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this NBC has Savannah Guthrie, Tom Llamas & Jose Diaz-Balart on standby, not to mention Craig Melvin for Today. ABC has Lindsey Davis, Whit Johnson and George Stephanopoulos on ice, even Terry Moran is a suitable host for WNT. Add TJ Holmes as a great "spare heir" for GMA.

I’m not sure why people keep mentioning Scott Pelley. He had 7 years to move the needle and did nothing. I’m sorry to burst your bubbles, but to the general viewing public, he sucked. You don’t become recognizable by being put in that chair, but you get put in that chair because you’re recognizable. I’ve said this a million times, CBS’s bench isn’t that great. ABC and NBC know how to groom their talent.

I may be in the minority but did anyone else find Scott Pelley kind of stiff. IDK if that's the exact word I'm looking for but I didn't feel like he added anything to the newscast.

If only the people who think they know everything knew who's actually commenting on this thread.

Alrighty then. I'll go ahead and tap out of this discussion.

Stop making excuses for Pelley. He just wasn’t that good. I get you guys appreciate his style of anchoring, but he clearly didn’t resonate with most viewers. Yes, the problem is bigger than just the anchors. A lot of the bigger affiliates are also 3rd, leading to a poor lead in.

I get your point here but CBS has been the #3 evening newscast since the mid-1980s shortly after Dan Rather (undoubtedly a recognizable star) took the helm. I certainly don’t think Scott Pelley “sucked” and the network having been in the same spot it’s been in for 40 years is not an indication of one anchor sucking, more so that the network itself has failed to captivate audiences.

Tony is a short term solution to a long term problem. Getting rid of Scott was a huge mistake, having him lead the network through the events that unfolded in the first couple years following would've been helpful. Norah having these behind the scenes "meltdowns" and all the drama is a serious problem for the network and will eventually be a PR issue, we've watched her get angry while she's live on the air, imagine how she acts when the camera is off. Brian Williams would be great but I'm not gonna hold my breath. My suggestion, Ann Curry, she has the experience, look, presentation and leadership. Best of all she's no drama and very straight forward, she would bring in good interviews and stick around long enough for CBS to groom a long term replacement, just 5 years would be long enough for them. She's also been out of news long enough to be viewed as an outsider who isn't caught up in politics and she's no longer immediately associated with NBC & Today, not to mention all the people who would be rooting for her comeback. I use to watch Scott every night, the transition to Jeff was weird and people got too comfortable with Anthony Mason. I haven't consistently watched Norah at all and never will. Bringing Scott or Jeff back would be better than what they have now.

I was going to write something out defending the concept of TV graphic artists copying each other, but it's really not just a problem there. The whole industry copies each other's work. Look at how many stations just blatantly copied WSVN's format in the 90's and early 2000's. The whole industry functions by taking what works in one market and either improving on it or just straight up copying it.

(unintentionally came out as two separate posts) IMO Bob Schiffer should have stayed on until his retirement in 2015. We can go on to eternity as to what anchor might bring CBS to the promised land. Besides changing who anchors the show, what other changes can be made to CBSEN to make it a better program. Formatting, graphics, theme music, story choice, presentation, reporter and correspondant roster?

Yes to 1 and 3. Broken record but: Shep Smith, Bri Wi or (iffy choice) Chris Wallace or Ann Curry. Radical choices: George Stephanopolus (not that success elsewhere would necessarily translate to CBS as we saw with Katie Couric), or even Wolf Blitzer. Any other names I'd have to think more about. Perhaps CBS getting big names needs to extend to other broadcasts such as Mornings alongside Gayle. Maybe the goal at this stage shouldn't be to get out of third place but at least inch the numbers up and be competitive (assuming they're not already "compeditive"). Similarly if CBS Mornings were to be canceled tomorrow and replaced, I'm sure the broadcast would still be third because GMA and Today have what CBS's AM slot lacks --- name brand recognition from longevity.

Another question, should they dump Norah, do they move back to NY ,and do they go outside the bench and snap up someone from the O&Os or someone from the national cable news nets

Ratings were up modestly during his tenure (after the very recognizable Katie Couric). Do I think he was poised to take the newscast above #3? Of course not. But they should've left him alone until they found a better option, which they still haven't.

As I said before, the fact that the newscast has not switched over to the new standard CBS font while the CBS Weekend News has was a sign that Norah's days were numbered.....

And this is actually the generic version of the NBC graphics, called NDC-1.

I always thought Buck was going to be at FOX forever, but this is a pretty big hire for sure. Steve Levy can probably focus on hockey now. I've heard Al Michaels may end up going to FOX, although it seems like many people want Gus Johnson as the lead NFL voice. I wonder who will now be the lead MLB voice for FOX?

I think you really hit the nail on the head right here. He was just at the edge of becoming truly recognizable (he was hardly a household name prior to getting the Evening News job) and his measured tone could have really set the network apart as Trump-mania overtook most mainstream news operations. (Side rant: while news orgs of course shouldn't normalize the types of bizarre stuff the former president did/said, much of the coverage surrounding him was filled with over-the-top pearl-clutching. Pelley's straightforward, factual style could have been ideal for such a manic time period.) Jeff Glor is talented and just might be the future of the network. But installing him on the Evening News was also an obvious attempt to recreate the success of David Muir at ABC. It just wasn't original and it just wasn't his time. The Ann Curry idea is interesting. For starters, shouldn't at least one of the networks have a female lead anchor? She does real journalism, very much in the CBS tradition. However, the Evening News anchor job requires being exceptionally skilled at reading a teleprompter, but she wasn't exactly well-known for that during her time as newsreader on Today. That said, she does have star power and is an extremely sympathetic figure these days. I don't see Brian Williams going for another evening news job, where he'd face stiff competition from the other networks and be made to look like a failure when his broadcast is in third. If CBS could somehow snag him for Mornings, he could really showcase his broad range of skills. A Brian Williams/Gayle King pairing could mark a welcomed return of the traditional male/female co-anchored newscast. Would it be worth blowing up the show AGAIN? Maybe not, but Williams' talents would shine on a show like that and talent of his caliber don't become available often.

Wow, I'm shocked. I figured Buck would be a Fox lifer. Well, I guess this eliminates any concern about the MNF booth having/not having chemistry. They're inheriting a 20-year pairing of commentators. I guess we'll see how Fox chooses to shift their current talent to make new #1 teams for both NFL and MLB now.

Tony will not bring the newscast to #1, but I'm sure the thought is that he'd cost less to be #3. CBS is in a no-win situation. Norah isn't connecting with viewers but changing anchors every few years isn't going to win anyone over either. I think the first mistake was letting Scott Pelley out of the chair. Edit: OK, that's far from the network's first mistake, but I do think it was a mistake

I don't think WCMH (which used a variation of the WFLA graphics) stood up to WBNS very well. Morris copied WCMH to complete their $50 look.

Oh I agree with her deserving the spot! I have been noticing a trend in the past couple of years where powerhouse stations are hiring from the competitors. Back in the day it was never that way, maybe the 2nd or 3rd place station hiring a personality from a 1st place. Again, Karyn is a staple in Atlanta Television and this is an excellent move.

yes.

Recall that Khemlani's charge was to cut costs across the division. It would not surprise me if this were a sly but effective tactic by CBS in Norah's contract renegotiation to suggest to her that she is dispensable, in an effort to counter her request for more money.