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The New York Times tells us this morning that CBS, in its wide-open discussions concerning the future of the CBS Evening News, is getting into Oprah and Dr. Phil territory.
Or at least it’s dragging in people from well outside its news division to take part in conversations about what’s next after Bob Schieffer’s interim tenure ends.
Among others being consulted: Terry Wood, a veteran of Oprah Winfrey’s production company and the developer of the “Dr. Phil” talk show; Larry M. Rickel, a San Antonio consultant who has advised numerous local news directors on how they might improve news programming; and David Sirulnick, executive VP of news at MTV, which, like CBS, is a unit of Viacom.
The Times quotes Leslie Moonves, chairman of CBS, as having no deadline or timetable for the sought-after revamp of what was essentially the Dan Rather Show. Those he has put to work brainstorming the problem, Moonves said, are finding it “a tough nut to crack.”
We know he’s a competitor of CBS, but we have one thought here for Moonves: Homer Simpson.
–Steve Lovelady
