Your Evening News

(Newser) - The CBS Evening News hit a new low for viewership, with an average of 5.39 million last week. The previous record was set last September when anchor Katie Couric visited Iraq, the New York Times reports. The latest showing is another piece of bad news for Couric after reports broke two weeks ago she could be on her way out. More »

(Newser) - Katie Couric will anchor the CBS Evening News for a long time to come, the network's CEO told staffers today, TVNewser reports. Les Moonves dropped in on the daily news meeting to dispel recent rumors that Couric is not long for the newscast, which sits at the bottom of the ratings heap. At the meeting, Couric said the show is "very much family." More »

(Newser) - No winner emerged in last night's Democratic presidential debate, but for one columnist the loser was clear: ABC News. Over the course of a commercial-crammed broadcast, moderators Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopolous dwelled on petty half-controversies to incite Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to get nasty, writes Tom Shales of the Washington Post . More »

(Newser) - Evening network news, with or without Katie Couric aboard, is going nowhere, Ron Grover writes in BusinessWeek —then offers suggestions on what the TV giants should do to hook viewers: Make the news available on the viewers' time: Get big-name anchors on tape earlier, and put those newscasts online. More »

(Newser) - With trouble plaguing most divisions of CBS, last week's flap over Katie Couric's contract was just one of the countless items on Les Moonves' to-do list, the New York Times reports. Ad sales are down industry-wide, Fox is on the tail of the prime-time division and gaining fast, and the radio division and online presence lag competitors. More »

(Newser) - A judge dismissed today some claims of fraud, breach of good faith, and fair dealing in a lawsuit filed against CBS top brass by former anchor Dan Rather, Variety reports. The $70 million suit charges CBS made Rather a scapegoat in the firestorm following revelations “Sixty Minutes” used dubious sources in an exposé on George W. Bush’s National Guard service. More »

(Newser) - CBS may part ways with "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric as soon as the January 2009 inauguration, and long before her contract expires in 2011, reports the Wall Street Journal , citing anonymous sources from both camps. Network executives are tired of all-time low ratings that began with the switch from Dan Rather to Couric in 2006—after an interim with Bob Schieffer, whose ratings Couric still hasn't bested, the Journal notes. More »