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CBS flummoxed with no heir apparent to Couric

Verne Gay | Off Camera

April 11, 2008

In this photo released by CBS, Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. (Newsday / April 10, 2008)

What now, CBS?

With Katie Couric reported to be off "The Evening News" by Janaury, this is now the most important question facing one of TV news' most storied franchises at the most critical moment in its history. So ... What now?

Let us parse. First, will she leave? If not of her own accord, then CBS will have to pay off the balance of her contract (roughly $35 million). That's a huge penalty, particularly for a network in the midst of layoffs and cutbacks.

For CBS to force her out - effectively admitting that this anchor choice was a mistake and thus a significant public relations blunder - then it would have to have someone else in place. Someone who would draw more viewers, expand profits and prestige, erase the memory of this unfortunate episode.

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There, friends, is the rub. Who?

As sharks circled CBS yesterday in the wake of a Wall Street Journal story that added few details to a similar Philadelphia Inquirer story that ran in the fall, that was the big industry question. Answers were not forthcoming.

So without a replacement, can there even be - gulp - an "Evening News?"

Cancellation of "The Evening News" has been called the nuclear option and many people have speculated about it for years, usually inviting derision. But here, now, for your consideration is the cold, hard truth: The world of news no longer has a sacred cow. The cows have all been butchered and the hamburger is arriving at dinner tables as we speak. Nothing is forever, including, "Evening News."

The real question about Couric isn't about whether she's going to leave - she will, sooner or later - but who will replace her? Another cold hard truth: There is no one in the wings. No one. No one at CBS. No one anywhere else.

There are certainly intriguing possibilities out there. George Stephanopoulos? He'd be a viable candidate but don't you think ABC has him under lock and key? Diane Sawyer? That might work too - except that Sawyer, possessed of many many talents, does not possess the talent of anchoring. Bob Schieffer - one of the most gifted anchors in the world? He wanted to retire (sort of) but CBS didn't even have candidates to replace him on "Face the Nation," and now he's sticking around. Russ Mitchell? Excellent anchor and smart guy - too bad viewers don't even know who he is. Ted Koppel? Happy where he is (Discovery Channel).

So it all comes down to "who." That no one has an answer just might keep Couric around a little longer than anyone might expect. The alternative - no "Evening News" - is chilling indeed.