Miss Golden
05-18-2005, 11:41 AM
CBS cancels Wednesday '60 Minutes'
NEW YORK (AP) — CBS said Wednesday it is cancelling the Wednesday edition of 60 Minutes, insisting the decision was made because of poor ratings and not last fall's ill-fated story about President Bush's military service.
Dan Rather, the newsmagazine's lead correspondent, will contribute stories to the Sunday edition of 60 Minutes, said CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves.
"This was a ratings call, not a content call," Moonves said Wednesday.
The newsmagazine spinoff was where Rather reported last September that Bush skirted some duty while in the Texas Air National Guard and a commander felt pressure to sugarcoat an evaluation of him. An independent panel later concluded that documents used in the story could not be verified.
Moonves said that story didn't figure in the decision to cancel it, "not even slightly."
60 Minutes Wednesday has been sinking in the ratings, a decline accelerated by the success of the ABC drama Lost in the same time slot. The show also has one of the oldest audiences in prime-time television, considered a turn-off to advertisers.
Moonves said CBS News President Andrew Heyward was telling his staff of the decision on Wednesday and it was too soon to tell if any layoffs will result.
CBS will likely run news specials during the year in prime-time, he said.
The show was Rather's home base since he stepped down as anchor of the CBS Evening News in March. While he will report for 60 Minutes, it's not clear whether he will become one of the correspondents pictured every week at the beginning of the show
NEW YORK (AP) — CBS said Wednesday it is cancelling the Wednesday edition of 60 Minutes, insisting the decision was made because of poor ratings and not last fall's ill-fated story about President Bush's military service.
Dan Rather, the newsmagazine's lead correspondent, will contribute stories to the Sunday edition of 60 Minutes, said CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves.
"This was a ratings call, not a content call," Moonves said Wednesday.
The newsmagazine spinoff was where Rather reported last September that Bush skirted some duty while in the Texas Air National Guard and a commander felt pressure to sugarcoat an evaluation of him. An independent panel later concluded that documents used in the story could not be verified.
Moonves said that story didn't figure in the decision to cancel it, "not even slightly."
60 Minutes Wednesday has been sinking in the ratings, a decline accelerated by the success of the ABC drama Lost in the same time slot. The show also has one of the oldest audiences in prime-time television, considered a turn-off to advertisers.
Moonves said CBS News President Andrew Heyward was telling his staff of the decision on Wednesday and it was too soon to tell if any layoffs will result.
CBS will likely run news specials during the year in prime-time, he said.
The show was Rather's home base since he stepped down as anchor of the CBS Evening News in March. While he will report for 60 Minutes, it's not clear whether he will become one of the correspondents pictured every week at the beginning of the show