CBS is again testing new ingredients for one of the oldest, most recognizable programs, “The CBS Evening News”.
On Monday, CBS News threw many of the characteristic elements of the program overboard – those who are also used by the most important competitors, NBC News ” NBC Nightly News ‘and ABC News’ ‘World News Tonight’. Beyond are the rat-a-tat story that counts and the most important focus on the anchor that supplies the headlines. In their place: fewer stories told with more depth and company; a focus on reporters in the field; And elements that nod to the venerable news magazine of the network, “60 minutes”. And maybe a little “pbs newshour” on the side?
John Dickerson and Maurice Dubois served as a kind of guides and brought viewers through a longer than expected segment on insurance statements for residents of California affected by the recent forest fires and a research piece that Chinese intelligence efforts investigated to recruit members of the US Army, as well as fast Nod from just a few seconds to some of the heads of the day of the day.
“” We’re gone “, Bill Owens the executive producer of” 60 minutes “who added” Evening News “to his portfolio, said Variety During an interview in August. “We are not going to do with the things we think power Want to see, and we are about real serious reporting. We go back to our beats, listen to our reporters in the field about what they have, don’t worry about the headlines online or in the newspapers. ”
There were also some production siliguries that evoke the old stamping of Owens, such as fast recordings of reporters on the ground that viewers told to stay up to date with their upcoming stories.
The movements are expected for months. Norah O’Donnell, who has anchored the program for more than five years, canceled last Thursday to tackle a new role as a senior correspondent. Under Paramount Global Management, CBS News has been put under pressure to share latest resources with the newsrooms of the local stations of the company, which is why Dubois, an experienced anchor of WCBS New York, and Dickerson, whose strong political-analysis-car bumps have him have him Brought “Face the Nation” and “CBS this morning”, among other things have been merged into an unorthodox Union. They sometimes shared the set on Monday with Margaret Brennan, who added the view from Washington, and Lonnie Quinn, who spoke over the weather throughout the country.
The majority of half an hour was spent on companies and telling stories – a clear recognition that viewers can get the breaking of newspaper heads from any number of sources, whether they are digital or traditional. What they can get somewhere else is the report of correspondents on the spot.
It is no secret that “CBS Evening News” has been third behind his direct broadcast for years, and the constant switching of anchors has not really helped the network to grow his perch with potential audience. Now there are cost pressure in the brew. In recent months, Paramount Global has worked to cut millions of dollars out of his activities, and the company that is supposed to acquire the media congue lomate has proposed to cut millions more. With that in the background it seems likely that Dubois and Dickerson, who have other tasks, will not often travel to scenes of crisis and critical meetings, but leave that to the people who have already been spread all over the world.
CBS has previously tried to rearrange “evening news” for the contemporary audience and found the task difficult. Katie Couric took the anchor chair in 2006 with a mandate to renew the format with more stories and interviews with human interest. Despite her hard work, CBS viewers did not necessarily find the changes. CBS left CBS after a period of five years. There was also an attempt to link Connie Chung to Dan Rather in the mid -nineties, an idea that lasted only two years.
Now managers try again and the pressure can be felt deeper. With younger viewers who are attracted to a panophy of non-traditional voices for information, CBS News cannot afford to make the connection with the public fray. Dickerson, Dubois and their colleagues offered a less formal version of the evening news format on Monday evening, one that has saved space for conversations with reporters about their work. However, no one will be able to relax behind the scenes.