'60 Minutes' chief to chair CBS News

"60 Minutes" executive producer Jeff Fager was named the new head of CBS News yesterday. Meanwhile, Sean McManus, who had been co-head of both sports and news, was named chairman of CBS Sports.

Fager, who will retain his "60 Minutes" role, was named chairman of CBS News, a new position. McManus' title of chairman is also a new position.

The broadcaster appointed David Rhodes as president of CBS News. He reports to Fager.

The move immediately prompted industry speculation that CBS had positioned itself to merge its editorial with Bloomberg TV because Rhodes had previously been head of Bloomberg's U.S. TV operations.

CBS had previously held discussions with CNN about combining newsgathering as a cost-saving measure.

Fager, 57, has spent virtually his entire career at CBS - first at local stations, and later at CBS News, where he was a well-regarded producer for Mike Wallace at "60 Minutes" before becoming executive producer of "Evening News."

He took over "60 Minutes" in 2004 when founding producer Don Hewitt retired.