CBS Evening News

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CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
Format News
Created by Don Hewitt
Presented by Katie Couric
(2006–present)
Bob Schieffer
(2005–2006)
Connie Chung
(1993–1995)
Dan Rather
(1981–2005)
Walter Cronkite
(1962–1981)
Douglas Edwards
(1948–1962)
Country of origin USA
No. of episodes 15,509 (as of April 28, 2008)
Production
Running time 30 minutes (including commercials, 1963–present)
15 minutes (including commercials, 1948–1963)
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Original run August 15, 1948 (as CBS Television News), 1951 (as Douglas Edwards with the News), September 2, 1963 (as CBS Evening News) – present

CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963.

Currently, CBS Evening News is anchored on weekdays by Katie Couric, on Saturdays by Thalia Assuras, and on Sundays by Russ Mitchell.

Contents

[edit] The Douglas Edwards era (1948-1962)

CBS began broadcasting news shows on Saturday nights, expanding to two nights a week in 1947. May 3, 1948 Douglas Edwards began "The CBS-TV News," a regular 15-minute nightly newscast later named "Douglas Edwards with the News." It is broadcast weeknights at 7:30 PM and is the first regularly scheduled television news program.The week's news stories were recapped Sunday night with Newsweek in Review. The name was later shortened to Week in Review and the show was moved to Saturday.

In 1950, the name of the nightly news was changed to Douglas Edwards with the News. When in 1951 it became the first news program to be broadcast on both coasts, thanks to a new coaxial cable connection, Edwards started using the greeting "Good evening everyone, coast to coast."[1]

The program competed against the Camel News Caravan on NBC, launched in 1949. Edwards attracted more viewers during the mid-1950s, but lost ground when Chet Huntley and David Brinkley were teamed up by NBC on the Huntley-Brinkley Report.

On November 30, 1956, the show became the first to use videotape; it was used to time delay broadcasts to the western U.S.[2]

[edit] The Walter Cronkite era (1962-1981)

Walter Cronkite took over the anchor chair in 1962. On September 2, 1963, CBS Evening News became network television's first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, lengthened from its original 15 minutes to 30 minutes.

NBC's team of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley had the most-watched network news program at the time, but under Cronkite, the show began what would eventually become an eighteen-year period of dominating the nightly news ratings.[3] In the process, Walter Cronkite became an American icon, judged "the most trusted man in America" in a Gallup Poll from that era, a status that had first been fostered by his coverage of the JFK Assassination.[citation needed]

The newscast switched from black and white to color in 1965, as did many other shows. With the retirement of NBC's Huntley in 1970, Cronkite moved into the ratings lead and held it through the decade. Cronkite's image was further bolstered by his enthusiastic support for the space program, culminating with his anchoring of CBS News' coverage of the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969.

His 1968 editorial declaring that the United States could only hope for a stalemate in Vietnam is often credited with influencing Lyndon Johnson's decision to drop out of the Presidential race. "If I've lost Walter Cronkite," said Johnson, "I've lost the country."[citation needed]

In late 1972, Cronkite prodded the show's producers to feature two nights of lengthy explanation of the Watergate scandal, which had been heavily covered by The Washington Post but had not received heavy national coverage. After the first half of the report, shown on a Friday, ran for 14 minutes -- half of the air time of the broadcast -- White House officials complained to CBS founder William S. Paley. Monday's report was aired, but only for six minutes.

Walter Cronkite retired from the broadcast March 6, 1981, under a CBS policy requiring mandatory retirement at age 65. CBS correspondent Dan Rather replaced Cronkite the following Monday.

[edit] The Dan Rather era (1981-2005)

Dan Rather, a CBS news correspondent since the early 1960s and a 60 Minutes reporter, took over the program in 1981, but he was not as well received as an anchorman as Cronkite had been, and by 1990, the show was third, behind ABC and NBC.[3]

Concerns about excessive liberalism in the media were frequently leveled at Rather and CBS in general.[citation needed] Some of these concerns dated from Rather's position as White House correspondent for CBS News during the Nixon Administration. An interview related to the Iran-contra affair with then-Vice President George H.W. Bush where the two engaged in a shouting match on live television did little to dispel those concerns.[4] Rather apologized for his behavior in statements the following day.

On Monday, September 1, 1986, Rather attempted to initiate a slogan, as his predecessor had "And that's the way it is." Simply closing his broadcasts by saying "courage" after his closing remarks. On Wednesday, September 3 he said what he thought was the Spanish word for courage, pronouncing it "cur-AH-he." This was heavily criticized and mocked in the media, and Rather abandoned it on Monday, September 8.[5]

On September 11, 1987, Dan Rather marched off the camera in anger when it appeared that CBS Sports' coverage of a US Open semifinal match was going to cut into time alloted for the Evening News. Rather was in Miami covering the papal visit to the city. When the tennis match ended at 6:32 p.m., Rather was nowhere to be found. Six minutes of dead air followed before he returned to the broadcast position. Surprisingly, nearly half of the audience watched and waited. He later suggested that his intention was to force the sports department to fill up the entire half-hour so that he wouldn't have to truncate their elaborately-planned coverage of a visit by Pope John Paul II. Walter Cronkite was incensed, telling an interviewer, "I would have fired him. There's no excuse for it."[citation needed]

On January 23, 1991, demonstrators from AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) broke into CBS using forged IDs and were heard chanting "Fight AIDS, not Arabs" during the show's introduction. One person was seen on camera just as Dan Rather began speaking. Rather immediately called for a commercial break.[6]

[edit] The Dan Rather & Connie Chung era (1993-1995)

Connie Chung began co-anchoring the broadcast with Rather on June 1, 1993. She both co-anchored in the studio, but also with either herself or Dan on location, and the other in the studio. Although Rather never said so publicly, CBS News insiders said he did not approve of her appointment.[7] Chung left in May 1995.

In 2005, Rather left the anchor position amidst controversy and a credibility crisis over false reports broadcast in the heat of the US Presidential election campaign. The false report was a September 2004 60 Minutes Wednesday segment questioning President George W. Bush's Texas Air National Guard record. The Pentagon challenged the authenticity of the Killian documents used for the report. A number of bloggers analyzed scans of the documents, and rapidly concluded the documents were forgeries. Subsequently, CBS commissioned an independent inquiry into the matter. Although Rather denied this incident was the reason for his departure from the broadcast, the damaged credibility of the news division was evident. After his departure from the anchor chair, Rather worked on other CBS News programming as a correspondent before being fired by the network in 2006.

Dan Rather retired from the Evening News on March 9, 2005, at 7:00 eastern time, exactly 24 years after succeeding Cronkite. On June 20, 2006, CBS News President Sean McManus announced that Rather and CBS had agreed to end his 44-year career with the network.

[edit] The Bob Schieffer Interim Period (March 2005-August 2006)

Rather was succeeded on an interim basis by longtime CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer. Schieffer has hosted the CBS News Sunday morning political program Face the Nation, based in Washington, D.C., since 1991.

At the time Schieffer took over, it was uncertain how long he would host the broadcast, or whether it would retain its current shape or instead adopt some kind of multiple-host or other alternative format.

Under Rather in the years leading up to his retirement, the show trailed its rivals at ABC and NBC by a fairly large margin.[citation needed] John Roberts, the White House correspondent and Scott Pelley, his predecessor in that position, were often mentioned as possible successors to Rather when he retired.[citation needed] Jim Axelrod took over as White House correspondent when Roberts later left for CNN.

In the months following Rather's departure, the program came to emphasize live exchanges between Schieffer and the various CBS News correspondents around the world. In contrast to traditional network-news practice, these exchanges are unrehearsed as part of an effort to make the language on the broadcast sound more "natural," according to Schieffer.[citation needed] Viewership levels increased over this period of time. It became the only news broadcast to gain viewers during 2005.

In November 2005, CBS announced that Evening News executive producer Jim Murphy would be replaced by Rome Hartman, who took the helm over in early January 2006.

Schieffer led the CBS Evening News to become the #2 evening news broadcast, beating out ABC World News Tonight. This came after a five-year period of being a distant third. The death of Peter Jennings in 2005 put the ABC News division in flux. Some speculate[citation needed] Jennings's death as a major factor in the ground that CBS has gained in the ratings war. But when Charles Gibson was appointed as anchor at World News Tonight, ABC regained much of its momentum and is now the #1 evening news broadcast.

Bob Schieffer's final broadcast of the newscast occurred on Thursday, August 31, 2006. He was succeeded the following Tuesday by Katie Couric.

[edit] The Katie Couric era (2006-present)

On December 1, 2005, it was reported that Katie Couric, host of NBC's Today morning show, was considering CBS's offer to take over the CBS Evening News. On April 1, 2006, Couric officially signed the deal to become the anchor of the CBS Evening News.[8]

On April 5, 2006, Couric officially told the Today audience she would step down as co-anchor, a spot she had held for fifteen years, longer than any other Today Show anchor. There had been a great deal of speculation on whether she would leave a multi-million dollar contract with Today. To lure Couric away from NBC, CBS offered her the anchor post and additionally, the opportunity to become a contributor to 60 Minutes. Couric is the first female to anchor a national network newscast solo and will also serve as the program's managing editor.

Many have criticized the move by CBS to promote Couric to the broadcast chair, questioning Couric's ability to deliver hard journalism after 15 years of entertainment and fluff segments on Today. Critics claim she lacks the weight to be a sole anchor of the CBS Evening News. Also, Couric has little experience doing live field reports from news hotspots nor any experience leading a news team as evening anchors have traditionally done.[9] Couric's supporters point to the fact that she was once a Washington deputy reporter on the Pentagon beat for NBC News, although this was over twenty years ago in the 1980s.[10]

Couric began working at CBS News in July 2006. During her first broadcast as anchor on Tuesday, September 5, 2006, new graphics, a new set, and a new theme composed by Academy Award winning composer James Horner were introduced; similar graphics and music would be pushed to other CBS News productions such as Up to the Minute, CBS Morning News, and The Early Show throughout the month of October. A new opening title sequence was designed, with Walter Cronkite providing the voiceover. The program also debuted a new feature called "Free Speech" in which different Americans, ranging from a well known national figure to an average person, would provide a news commentary.[11] However, after overwhelmingly negative reaction, the "Free Speech" segment was discontinued.

The debut episode for Katie Couric nearly doubled the average audience the program had pulled in up until then, bringing in 13.6 million viewers. Initially, the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric remained number one every night since its debut, with the exception of Monday, September 11, when it slipped back to third place. For the week of September 18 it dropped to second. However, as of mid-October 2006, the broadcast has slipped back into third place, at time trailing far behind the competitors.[12]

On March 8, 2007, the New York Times reported that executive producer Rome Hartman was being replaced by television news veteran Rick Kaplan. Hartman's last broadcast aired on March 7. Kaplan comes to the CBS Evening News after stints at MSNBC, CNN and ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.

Since Katie Couric assumed the helm of the CBS Evening News, several correspondents have left the network for one reason or another, notably John Roberts, Jim Acosta, Lee Cowan and Trish Regan. On April 22, 2007, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that CBS News is thinking about replacing Katie Couric after the 2008 U.S. presidential elections. However, CBS executives have denied these reports. [13]

CBS, led by Les Moonves, has continued to offer their support of Couric through what the network has deemed a "transition period." Recently, Couric and the production teams behind the broadcast have begun to re-focus their efforts on "hard news," which is demonstrated in Couric's recent trips to the Middle East. CBS continues to invest large sums of money into the broadcast, and seems confident of their choice in anchor. Couric's contract with the corporation continues to eliminate the possibility of an early replacement of her position as lead anchor.

[edit] Weekend editions

U.S. Network Evening News   edit
Program Main Anchor
ABC World News Charles Gibson
CBS Evening News Katie Couric
NBC Nightly News Brian Williams
CNN Situation
Room		 Wolf Blitzer
FNC Fox Report
Special Report		 Shepard Smith
Brit Hume
BBC World News
America		 Matt Frei
HLN Prime News Mike Galanos
PBS The NewsHour Jim Lehrer
UNI Noticiero
Univision		 Jorge Ramos
Maria Elena Salinas

CBS correspondent Russ Mitchell anchors the Sunday edition of the CBS Evening News. Mitchell, along with Harry Smith, also currently substitutes for Couric on the weekday edition of the CBS Evening News.

The Saturday editions of the CBS Evening News are anchored by Thalia Assuras.

Substitutes for the weekend edition include Tracy Smith, Harry Smith, Charles Osgood, Maurice DuBois, and Sharyn Alfonsi.

Former anchors of the weekend newscasts include Dan Rather, Roger Mudd, Morton Dean, Bob Schieffer, Paula Zahn, John Roberts, Deborah Norville, Giselle Fernández, and Mika Brzezinski.

[edit] Broadcasts outside the U.S.

CBS Evening News is shown on Sky News to viewers in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia.

In Australia, the bulletin is shown at 11.30am Monday to Saturday, and at 12.30pm on Sundays on Sky News Australia.

CBS is not shown outside the Americas on a channel in its own right. However, CBS News is shown for a few hours a day on satellite channel Orbit News in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. CBS Evening News is broadcast live on ATV World in Hong Kong daily (except on certain weekends). In the Philippines it is shown on Velvet Tues. to Sat. 10.00am and 6.30pm (local time).

[edit] Correspondents

[edit] Credits

[edit] Weekdays

  • Anchor and Managing Editor:

Katie Couric

  • Executive Producer:

Rick Kaplan

  • Senior Broadcast Producer:

Christopher Dinan

  • Senior Producers:

Katie Boyle, Betty Chin, James McGlinchy, Marc Rosenwasser

  • Directors:

Eric Shapiro, Steve Besner, Chip Cooley

  • Producers:

Lori Beecher, Kevin Finnegan, David Frifield, Nicolla Hewitt, Mary Hood, Linda Karas, Catherine Kim, Dorie Klissas, Matt Lombardi, Tony Maciulis, Yvonne Miller-Halee, Karen Raffensperger, Taigi Smith, Andrew Wolff, Jennifer Yuille

  • In Washington Producers:

Andrea Bruce, Mark Katkov, Jeff Scott Goldman Mary Hager Robert Hendin, Max McClellan, Allyson Ross Taylor, Ward Sloane, Andres Triay, Mary Walsh, Carter Yang

  • Investigative:

Bert Rudman, Phil Hirschkorn, Wendy Krantz, Michael Ray

  • National News Editor:

WIlliam Felling

  • Writers:

Joe Clines, Mary Alice Williams

  • Associate Producers:

Chloe Arensberg, Josh Gross, Brian Goldsmith, Patrick Kiker, Michelle M. Peltier, Jamie McGlinchy, Deborah Rubin

  • Coordinating Producer:

Melissa Smith

  • Associate Directors:

Scott Berger, Erin Hiner-Gee, Bob Rooney, Patty Smith, Jill Baker, Gail Barsky, Mark Farrington, Christopher George, Guya Patterson-Lloyd

  • Technical Directors:

William C. Phypers, Michael Carlucci, Jeff James,

  • Audio:

Rob Mabli, Tom Jimenez, Lee Solomon, Brian McGovern

  • Video:

Tom Crocker, Alan Schatz, Terry Wool

  • Electronic Graphics:

Ronald J. Riccardi, Michael Schussel

  • Electronic Still Store:

Mike Williams,

  • Studio Cameras:

Tyrone Jones, Dwight Brugo, Clarke Smith

  • Prompter:

Fred Rodriguez, Robyn Hartman, Robert Cauttero, Wade Karlquist,

  • Lighting Designers:

Dick Bryant, Jeff Lyle

  • Lighting Director:

James Brennan

  • Stage Manager:

Bud Corn

  • Stage Crew:

John Abbruzzese, James J. Brennan, Cedric Fearrington,

  • Videotape:

Malcolm Barnard, Randell Benjamin, Brian Cunningham, Trustum C. DeVoe, Bob Enrione, Tome Ferrante, Dan Ferraro, Gayle Fitzpatrick, Bryan Hopkins, Russ Johnson, Lee Kaminski, jeff Laing, Terrence R. Leitz, Ted Lewandowski, Robert Liotta, Douglas Manley, Walter Matwichuk, Paul Mueller, Mitch Oppenheim, Joe Palumbo, Mary Peatman, Charles Pesch, Ed Petrovits, Ron Prophete, Robert Simmons, Jan Lynn Sokota, Al Stilson, Alvin Stiney, Stevan Strom, Gayle Sunderland, James Talluto, Lynn Valenti, Bill Weinstein, Todd Weiss, Jerry Wholstetter

  • Editors:

Craig Crawford, Joe Frandino, Bob Green, Catherine Landers, Walt Leiding, Mike Mayberry, Tom McEneny, Tom Micklas, Ed Petrovits,

  • Production Associates:

Remick Benice, Jack McCloy

  • Broadcast Manager:

Maureen A. Cashin

  • Broadcast Associates:

Ariel Bashi, Candice Leonard, Victoria Thompson, Michele A. Filgate

  • Production Support:

Yael Marwah, Alexa Hirschfeld, Bacchus Johnson, Lauren Mitchell

  • Graphic Artists:

David Abbate, Brian Lapreziosa, Philip Mirante, Geri Papiernick, Shelley Pritchett, David Rosen, Ned Steinberg, Jared Thaler

  • Creative Director:

Bob Peterson

  • Production Design:

Debra L. Bryant

  • Operations Manager:

John Michael Pelech

  • In Wash. Assoc. Dir.:

Clyde Miles, Mary Frances Sirianne, Sue Ann Staake, Mark White

  • In Wash. Editors:

Phil Gillespie, Dan Radovsky, Michael Faulkner, Rob Blache, Kimberlee Shaffir, Charlie Wilson

  • In Wash. Tech. Dir.:

Alan Cassell, David Patsel, Karen Saint-Rossy, John Fantacone

  • In Wash. Switcher:

Karen Saint-Rossy, Donald Morgan

  • In Wash. Audio:

DC Sounfworks, Tom Albano, Frank Gilies

  • In Wash. Video:

DC Video, Inc., Jerry Posey, Karen Saint-Rossy, David Patsel, Greg Shaffir

  • In L.A. Editors:

Gilbert LeVegue, Susan M. Ottalini, Maria Nicoletti, Frank Walters

[edit] Saturday Edition

  • Anchor:

Thalia Assuras, Kelly Wallace

  • Executive Producer:

Patricia Shevlin

  • Senior Producers:

Guy Campanile, John Mondello

  • Producers:

Michael Teng, Erica Zolberg, Carrie Rabin, Chris Hulme, Bonney Kapp, Susan Rucci, Kristen Muller, Heather Abbott

  • Director:

Chip Colley

[edit] Sunday Edition

  • Anchor:

Russ Mitchell

  • Executive Producer:

Patricia Shevlin

  • Senior Producers:

Guy Campanile, John Mondello

  • Producers:

Michael Teng, Erica Zolberg, Carrie Rabin, Chris Hulme, Bonney Kapp, Susan Rucci, Kristen Muller, Heather Abbott

  • Director:

Chip Colley

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Frank, Dennis (2006-03-02). Douglas Edwards Chronology. The Douglas Edwards Archives at St. Bonaventure University. St. Bonaventure University. Retrieved on 2007-09-09.
  2. ^ Channel 5 Engineer Honored With Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award. knpb.org. Retrieved on 2007-09-09.
  3. ^ a b Auster, Albert. Columbia Broadcasting System. Retrieved on 2007-09-09.
  4. ^ Media Research Center (Producer). In 1998 Rather grilled Bush about Iran-Contra. URL accessed on 2007-09-09.
  5. ^ 'Courage'. ratherbiased.com (2003-12-23). Archived from the original on 2004-02-10.
  6. ^ Video clip of ACT UP demonstrators, via TVParty.com
  7. ^ MediaWeek article from April 26, 1997
  8. ^ NBC NEWS "TODAY" KATIE COURIC TRANSCRIPT (Transcript). Today. NBC (2006-04-05). Retrieved on 2007-09-09.
  9. ^ Winzenburg, Stephen (2006-04-09). Is Couric ready for prime-time TV news?. USA Today.
  10. ^ Davila, Florangela. "Can we take Katie Couric as a hard-news journalist?", The Seattle Times, 2006-04-07. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. 
  11. ^ CBS News Debuts 'freeSpeech' An Original Segment Of Opinion And Commentary. CBSNews.com (2006-09-06). Retrieved on 2007-09-09.
  12. ^ Stelter, Brian (2006-10-18). Katie Couric Is The "Clear No. 3". mediabistro.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-09.
  13. ^ Shister, Gail (2007-04-22). CBS evening blues: Katie Couric hasn't redeemed the No. 3 newscast. Can she survive as anchor?. Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Anchors of The CBS Evening News

· Stephen Colbert