CBS is once again testing out new ingredients for one of its oldest, most recognizable programs, “The CBS Evening News.”
On Monday, CBS News jettisoned many of the signature elements of the program — the ones that are also utilized by its main competitors, NBC News’ “NBC Nightly News” and ABC News’ “World News Tonight.” Gone are the rat-a-tat story counts and main focus on the anchor delivering the headlines. In their place: fewer stories told with more depth and enterprise; a focus on reporters in the field; and elements that nod to the network’s venerable newsmagazine, “60 Minutes.” And perhaps a little “PBS NewsHour” on the side?
John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois served as guides of a sort, taking viewers through a longer-than-expected segment about insurance challenges for California residents affected by the recent wildfires and an investigative piece that examined Chinese intelligence efforts to recruit members of the U.S. military, as well as quick nods of just a few seconds to some of the breaking-news headlines of the day.
““We are removing the clutter,” Bill Owens the “60 Minutes” executive producer who added “Evening News” to his portfolio, told Variety during an interview in August. “We are not going to be dealing with the things we think people might want to see, and we are going to be about real serious reporting. We are getting back to our beats, listening to our reporters in the field about what they have, not worrying about the headlines online or in the newspapers.”
There were also some production filigrees that evoked Owens’ old stomping grounds, such as quick shots of reporters on the ground telling viewers to stay tuned for their coming stories.
The moves have been expected for months. Norah O’Donnell, who has anchored the program for more than five years, signed off last Thursday to tackle a new role as a senior correspondent. Under Paramount Global management, CBS News has been pressed to share newsgathering resources with the newsrooms of the company’s local stations, which is why DuBois, a veteran anchor from WCBS New York, and Dickerson, whose strong political-analysis chops have brought him to “Face The Nation” and “CBS This Morning,” among other places have been joined together in an unorthodox union. They shared the set at times on Monday with Margaret Brennan, who added the view from Washington, and Lonnie Quinn, who talked about weather across the nation.
Most of the half hour was spent on enterprise and feature storytelling — a clear recognition that viewers can get breaking headlines from any number of sources, whether they be digital or traditional. What they can’t get somewhere else is the reporting of correspondents on the ground.
It’s no secret that “CBS Evening News” has run third behind its direct broadcast competitors for years, and the constant switching of anchors hasn’t really helped the network grow its perch with potential audiences. Now there are cost pressures in the brew. Paramount Global has in recent months worked to cut millions of dollars from its operations, and the company that is supposed to acquire the media conglomerate has proposed cutting millions more. With that in the background, it seems likely that DuBois and Dickerson, who have other duties, won’t travel frequently to scenes of crisis and critical gatherings, but rather leave that to the people already scattered around the world.
CBS has tried to recast “Evening News” for contemporary audiences before, and found the task a difficult one. Katie Couric took the anchor chair in 2006 with a mandate to refresh the format with more human interest stories and interviews. Despite her hard work, CBS found viewers didn’t necessarily gravitate to the changes. Couric left CBS after a five-year stint. There was also an effort to pair Connie Chung with Dan Rather in the mid-1990s, an idea that lasted just two years or so.
Now, executives are trying again, and the pressures may be more deeply felt. With younger viewers gravitating to a panoply of non-traditional voices for information, CBS News can’t afford to let its connection to audiences fray. Dickerson, DuBois and their colleagues offered a less formal version of the evening-news format Monday night, one that saved room for on-set conversations with reporters about their work. Behind the scenes, however, no one will be able to relax.