOP congresswoman Susan Molinari for a Saturday morning show flopped, and Bryant Gumbel failed to pull big ratings either as a prime-time host or co-anchor of "The Early Show." Heyward defused resistance from "60 Minutes" in creating a weekday spinoff, but that show was canceled this year, a victim of mediocre ratings and the fallout over Rather's reliance on unverified documents in reporting that Bush received favorable treatment from the National Guard.

Heyward approved the story hours before it aired and initially defended it. Moonves spared his job after an independent panel in January denounced CBS's handling of the piece, saying Heyward's instructions to his deputies weren't carried out.

The National Guard story had "nothing to do with this," Heyward said. He noted he had also been involved in creating the newsmagazine "48 Hours," adding: "Anyone who's out there taking risks is going to have successes and failures."

The CBS shakeup leaves ABC's David Westin, a company lawyer who succeeded the late Arledge nine years ago, as the dean of news division presidents. NBC is searching for a permanent news chief after Neal Shapiro's resignation last month.

McManus, who has worked at each of the Big Three networks, said the "out of the blue" offer from Moonves has made him think back to the many hours he spent watching Arledge in action. "I'd like to think some of his genius rubbed off on me," he said.