In a famous 1996 episode of "The X-Files," Special Agent Dana Scully tells the character Clyde Bruckman (played by the late Peter Boyle) "Mr. Bruckman, there are hits ... and there are misses. And ... then ... there are misses."
Scully could well have been describing the debacle that was the last five years of misery as the venerable Tiffany network tried to recover from decades of declining ratings with a 'hail mary' pass in the hiring of Katie "The Perky One" Couric.
By her own admission, Couric was miscast as the anchor of a major network newscast. Part of the misery came from within the core of CBS ~ Couric was an outsider having spent the past 15 years at NBC's Today show. Couple that with a $15 million dollar annual salary, staff cutbacks within CBS News, and a wealth of other "inside" talent being overlooked for the job once helmed by Walter Cronkite, and you've got a powder keg just waiting to explode.
Couric's early broadcasts were simply unwatchable. And, while the quality of the newscasts improved under the stewardship of former ABC/NBC/CNN/MSNBC Executive Producer Rick Kaplan ~ it was clear Couric was in over her head.
Even the entrenched, loyal CBS News viewer (such as myself) opted to tune out the Couric era. For five years, I practically abandoned a broadcast I made appointment viewing under Rather and Schieffer.
Tonight, another page was turned in the history of the 60+ year broadcast. Scott Pelley reclaimed the CBS NEWS brand.
Some viewers might not have noticed ~ but ~ I heard the familiar drum beat of the CBS NEWS music package which was first rolled out in 1987 for the headline bed as the broadcast began. Within two seconds I exclaimed with excitement and did a fist pump in the air. (I'm sure my wife was rolling her eyes.) "They brought back the old music!" I shouted.
Pelley, in what was his first anchor job EVER, delivered an old-school, in-depth broadcast. Surprisingly, Pelley revealed in an interview the other week he has never even 'filled in' for a network anchor or local anchor. Tonight, Pelley was like an old shoe. Comfortable, Confident.
It may be unfair to say the weight of CBS NEWS may now rest solely on Pelley as the face of the News Division. He certainly didn't want it to be. Pelley had gone as far to lobby Executives -not- to use his name in the broadcast.
With that knowledge, it should come as no surprise Pelley made no mention of his first night on the job. Unlike Couric, who in her first broadcast five years ago ended with us trying to determine what she should use as her sign off ... Pelley gave us a simple "That's the CBS Evening News. I'm Scott Pelley. For all of us at CBS NEWS, here and around the world, Goodnight."
The tight exit allowed for only about three or four seconds of the 1987 theme music to play out. We didn't even get those few seconds to focus on a pull out shot of Pelley. Instead, the broadcast played those out with a shot of a bridge which had significant meaning on D-Day 67 years ago today.
In the end, the broadcast became everything the last five years were not. It was the Anti-Couric. The music selection alone (Couric's theme was an expensive composition by Titanic Score Composer James Horner) was a slap in the face to Couric and the 'outsiders' which had held the broadcast hostage since 2006.
No total set makeover. No expensive new graphic productions. Aside from the return to the 1987 theme, the only other subtle hint that this broadcast was about substance ~ and the cherished history of CBS NEWS ~ came in a new backdrop behind the newsdesk. A similar world map ~ one used during the days of Cronkite ~ was one final touch that made the broadcast feel stronger than it had it years.
For me, a sad chapter in the history of CBS NEWS has come to an end. The future now looks bright. Pelley, in a humble, yet confident way, gave CBS NEWS something it has long needed ~ confident stewardship.
More importantly, Pelley has given me ~ and many more ~ a renewed reason to watch.
Randy Gupton
fivesecondstoair.blogspot.com
