08 March 2007

Like firing the waterboy

CBS (motto: The most trusted news network next to Al-Jazeera) has fired the producer of "The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric".
Couric took over from Schieffer shortly after Labor Day last year. Her mandate was to shake up a fossilized evening news format that differs only slightly among the three networks. For her first two weeks, Couric led in the ratings. But she hasn't returned there since.
Too bad I couldn't apply for the job (number one, I'm not a left-winger. And number two, I'm not a left-winger). The first thing I'd do is have the news department focus on...REPORTING THE NEWS!

But, seriously, this is a ship that has been sinking for years, and bringing Her Perkiness on board was not going to do anything to right that situation. So, what better to do than to get rid of a lackey, rather than the problem itself (Katie, Sean McManus, etc.) I mean come on, when something like this happens:
Couric's average of 7.6 million viewers was down 6 percent from what Bob Schieffer recorded in February 2006.[emphasis mine]
you know something's wrong, and it ain't the producer.

Here's what CBS should do. Actually apologize to viewers for Rathergate, get rid of Katie, put somebody behind the desk that doesn't think they're more important than the news and who doesn't slant so far to the left. (Think that may be why you guys and NBC are hemorrhaging viewers?)