CBS Nitely News way behind.

[leftyladyfrommo]

I don't even know why I care about this. I always watch Charles Gibson on ABC for nightly news.

Maybe I care because I felt like Dan Rather was so dumped upon in such an awful way.

ABC - 9.4 million

NBC - 9.1 million

CBS - 6.9 million

What is wierd is that I have tried to go back to watching CBS - I always watched CBS when Dan Rather and Bob Schiffer were on - and I just can't stand to watch. Something about Katie Couric's voice just hits me like nails on a chalkboard.

[rusty_parts2001]

1. Its simple: No gravitas

[Dr.Phool]

2. You could always watch Rita Crosby.

But, that would be assuming you were a masochist.

[GCP]

3. They're going to have to dump Couric at some point

She's a ratings disaster - meanwhile Meredith goes from strength to strength on the Today Show.

[geiger]

5. could just be the nature of the market

I get most of my news during the day, from DU and CNN pipeline (unfiltered stuff is my preference).

[leftyladyfrommo]

8. I don't like the cable news. I get so bored with it.

Seems like they just drone on and on about the same stuff.

[geiger]

10. CSPAN's not the same anymore either, a lot of speechmaking, no real debate

[Purveyor]

4. I watch our local CBS evening news but as soon as I hear "hi everyone"...

I reach for the remote.

[leftyladyfrommo]

7. I know - I do the same thing.

I don't blame Katie - I just couldn't believe that CBS did something so stupid. Why on earth did they figure that the nightly news audience just wanted to be entertained? People don't watch the nightly news to be entertained. They don't want some perky person.

I watch the nitely news for a half an hour because I want to know what went on in the world that day. I expect them to hit on the important stuff.

And then I turn it over to Lehrer to get the in depth look at the political stuff.

[Iwasthere]

30. Every time I see Lehrer I remember the debates...

Where he let B* off the hook time and time again, and letting B* go on and on (also softballs). He knew then that the idiot would NOT make a good president and could actually be dangerous. As far I am concerned he has some blood on his hands too.

[twiceshy]

32. It's the content

I watched the other night and found I disagreed with every nuance of every word spoken on the show. It seemed so programmed and disconnected from reality. "News" should be fresh and immediate and impactful and objective, this was like a 60 Minutes episode on Valium.

[Gman]

6. Walter Cronkite had impeccable journalism credentials

with tons of reporting experience including WWII front line reporting. Dan Rather was an outstanding reporter and also reported from the front lines in Viet Nam. Schieffer has a very, very distinguished journalism career.

Couric hosted the CBS morning show. She has no journalistic credentials. She was a pretty cheerleader (ok, not fair). In other words, as stated in another reply, no gravitas.

[leftyladyfrommo]

12. I just absolutely didn't believe it when I heard that CBS was

really serious about hiring her for the nitely news.

It was kind of like hiring Mr. Roberts to do the nitely news. He just wasn't the right type. He was wonderful at what he did. But I don't think he would have made it very far on the nitely news.

[Dr.Phool]

9. I watched her for a little while

But I got a little tired of the parade of right-wing freaks they kept trotting out for the free speech segment. I think about a month in, they finally had Katrina Vanden Huevel on.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

11. Walter Cronkite, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley, Dan Rather....Katie Couric

What a legacy.

[wryter2000]

13. I grew up with CBS

I, too, watched all the way through Schieffer, even though I was p*ss*d at how Rather was dumped. The minute that bimbo showed up, I switched to ABC. I've been pleasantly surprised.

These days, I make extra sure the TV is switched from local CBS before she comes on, and I don't turn back to local CBS until I know she's off. She's an insult.

[leftyladyfrommo]

15. I really like Charles Gibson. I'm kind of a permanent

fixture over there now.

I still prefer the CBS affiliate local news, tho. So I generally watch the local news first and then flip it over.

[wryter2000]

22. My sentiments exactly

Our local ABC affiliate (SF) has an anchor who also has a talk show that's not rw-freaky but is clearly to the right of most opinion here. He slips into opinion mode too much for the news, imho.

[waiting for hope]

14. Could selling your soul

have something to do with it?

[leftyladyfrommo]

17. Oh, I don't think she sold her soul. I think she really tried hard

to make it work. But she is just wrong in that position and it won't matter what she does it simply will not work.

I feel kind of badly for her - although I do think she should have known better. She has made a lot of money but this has really affected her reputation. And she has got to hate that.

[waiting for hope]

27. I beg to differ - I was at home

with my son for about two years and watched the Today Show every morning...After 9/11, she started to go downhill and in the last two years, she was really hitting the deep end. Her interview questions and comments could have come straight from a White House memo talking point. I used to like Katie, but something happened there and either she's lacking in serious journalism or I've become a genius, I think the former is true - alas, I may be better informed but haven't earned any Mensa stripes.

[leftyladyfrommo]

33. Oh, I misinterpreted your comment.

I was surprised to find out how right wing she seemed to be. But I didn't know anything about her really. I never watched her show because I was working. But she seemed to be pretty popular - and perky.

But she wasn't what I wanted for my evening news.

[gratuitous]

16. Maybe she should have more segments with Rush Limbaugh?

I mean, poor Rush can hardly get his message out, and several minutes on the national platform of the Tiffany Network's flagship evening news program is only fair for a guy who barely gets any time the rest of the week to make his point.

You'd think that such caring and kind consideration for a down-trodden man would garner at least some sympathy viewers, but apparently America is just too hard-hearted to tune in to see Katie give a guy a leg up. Dinesh D'Souza should call in (on the D'Souzaphone) to complain about how this is all the fault of liberals.

[leftyladyfrommo]

19. That whole segment was a huge mistake. Rush Limbaugh? Please.

I don't think they still have it on there.

Oprah had Bill O'Reilly on her show the other day and I kind of wondered about that. But he was just talking about one topic - child predators - and it was fine.

[Norquist Nemesis]

20. LOL! That was what really sealed the deal

If I wanted to watch that, I'd tune in to Faux.

[Czolgosz]

28. That's when I switched to BBC evening news.

[leftyladyfrommo]

34. I like BBC, too but I don't have cable - [probably the only one left on the planet. n/t

[Norquist Nemesis]

18. I still have yet to watch it since Couric took over

They pushed her spot in an unprecedented fashion. Had they just done the announcement and had a a few spots about it, I would have been more inclined to check it out. But the PR blitz was so over the top, IMO, I wrote it off without sampling. They even have her doing 60 Minutes! ugh!

[leftyladyfrommo]

21. I haven't watched 60 Minutes in a while.

My favorite was Ed Bradley and I sort of haven't had the heart to watch since he died.

[catmandu57]

23. I watch NBC evening news, not for the news, but

to see how they handle the story, I'm so far ahead of the news just from DU that I already know what's going on and what's important that msm is ignoring. Most times, their coverage is days behind what we've discussed here at DU.
My wife asks me if you already know why do you watch? Force of habit I guess, having grown up watching I can't quit now.

[demrabble]

24. No Support or Promotion From CBS

Is it any wonder Katie Couric isn't doing well?

The males at CBS have not given her the support or promotion they would have given a man.

[ProfessorGAC]

25. Where's My Assistant? File This Under "Well, Duh"

BTW: Look at these numbers. In ONE half hour period per day, these shows draw 2x the viewers, EACH, that Bully O'Liely draws. That means he's NOTHING! He's a statistical blip. Katie Couric has more viewers than him, for goodness sake.
The Professor

[qanda]

26. I have only watched once since Couric took over

And it was when they did a tribute to Ed Bradley. I have to say the Couric is not very good at being a news anchor, she may have to go back to morning television. I used to watch Dan Rather all the time-- I really miss him.

[Beausoir]

29. When I hear "hi there!!" I turn the channel.

She's a joke.

[SpiralHawk]

31. DEAR CBS: America don't want no pixie newsreaders

You jumped the shark when you canned Dan Rather for letting us know the truth about George AWOL Bush's cowardly record of deserting the Texas Air National Guard.

You showed us no guts. Now you want us to lap up the pap you are serving with Katie?

Forget about it. You have lost me, and millions of others interested in real news.

[shadowknows69]

35. There's still a CBS news?

Katie will be going away soon.

[PVnRT]

36. Screw network news, I get much more from NPR on the drive home.

n/t

[Ganja Ninja]

37. Couric sucks but it's not just her.

There's too much non-news fluff. They need to take a tip from KO and give us some real news that isn't afraid to be critical of the right.