Tuesday, November 29, 2005

The anchor wars

Check out a fascinating read in New York magazine about the shifting network news world. Even as media executives try to figure out whether news on demand delivered to cell phones will be the Next Big Thing, the really big issue right now is who will anchor the nightly news at ABC and CBS.

According to the article, "Katie Couric is CBS’s best shot, its only shot, and its long shot all rolled into one." By all accounts, the once-proud network is still in absolute disarray, one year after Dan Rather announced he was leaving the Evening News. Meanwhile, Broadcasting and Cable magazine reports that "The drumbeat is getting louder and louder in the halls of CBS," that Les Moonves' efforts to woo Couric will pay off when the Today show anchor's contract runs out in the spring.

Naturally, the peacock network wants to discourage those rumors because Couric is the face of NBC News. “Let’s put it this way: If Katie Couric is CBS’s plan A,” an NBC News executive told New York magazine, “I sure hope they have a plan B.”

Meanwhile, the magazine examine's ABC News president David Westin's impossible situation: trying to keep everyone happy with his decision on a replacement for the late Peter Jennings. A decision was expected by now, but Westin is still trying to figure out whether to grant Charlie Gibson his wish by naming him the anchor, or keep Diane Sawyer happy by keeping Gibson on Good Morning America so the pair can have a shot at beating Today. The magazine provides a fascinating glimpse into the Gibson-Sawyer relationship.

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The opinions stated here are my own and in no way reflect those of Brigham Young University, its students, faculty, or sponsoring institution.