So who is watching CBS Evening News tonight?

Seeing Dan Rather do "Courage" totally rocked.

Dude cornered the market on fumbling pretentiousness, especially in that late 80s period. The U.S. Open dead air, the George Bush interview, etc., it's like Rather had a cocaine period of his career without the actual blow.

 

What's the frequency, Katie?

 

Wasn't how she looked that bothered me.

It was her detachment. Perhaps it is simply being solo, or being in this button-down format.

I didn't like it.

And I was a huge Katie fan.

 

It/she sucked. Next!

 

The whole thing had the feeling of the late news after the first day of the NCAA tournament in a small market town. Just about everyone's gone home, including most of the staff and crew. She seemed very lonely.

With Rather and Schieffer, there was a little bit of newsroom action behind them all the time. Behind Katie, nothing.

With Rather and especially Schieffer, there was some back and forth with live reports -- and there were several of them. With Katie, one live report, the only live part being the sign off and her "OK, thanks."

So you basically had Katie reading news and introducing segments while the control room rolled tape. About what you'd find in Albany during March Madness when the news finally came on at 1:30 a.m. and Joe Pags would be doing the news and weather all by himeself so Liz Bishop and Steve LaPointe could have the night off.

 

Whitlock.

 

CBS News needed more Whitlock like Don't Fear the Reaper needed more cowbell

 

Katie's new signoff:

Go fuck yourself, San Diego.

 

We watched it in the newsroom. The signoff was corny, but then, every signoff is. My general feeling about the whole show can be summed up with one word: Eh.

 

Didn't watch it, never do -- who doesn't know what's going on in the world by 6:30 p.m.? -- but I did notice that while others were out covering the war, investigating what's (not) going on in New Orlans, she was on a tour asking viewers what they wanted.
That's the kind of news we do at our place, try to figure out what cheerleading news story readers want and then give it to them rather than actually making an attempt to cover news.