So says CBS head Les Moonves:
Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation, called former CBS News anchor Dan Rather’s comments that the CBS Evening News has been “tarted up” under new anchor Katie Couric, “sexist” and a “cheap shot.”
Speaking Tuesday at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School breakfast conversation series, Moonves said he has “a great deal of faith in (Couric)” to reverse the show’s declining ratings trend.
Rather’s remarks came during a phone call on Joe Scarborough’s MSNBC program Monday.
“The mistake was to try to bring the Today show ethos to the Evening News and to dumb it down,” said Rather, “tart it up in hopes of attracting a younger audience.”
Speaking generally, Moonves said the amount of negative press generated by Couric’s move from morning TV to the old boys network of evening news has been “pretty startling.”