Weekend Thoughts

With another hurricane moving across Florida, it was a relatively slow news weekend.

Kerry made a few speeches and Teresa Heinz-Kerry yelled at a heckler.

Here are some interesting items.

+In an attempt to revive Cold War fears, Senator Red Kennedy (D-MA) says that the US is in more danger from a "nuclear 9/11."

Senator that is just not true and is a scare tactic. I guess the Senator will be re-opening his bomb shelter at the Kennedy compound.

Boston Globe Online: Print it!

+There are more rumors at CBS. Well, they may or may not be rumors. Late last week Sumner Redstone, CEO and Chairman of Viacom, CBS' parent company, said that after the investigation there will be "appropriate consequences" for those involved in the memo scandal. Redstone also announced that the continuation of the Bush Administration was the best for Viacom. Over the years, Redstone has given money to Democratic candidates including John Kerry.

Now there is an article in the New York Times hinting that there will be a transition at the anchor desk for the CBS Evening News. It is possible that the network will make a change by next spring at the end of May sweeps. This would give Rather's replacement a summer to build up name recognition.

Who will replace Dan Rather is sheer speculation. Two names appear at the top of the list, John Roberts and Scott Pelley. Neither has much name recognition nor a reputation for being an anchor. The news division could also go outside the network for a replacement.

When of if Dan Rather leaves the network is based on the results of the investigation launched by CBS. Rather has already criticized one of the members of the investigation, Republican Richard Thornburg.

The decision to keep or ask Rather to retire is further complicated by the retirement of Tom Brokaw at NBC. With a new, younger anchor at NBC, it is possible that viewers will be anchor shopping. This could work in favor of the third place CBS Evening News.

Whatever the outcome, it will be interesting to watch.

The New York Times > Business > Media & Advertising > CBS Tries to Clear Up Signals on Future of 'Evening News'

More later.