Cbs News | The New York Observer

It's On: CBS News Investigates Letterman Scandal

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:08:43 -0400

Over the past year, Armen Keteyian, the chief investigative correspondent for CBS News, has reported on cyber-thieves in New Jersey, murder-for-hire plots in Wisconsin and teenage bomb-makers in Atlanta. But these days, Mr. Keteyian is hard at work on a story much closer to home—namely, alleged blackmail plots within his own newsroom.

On Oct.3, two days after news broke of the alleged blackmail attempt of David Letterman by 48 Hours producer Joe Halderman, CBS...

60 Minutes Football Piece Is Quite Rather-esque

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:04:51 -0400

Last week, on Friday, Oct. 9, Wayne Nelson, the executive producer for Dan Rather Reports, was sitting in his office at HDNet’s headquarters in New York when an incredulous staff member ran in. Have you seen the promos for this weekend’s 60 Minutes, producer Meredith Ramsey asked? The clips touted an upcoming piece by Bob Simon on the long-term danger of repeated head injuries in sports. Mr. Nelson and Ms. Ramsey felt like they...

CBS on the "Road Ahead" in Afghanistan

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:23:54 -0400

For three days next week, CBS is abandoning its standard evening news format to examine in-depth the war in Afghanistan. The project comes at a difficult time for overseas news coverage.

Felix Gilette writes:

In recent years, the big three networks have all been gradually dismantling their traditional foreign bureaus and testing out new models for covering breaking news events overseas. ABC News, for instance, has been particularly aggressive about deploying so-called one-man-band, or digital video,...

CBS News President Sean McManus on Network's Upcoming Afghanistan Initiative

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:02:59 -0400

"We're not doing it for ratings," said Sean McManus.

It was the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 25, and Mr. McManus, the president of CBS News and Sports, was on the phone with The Observer talking about an upcoming, multi-day initiative at CBS News, which will focus on the state of the war in Afghanistan.

For three straight days, beginning Monday, October 5, Katie Couric will essentially toss aside the...

Bill Clinton, Jimmy Buffett, Barack Obama, Katie Couric and Others Remember the Life of Walter Cronkite

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:33:11 -0400

Bill Clinton stood on stage at Avery Fisher Hall in Manhattan's Lincoln Center and gazed out over the expansive auditorium. Not too long ago, Mr. Clinton told the audience, Walter Cronkite had extended a great act of kindness to his family. It was the summer of 1998. The Monica Lewinsky scandal was at a fever pitch. Mr. Clinton and his family were on vacation in Martha's Vineyard, hiding from the press and feeling like...

Legendary CBS Producer Don Hewitt Passes Away

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:23:52 -0400

Don Hewitt, one of the early pioneers of broadcast journalism, died today at the age of 86.

Mr. Hewitt, who spent more than a half century at CBS News, helped create 60 Minutes, and worked extensively with the late Walter Cronkite, who recently passed away.

Earlier this year, Mr. Hewitt had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

CBS News Hires Digital Journalist to Be Based in Afghanistan

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:18:29 -0400

CBS News executives announced today that they have hired Mandy Clark, a former video journalist for Voice of America News, as the network's digital journalist to be stationed in Afghanistan.

Back in April, we wrote about various news organizations shifting their resources overseas from Baghdad to Afghanistan. At the time, Paul Friedman, a senior vice president for CBS News, told us that the previous fall, CBS had engaged in discussions with other networks, including NBC...

Court Compels Panel to Turn Over 3,000 More Documents In Rather Suit

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:21:30 -0400

After a hiatus of several months, Dan Rather was back in court yesterday in Lower Manhattan, as part of his ongoing $70 million suit against his former employers at CBS.

To date, both sides are still awaiting a ruling from an appeals court about the future of the case. But in the meantime, Justice Ira Gammerman, of the New York Supreme Court, made a number of decisions yesterday afternoon:

(1) CBS must turn over the confidentiality...

Katie Couric Headed to Egypt, Saudi Arabia for Interviews with Robert Gates

Mon, 04 May 2009 12:58:02 -0400

On Monday morning, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was en route to Egypt.

Over the next several days, Mr. Gates, according to the Associated Press, will be on a "delicate mission" to "reassure long-term U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf region that efforts by Washington to reach out to Iran will not come at their expense."

He will do so under the watchful eye of Katie Couric.

CBS News announced on...

Williamsburg Musician Churns out YouTube Hits Transforming TV Talking Heads Into Soulful Songbirds

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:46:12 -0400

Here at The Observer, we love a good TV- news-anchor- dance- mash-up.

Last year, we marveled at Torrey Meeks' hilarious Bill O’Reilly Flips Out—Dance Remix. Today, we got hooked on another brilliant contribution to the genre, Michael Gregory's new video, Auto-Tune the News #2: pirates, drugs, gay marriage. (Also check out Episode #1.) With the help of an audio-processor, Mr. Gregory—a 24-year-old musician who lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn—has transformed a number of talking...

Kabul Fever: Turning to Afghanistan, the Press Learns Its Own Lessons from Baghdad

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:41:29 -0400

Not long ago, Richard Engel, the chief foreign correspondent for NBC News, was working on a story in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan. One day, he hiked for 45 minutes up a mountain. On the top of the hill, he found a tiny guard tower, looking over into Pakistan, where a few U.S. soldiers and stray dogs were hanging out.

“It turned out I’d been on a patrol with one of them...

A Doctor, A Former Hottest Bachelor, And the Creator of 'Topic [A] With Tina Brown' Find Work in TV News

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:10:00 -0400

With advertising revenue in freefall and hiring freezes creeping through the TV news industry, it’s not everyday that we hear of a network actually adding a staffer. But on Tuesday, we heard of three new hires.

Three!

The hiring boomlet made for an unusually cheerful day in NYTV’s inbox.

To wit: Over at the Time Warner Center, CNN executives announced that they had hired...

Economic Crisis: Where Can President Find an Adviser Who Gives Good Television?

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:00:00 -0400

Not long ago, President Barack Obama finally got around to filling three of the top jobs at the Treasury Department that had been vacant since his inauguration.

But even afterward, one top financial job was left conspicuously unfilled—namely, the role of Economic Surrogate in Chief.

A good economic statesman—somebody who can crunch budget projections by day and give good TV by night—can be hard to find. It’s a lesson that’s been driven home in Washington in...

AP Countersues Shepard Fairey Over Obama 'Hope' Portrait

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:58:42 -0400

The Associated Press is countersuing Shepard Fairey over the graffiti artist–turned–lifestyle marketer–turned Obama portraitist's February 9 suit. According to an AP press release, the AP's countersuit, which was filed in Manhattan today, claims that Mr. Fairey created his ubiquitous "Hope" poster "fully aware that the [AP photo] was a copyrighted image, misappropriated The AP’s rights in that image by developing a series of posters and other merchandise."

In a February interview with CBS News'...

Media Mob Sleeps With the Fishes

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:06:30 -0500

On July 6th, 2005, The Observer officially launched the Media Mob under editor Tom Scocca with a post that attempted—and failed—to introduce an awkward portmanteau word we thought would capture large media companies' incursions into the then-still novel medium of blogs. We called it (shudder) blogentrification, and described it as follows:

It starts with the ragtag pioneers, moving in with their funky friends and their bohemian pursuits, seeking life on the cheap in some desolate...

Atlantic Publisher David Bradley Fêtes 'Beloved' Gwen Ifill on Inauguration Eve

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:17:30 -0500

On the evening of Monday, January 19th, the publisher David Bradley, stood in the opulent living room of his Georgian mansion off of Embassy Row in Washington D.C., across the road from the Naval Observatory, and spoke of existential angst.

"All of us have those middle of the night sentiments of, ‘Does any of what I’m doing matter?'” said the publisher of The Atlantic and The National Journal. "'Will anyone ever remember? How...

How Much Will CBS News Save by Cutting Staff at Tel Aviv Bureau?

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:54:16 -0500

Earlier this week, we wrote about heavy cuts that CBS News made to its Tel Aviv bureau shortly before the outbreak of war in Gaza.

The layoffs come at a time when just about everyone in the media is suffering from a serious downturn in advertising.

So how much money will CBS News save by reducing a once bustling bureau down to a bare-bones...

Lineup for January 7, 2009

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:52:11 -0500

Who are this year's Media Mensches? Meet The New York Times' Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., Union Square Ventures' Fred Wilson, director Errol Morris, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux's Lorin Stein, and 60 Minutes' Jeffrey Fager.

Felix Gillette looks at CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips, "a seasoned, London-based reporter. But he is also—thanks to the thinly spread news-gathering operations at CBS News—the lead reporter on most of the network’s stories in Israel. It’s a beat that...

Do You Know the Way to Tel Aviv? For CBS, via London

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:36:19 -0500

Shortly after 1:30 a.m. on the night of Dec. 29, CBS News foreign correspondent Mark Phillips stood on a rooftop, overlooking the city of Tel Aviv. Lights from the city’s skyline flickered behind him. Through an earpiece, he listened to anchor Maggie Rodriguez, who was sitting in a studio in New York, filling in for Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News.

“The White House accuses Hamas of...

CBS News Names Nancy Cordes as Congressional Correspondent

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:12:14 -0500

Today CBS News executives named Nancy Cordes as the network's new Congressional Correspondent. Previously, Ms. Cordes served as the network's Transportation and Consumer Safety Correspondent. According to the press release, she will continue to cover both beats.

Lineup for November 12, 2008

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:48:25 -0500

John Koblin looks at editors who moonlight as writers, and talks to The New Yorker's David Remnick who says, "As much as I love editing, reporting and writing is a way for me to get out of the house a little bit, metaphorically... Otherwise, it’s just the apartment and the office." Plus: As Economy Quakes, Home Mags Teeter.

Felix Gillette sifts through some recently released Rather v. CBS documents and unearths some interesting...

CBS Names Chip Reid New Chief White House Correspondent; Jim Axelrod Moves to New York

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:19:29 -0500

CBS News executives today named Chip Reid as the network's new chief white house correspondent. Mr. Reid, a veteran of NBC News, joined CBS is 2007. He previously served as the network's Capitol Hill correspondent, and hit the campaign trail extensively over the past year.

CBS also announced today that the network's erstwhile chief White House correspondent, Jim Axelrod, will become a national correspondent based in New York.

...

Dan Bartlett Declined to Answer Thornburgh Panel’s Questions About President's Military Service in 2004, Email Reveals

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:46:07 -0500

Juicy Bits Surfacing in Rather Case: In 2004, CBS Considered Matt Drudge, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter Independent Panel

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:03:57 -0500

This week, Dan Rather's legal team submitted a memorandum to the judge overseeing Mr. Rather's $70 million civil lawsuit against his former employers, which for the first time made public some of the thousands of documents that CBS has already turned over in the ongoing discovery process.

The Media Mob is still making its way through the thick stack of e-mails, internal memos, and transcripts included in this stash. But we were...

Election Night Ratings: ABC Wins in Broadcast; CNN Wins on Cable

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:42:38 -0500

On Tuesday night, some 71.5 million viewers tuned in across 14 television networks to watch Senator Barack Obama's victory over Senator John McCain, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Overall it was the highest rated election night since 1980.

On broadcast television, ABC News was big winner. On cable, CNN dominated.

The Nielsen numbers for total viewers via THR:

ABC: 13,135,000

...

Claim: Sarah Palin 'Did Not Have the Time or Focus to Prepare' For Couric Interview

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:20:35 -0500

And now the fun part begins.

The New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller has an A1-promoted story headlined Internal Battles Divided McCain and Palin Camps, in which she reveals all about the Republican candidates' failed bid for the White House. This comes a day after Newsweek broke new ground on the Governor's campaign trail spending spree and Carl Cameron told FOX News (FOX News!) that the woman New York Times columnist Bill Kristol...

Where to Watch Election Night Online

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:07:35 -0500

The Web is revving its engine for tomorrow's big night. Here's where you can tune in on your computer and your iPhone:

ABC News is offering live streams of its own TV broadcast and they'll have Web cams at the McCain and Obama campaign headquarters. CBS News will be offering county-by-county, up-to-the-minute results with live blogging, and a simulcast of its TV coverage, starting at 6:30 p.m. Around 2 a.m, Katie Couric will live...

Fox News: Everywhere You Want To Be

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:02:05 -0500

In 1993, Rolling Stone writer Hugh Gallagher forced himself to watch MTV for seven days straight. Mr. Gallagher's reaction to the experience was easily summed up in the headline to his story: "An Experiment in Terror."

In this week's New Republic, Isaac Chotiner tries a similar (but less immersive) experiment as he watched 24 Hours of Fox News.

Writes Mr. Chotiner:

As one might expect with Barack Obama so close to the...

Mainstream Media Finally Pay Attention To The Daily Beast

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:02:28 -0400

Sure, it's well past its buzzy first 100 hours, but that doesn't mean there can't be more coverage of Tina Brown and Barry Diller's three-week-old don't- call-it-a-news-aggregator site, The Daily Beast.

In today's New York Times, Tim Arango offers a dual (duel?) profile of Ms. Brown and her aggregating sister-in-arms, Arianna Huffington. (And yesterday's Times Magazine featured an interview with Christopher Buckley by Deborah Solomon, but that was simply to fill a...

Lawyer Representing Thornburgh Panel Joins Rather and CBS in Court

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:19:25 -0400

Dan Rather was back in court Tuesday afternoon for another round in his $70 million lawsuit against CBS.

In the latest development, Mr. Rather's legal team introduced a motion asking the judge for permission to amend their complaint for the second time. Marty Gold, Mr. Rather's lead attorney, said the judge had previously dismissed his client’s fraud charges against CBS on the grounds that no specific damages had been listed in the...

Couric to Palin: 'What Other Supreme Court Decisions Do You Disagree With?'

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:56:19 -0400

In case you missed it last night on the CBS Evening News, there was another jaw-dropping moment between Katie Couric and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

As part of the ongoing series called Vice Presidential Questions, Ms. Couric had just finished asking Ms. Palin why she disagreed with Roe v. Wade (she had asked the same question to vice presidential candidate Joe Biden earlier).

Here's what happenend next.

"What other Supreme Court decisions do...

The Never Ending Story: Another Memorable Moment Between Palin-Couric To Air Tonight on CBS

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:04:43 -0400

Tonight's CBS Evening News will feature more of the interview Katie Couric conducted yesterday in Ohio with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Over the past week, the ongoing series of Couric-Palin interviews has developed into one of the most fascinating, must-see sub-narratives of the 2008 campaign. Tonight's episode promises not to disappoint.

Courtesy of CBS News, the transcript:

Gov. Palin at Monday’s event in Columbus, OH: I do look forward to Thursday...

Radar Chronicles How CBS's Lara Logan 'Hit a Trifecta of Rebelliousness, Dogged Reporting, and Sexual Intrigue'

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:43:47 -0400

In the forthcoming October/November issue of Radar magazine, Lauren Sandler profiles Lara Logan, CBS News' alluring, aggressive war correspondent.

Over the course of several thousand words, Ms. Sandler chronicles Ms. Logan's blazing ascent from casual South African swimsuit model to swashbuckling war correspondent to tabloid sensation for her involvement in a series of war zone affairs, including with CNN's war correspondent Michael Ware.

"Ware and Logan became legendary for their blowout arguments," reports Ms....

Sneak Peek: Couric Sits Down with Palin

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:45:21 -0400

Today, Katie Couric sat down with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for the third on-air interview with the elusive VP candidate since the Republican convention.

The interview will air tonight on the CBS Evening News. In the meantime, CBS producers have posted a brief clip from the interview on their Web Site.

First impressions: no scenic Alaskan backdrop (like with ABC's Charlie Gibson). And no letting down of her hair (like with Fox News' Sean...

Justice Rules That Dan Rather's Amended Suit Against CBS Will Continue on Limited Basis

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:37:08 -0400

On the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 22, Dan Rather and lawyers for CBS returned yet again to a court in Lower Manhattan for the latest ruling in Mr. Rather's ongoing $70 million civil lawsuit against his former employers.

There, New York Supreme Court Justice Ira Gammerman announced his ruling on CBS's motion to dismiss Mr. Rather's amended complaint against them.

In a decision that is giving the Media Mob a case of déjà vu,...

Justice to Rule Today on Important Motion in Rather v. CBS

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:29:12 -0400

Today Dan Rather will return to a courtroom in Lower Manhattan.

There, Justice Ira Gammerman is scheduled to make a ruling this afternoon on CBS's motion to dismiss Mr. Rather's amended complaint in his $70 million civil lawsuit against his former employers.

Expect updates as more news breaks....

60 Minutes Turns 40: Kroft to Interview Obama; Pelley Gets McCain

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:01:30 -0400

This coming Sunday, CBS News' 60 Minutes will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary on the air. For the occassion, Steve Kroft will be interviewing Senator Barack Obama, and Scott Pelley will be interviewing Senator John McCain.

From today's release:

America's most-watched news program takes a hard look at the presidential candidates on its 40th anniversary broadcast much as it did when its very first edition on Sept. 24, 1968, featured Richard...

Katie Couric to Interview Sarah Palin

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:39:12 -0400

It's official: CBS News has announced that Katie Couric will get a shot at interviewing Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

From the release:

Katie Couric will spend two days traveling on the campaign trail with Governor Sarah Palin on Sunday, September 28 and Monday, September 29, conducting an exclusive interview to be broadcast on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric beginning Monday (29). Coverage will continue on Tuesday, September 30 on The Early...

Finding Palin on IMDB: Judy Holliday? Sally Field? Geena Davis?

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:30:41 -0400

On Wednesday afternoon, a few short hours before Sarah Palin was to take the stage for her big speech, Jeff Greenfield, the senior political correspondent for CBS News, sized up the Alaskan Governor.

His mind turned to cinema. "I'm trying to think of all the cultural examples about feisty women from nowhere who show up and beat the guys," said Mr. Greenfield. He did a mental IMDB. There was Judy Holliday in "The Solid Gold...

Katie Couric Headed to Gulf Coast

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:15:12 -0400

Katie Couric will anchor the CBS Evening news from the Gulf coast on Monday night, CBS News announced today.

More from the CBS press release on the network's hurricane/convention coverage:

--CBS News Correspondents Cynthia Bowers, Randall Pinkston, Byron Pitts, Dave Price, Tracy Smith and Hari Sreenivasan will report from the area for all CBS News broadcasts.

--The Early Show's Harry Smith will anchor from the area beginning tomorrow morning (7:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), along with...

Lara Logan Tells Men's Vogue 'I Break Out Into Hives at the Thought of the Word "Settling"'

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:54:25 -0400

Lara Logan, the comely war correspondent for CBS News who recently became the network's chief foreign affairs correspondent based in Washington D.C., recently sat down with Men's Vogue for an interview that appears in the magazine's September issue.

According to the style mag, Ms. Logan wore an "unabashedly feminine—and sheer—blouse and a black pencil skirt" to the wide-ranging interview, which took place at Washington's Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown. Along the way,...

CBS Will Get to Keep Documents of Interest in Dan Rather Suit Away from the Public; But Redstone Must Speak!

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:12:13 -0400

Dan Rather and his lawyers were back in a Lower Manhattan courthouse late Wednesday afternoon for yet another round in Mr. Rather's ongoing $70 million civil lawsuit against his former employers.

Over the course of a 45-minute hearing in front of Justice Ira Gammerman, tempers occasionally flared as the lawyers for both sides argued over a number of issues, ranging from the scheduling of depositions to the...

CBS News and Veterans for Common Sense Invite Candidates to Town Hall Forum in Texas

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:44:17 -0400

During the prolonged political primary season this year, CBS News was the only major American commercial network news division not to successfully sponsor a single debate. But it looks like CBS execs are trying to get an early jump on the general election.

To wit: yesterday Veterans for Common Sense--a consortium of military and veteran nonprofit groups--announced that they are teaming up with CBS News to sponsor and produce a town hall forum, focusing...

What Does It Take to Get a War Correspondent Back on the Front Page?

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:00:30 -0400

As we noted recently, reporters and correspondents in Baghdad have had an increasingly difficult time in recent months getting their reports on air and their stories on the front pages of newspapers.

But this morning, seasoned war reporter Lara Logan of CBS News popped up on the front page of the New York Post—albeit for a bunch of allegations about her life in Baghdad that have nothing to do with her enterprising reporting on...

CBS News Becomes Widget Factory

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:56:35 -0400

What does the long-term future hold for local television news business? Unclear. What does the short term promise?

Widgets.

On Wednesday, June 18, executives as WCBS, the CBS-owned and -operated station in New York City, unveiled a new online business venture in which they will supply “widgets with real-time news feeds” to a network of local blogs.

Reached on the phone recently, Dan Shelley, the director of...

CBS 'Early Show' Names New Executive Producer

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:34:09 -0400

Roughly three months after the tumultuous exit of Shelley Ross, The Early Show on CBS has named Zev Shalev as the show's new executive producer. Rick Kaplan of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric had been filling in on an interim basis.

From the press release:

Shalev has been senior broadcast producer of the program since March.

"Zev has done a terrific job during the transition," said Sean McManus, President CBS News and Sports....

Report: Larry King Extends Contract with CNN, But Not Guaranteed 9 P.M. Show

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:26:55 -0400

On Tuesday April, 22, Steve Krakauer of TV Newser was the first to report that CNN's suspender-wearing newsman Larry King had re-upped with the cable news network through June 2011.

The news immediately kicked up more speculation about what that might mean for the beleaguered Katie Couric, who had been (conveniently!) rumored as a possible replacement for Mr. King, sometime next year. Most commentators greeted the news of...

Katie's Star-Crossed CBS Debate in North Carolina Officially Cancelled

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:40:58 -0400

The North Carolina Democratic Party has just announced that the proposed April 27 presidential debate in North Carolina has been officially cancelled. The star-crossed debate would have been hosted by CBS News--and would have been Katie Couric's first opportunity to prove herself as a debate moderator on a national stage.

From the web site for the North Carolina Democratic Party:

We regret to inform you that the proposed Democratic Presidential Debate scheduled for...

Katie's Shot at Moderating a Debate Growing Slimmer

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:09:07 -0400

On Friday, before he got sidetracked, Senator Barack Obama suggested that he might bow out of a proposed April 27 debate in North Carolina to be hosted by CBS News and moderated by Katie Couric and Bob Schieffer, reports the Charlotte Observer.

"In a telephone interview with the Observer to discuss his economic plan, Obama doubted whether a proposed April 27 debate at Raleigh's RBC Center would fit with his schedule," reports the Charlotte...

The Future of Katie Couric: A Morning Round-Up

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:14:56 -0400

Filling out the rumors floated in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, today the New York Times reports that a “wide-ranging discussion” about Katie Couric’s future took place among CBS executives back in February:

The discussion took place in New York on Feb. 28 and involved four people: Ms. Couric; her agent, Alan Berger of the Creative Artists Agency; Sean McManus, the president of CBS News; and Leslie Moonves, the chairman of...