CBS News-CBS Sports: What's the Diff?



(image via nndb)

Is Leslie Moonves Utah Jazz-ing up the CBS News? "Naked News," or "Jockstrap News," what's the diff, really? Our crystal balls are clear (And so, we cannot fail to note, are our more organic ebony ones as well). We can't say we didn't see that muffin coming from a mile away, lobbed by CBS brass. According to Gawker, CBS News President Andrew Heyward is throwing in the towel and headed for the locker room. They write, "Andrew Heyward, president of CBS News for the last decade, announced this morning that he�s quitting. He�ll be replaced by CBS Sports president Sean McManus, who starts in 10 days and, in what might well be a desperate bid by the network to capture some Arledgian magic, will retain his sports job, too."

Swell and lovely. Yesterday, we prophetically wrote, a la Mike Wallace:

"Is it just us, or is Les Moonves avoiding the old CBS News paradigm like a junkie cycling himself off the smack via sweet methadone? First, there is the very noticeable boosting of 'Sports' on 60 Minutes -- a new development which, we cannot fail to note, scored boffo ratings albeit with some critical opprobrium from this blog -- now, the once mighty Mike Wallace gets braught low with the proverbial 'gasface' (tm)."

And, crankily, we wrote on Saturday:

"Congratulations to "60 Minutes" on acquiring a sole sponsor; let's hope, however, that in the process, beloved CBS News (Beloved to The Corsair, at least) didn't have to sell it's "journalistic sweet ass" in the process. Will the 38th season be the season "60 Minutes" finally succumbs to the Shark (Okay, the godawful Clinton-Dole debates come close)? Granted: Sunday is sports day, especially on CBS in the afternoons and into the early evenings; and granted, CBS wants to hold on to that valuable demographic. But CBS Sports and, quite frankly, the entertainment division in general is overstepping its bounds -- mightily, this season -- and is jocularly muscling its way into the personal space of that paragon of investigative broadcast journalism, '60 Minutes.'

"Note to CBS Sports: Get out of 60 Minutes' 'Zone.' And while, yes, The Corsair can understand why Les Moonves might want to marry the profitability -- and zesty young demographic -- of the entertainment division with the prestige and gravitas of news department (Isn't that what this blog does anyway, or, at least, tries to do, anyhow?), there is no need, no need, to change the tried-and-true recipe of '60 Minutes' so dramatically. Three weeks and three sweaty sports stories is about as subtle a maneuver as a sledgehammer, guys. '60 Minutes,' we cannot fail to note, is not the Naked News.

"(A considerable pause) What is up with '60 Minutes' this season? Is it just The Corsair, or is 60 Minutes -- this season, post-Don Hewitt -- putting extra-special emphasis on sports and entertainment, and less and less on war trouble zones, entrenched corruption, emerging trends, and generally the types of pieces that essentially made us fall in love with '60 Minutes' in the first place?"

All snark aside: Frankly, we do wish Sean McManus luck; he'll need it. The current Methuselan demographic that fiends for their CBS News fix are a fickle lot, resistant to change -- unless, of course, that change is of minty-fresh adult undergarment variety. We humbly submit our multi-consonanted names for your consideration with regards to "jazzy" CBS News commentators. We shall not be silenced, unless -- that is -- Mr.McManus make us an offer at Black Rock we can't refuse.

CBS News press release here.

CBS Eye Blog here.

Memo at Mediabistro.