CBS News Fires Back At “Perverse Hobby” Of “Ridiculous” Collapse Predictions

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by Steve Krakauer | 12:46 pm, September 2nd, 2010

» 33 comments

The Daily Beast’s Rebecca Dana wrote yesterday about the “implosion” and “collapse” at CBS News, focusing on a variety of issues – from ratings to business cards.

Today, CBS News fires back, responding directly to the “fabrications” in the article and pointing to the “perverse hobby” of Dana and others who predict the fall of the Tiffany Network.

“Predictions of CBS News’ collapse is a perverse hobby for some writers and they are tiresome, unoriginal and always wrong,” a CBS News spokesperson tells Mediaite. “And in this case even the article’s purported evidence of decline is a ridiculous series of outright fabrications and distortions.”

One area of evidence in the article relates to business cards. “The person who handled ordering business cards vanished, and staffers haven’t been able to get them since,” writes Dana.

“The claim that nobody at News has been able to get their business cards because someone was cut is nonsense,” says the spokesperson. “I have no idea who she thinks vanished, but I can tell you there’s been no interruption in ordering business cards.”

Another juicy nugget in Dana’s piece related to cell phones, with the surprising revelation “cell phone services are blocked on company-provided BlackBerrys for many producers, who are now encouraged to communicate by text.” The CBS News spokesperson disputes this as well.

The suggestion that cell phone service has been cut is even more absurdly inaccurate. All producers are provided with cell phones or allowed to use their own cell phones and invoice the division. In addition to the cell phones CBS News provides, all producers also get BlackBerrys to ensure redundancy. It costs more, but there has never even been consideration of cutting back on any of that.

It’s unclear what Dana means by “the communication between CBS brass, including news division president Sean McManus, and their staff has all but vanished,” but the implication doesn’t add up. McManus sent several emails last month company-wide, and obviously individual emails as well (in addition to leading a daily conference call) – just like any head of a news network would.

One area, however, can’t be disputed. Numbers don’t lie, and the ratings for the Evening News and The Early Show have been steadily and consistently dismal (with the Evening News tying a low last week). As Dana points out, “It hasn’t been pretty anywhere, but it’s been particularly rough for CBS.” She also reports more cuts are coming in the fall.

Dana has kept a focus on Couric for years, writing of her imminent departure from CBS News back in April 2008. Nearly two and a half years later, this latest network obituary could end up being just as incorrect.

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cbs, CBS News, evening news, Katie Couric, Rebecca Dana

Azarkhan

If things get real bad, Katie Couric can always donate part of her $15,000,000 per year salary.
Constantly

what does this have to do with FOX?
writer

There’s always Air America. Oh, wait…..
jk76

CBS and Couric got Palin’d.

Business cards, that’s funny. Besides, everyone knows Couric is going back to NBC, not much difference. Hard to believe they pay faces that much money. She could hire 500 people at $10/hr and have 5mil left.

enjoyable article, thanks
http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

I think someone should ask what Katie reads? Can she see the unemployment office from her window?

Katie, if some reporter moves into the house next door to you, watch out.

CBS News will always be there even if RRK is the only viewer.
TheRealRoyalQueen

Really, who has even watched cBS “news” lately?
tatboy

Memogate… nuff said.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Westover/1496648721 Tony Westover

But CBS Propaganda is imploding. What world are these guys living in? Talk about denial! They’re on the brink of being beat in the ratings by cable news… well, Fox News at least. MSNBC and CNN suck, they’ll probably never beat the propaganda shows on network television.
notsofast

Couric: The face that lost a million viewers.
Azarkhan

http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2010/09/glenn-beck-palins-opened-up-their-home.html
felixw

I would love to say that CBS News is a credible source of information about its own operations. But since CBS News has never been a credible source of information about anything that conflicts with its backroom agendas, you can’t really believe a word of their response.

Do you remember all those forged documents they tried to pass off as news about George Bush’s National Guard service? Do you remember how they covered up for Clinton until everyone in the world knew who Monica Lewinsky was, except for CBS News viewers? Do you remember how they covered up the Acorn scandal? The Van Jones scandal? The ClimateGate scandal? Etc. etc. etc.

And when it comes to their own survival and reputation, these propagandists-disguised-as-journalists will obviously pull out all the stops to block the flow of accurate information. But you don’t really need to read The Daily Beast for proof that CBS News is in deep, deep trouble. The ratings make that eminently clear on their own.
NORBIT

The Perky Cougar & the Tiffany Network are trying to Out-Left SMOM (shultz, matthews, olbermann,maddow), and grab that DWINDLING Progressive Voter Base!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Westover/1496648721 Tony Westover

felixw said:
Do you remember how they covered up for Clinton until everyone in the world knew who Monica Lewinsky was, except for CBS News viewers?

Newsweek sat on that story, we can thank their journalistic integrity for that. However, out of their reckless dishonest, we got Matt Drudge so occasionally you do have a rose grow out of a pile of shit.
NORBIT

Update on the Democratic Party of Racial Bigots:

“A new website sponsored by the NAACP and left-leaning media operations is seeking videographers and bloggers who will search out “racism” and “extremism” among Tea Partiers.

Teapartytracker.org will feature tweets, interviews with people at rallies, blog entries and a picture of a t-shirt they say someone spotted at a rally that reads “Blacks own slaves in Mauitania, Sudan, Niger & Haiti.”

The site, sponsored by the NAACP, Think Progress, New Left Media and Media Matters for America, will monitor “racism and other forms of extremism within the Tea Party movement. We call on the Tea Party to repudiate extremists among their ranks and join in civil dialogue with all Americans.”
—————————————————————————————-
1. Leave your comments as to how you feel about this RACIAL INTIMIDATION site, on their site!

2. Contact ALL your friends & neighbors, and have them DEMAND your local rep. explain why the Bitterly Partisan NAACP remains TAX-EXEMPT —– and who are the people that donate to this RACIST organization!!! you think about this new site
EXPOSE the REAL RACIST groups in 2010 America! – the overwhelming majority, hailing from the Left!!!
TfT

Bwahahahaha

Katie can dish it but she can’t take it.

I’m loving it.

Bye bye Katie, I’m looking foward to your leaving the news reader job; you have failed miserably.

CBS still has not ever released the full interview of Palin, just those little segments that Katie edited/sliced/diced and repeated. And now, Katie gets her due and cries out loud about it.
compound

An animal is most dangerous when it is dying.
The legacy media is a dying beast.
Dying off through extinction predicted by the Darwinist rules
which state these animals who cannot survive are expected
to die off and make room for more fit creatures.

Bye,bye CBS, NBC, ABC et al ….
Arkansas Steve

COMPOUND, you are exactly correct!

I have always preferred the term “LEGACY MEDIA” to Bernie Goldberg’s “lamestream”, which is just calling names.

LEGACY MEDIA indicates products & organizations whose time has passed. Relevant no more.

And yes, they will say & do some outrageous things during their death throes!
The Real Royal King

gordonbloyershow said:
I think someone should ask what Katie reads? Can she see the unemployment office from her window? Katie, if some reporter moves into the house next door to you, watch out. CBS News will always be there even if RRK is the only viewer.

I don’t think it’s likely to go soon as it always, ALWAYS, A L W A Y S beats FOX in a big, BIG, B I G way, Marceaux, I mean Blower.

THE INAUGURAL SPEECH – JUST ONE OF BECKERHEAD’S LIES,
FROM LAST SATURDAY’S DIMWIT AND HERETIC RALLY,
EXPOSED TO US ALL, THANKS TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES,
SOON, WE’LL NEED A SPREAD SHEET FOR AN ACCURATE TALLY.
The Real Royal King

Couric well always have a special place in American journalism history as the woman who, in the nicest possible way, exposed the Drop Out Governor as the fraud, nincompoop and liar she is. For that, we are all in Ms. Couric’s debt.

THE INAUGURAL SPEECH – JUST ONE OF BECKERHEAD’S LIES,
FROM LAST SATURDAY’S DIMWIT AND HERETIC RALLY,
EXPOSED TO US ALL, THANKS TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES,
SOON, WE’LL NEED A SPREAD SHEET FOR AN ACCURATE TALLY.
The Real Royal King

compound said:
An animal is most dangerous when it is dying.The legacy media is a dying beast.Dying off through extinction predicted by the Darwinist ruleswhich state these animals who cannot survive are expectedto die off and make room for more fit creatures. Bye,bye CBS, NBC, ABC et al ….

Yes, if they just had all of FOX’s viewers, their ratings would increase by what? 6/10ths of 1%? What a difference that would make.

Fact is, broadcast and cable news are neither going to be around as we know them by 2020. News will be strictly on demand.

THE INAUGURAL SPEECH – JUST ONE OF BECKERHEAD’S LIES,
FROM LAST SATURDAY’S DIMWIT AND HERETIC RALLY,
EXPOSED TO US ALL, THANKS TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES,
SOON, WE’LL NEED A SPREAD SHEET FOR AN ACCURATE TALLY.
writer

King, once again, if Fox is upsetting you that badly, change the channel. It’s that little box with the buttons on it.
The Real Royal King

writer said:
King, once again, if Fox is upsetting you that badly, change the channel. It’s that little box with the buttons on it.

I only do it for the little people, like you, so that I can point out the errors which underpin your crackpot ideology. If not for my work, you would live in perpetual darkness. My entire life is for the little people. Red, yellow, black and white. Cracker and otherwise.
writer

King, your stupidity is exceeded only by your arrogance.
writer

“Cracker”. That’s funny, King. I guess I could use some derisive terms for minorities, but I can’t stand your hysterical sobbing.
http://none pyrope

Don’t worry, -0bama will bail ‘em out; they’re too big (of a left wing tool) to fail.
http://none pyrope

writer said:
King, your stupidity is exceeded only by your arrogance.

RONG writer, NOTHING can exceed TRRK’s stupidity
http://none pyrope

“RONG” is purposely misspelled.
http://none pyrope

compound said:
An animal is most dangerous when it is dying.The legacy media is a dying beast.Dying off through extinction predicted by the Darwinist ruleswhich state these animals who cannot survive are expectedto die off and make room for more fit creatures. Bye,bye CBS, NBC, ABC et al ….

And why is it dying? It’s because the rational thinkers in our society are starved for the truth. Those who seek the truth know they cannot get it at Newsweak, NY slimes, boston glob, philadelphia inkwearer, LA slimes, Atlanta Urinal & Constipation, Tallahassee Deficrap, and the aforementioned sources. The only reason NPR and PBS can stay in business is because of the tax dollars confiscated by our government from the producers in our society to keep them afloat–kind of like gaseous feces, if you know what I mean.
http://none pyrope

Katie Couric “I am too relevant! My mommy told me I’m relevant and you’re not going to make me think otherwise. So there!”
shootfromthehip

Hmm. Five petty posts in a row from “pyrope” and he wants to call Katie childish.

Interesting!

So I guess the New York Times is “dying,” right buddy?

That’s why NYT’s operating profit grew more than fivefold in the first quarter of 2010, to $83.3 million compared with $16.4 million in the first quarter of 2009.

Get a clue. They have been around over 100 years and they will be around long after you are dead.

#conservativesareliarsandretards
risrvt

Katie should’ve stayed with the morning fluff – no one can take her seriously. The only thing I like about CBS News is the Early morning show on the weekends. Love some of the shows, but not the news.

PS – I can only hope that the NY Times dies a slow, tortous death!
redhed11

As Krakauer notes, Rebecca Dana wrote a Wall Street Journal article two-and-a-half years ago saying Couric’s departure from CBS was imminent — though not as imminent as Dana’s exit from the WSJ three months later after her “scoop” failed to materialize. (She also got bounced from a previous job at the NYT before she even started it after bragging that she would kick a colleague’s ass.)

Cut through the innuendo and anonymous patchwork quotes and you’re left with a story that says CBS news ratings suck and the state of network news is dismal. I’ve read that only 12,000 times over the past decade.
RealTVCritics.com

After having worked for CBS for 7 years I can say without a doubt that ordering business cards had always been a nightmare with that company. It would take in some cases 6 to 8 weeks once cards were ordered to eventually get them in your possession. So if someone responsible for that duty got cut it would no doubt take twice the time to get them. Not surprising to hear that problem.

Nothing mentioned in her article is surprising. At CBS period. Focus seems to be on prime time rather than anything with news. Let’s be real. Except for ’60 Minutes’ which has begun to fade in its royalty only because of its length and quality of content (when did Larry the Cable Guy deserve a segment) CBS news lost any true value after the Katie Couric mistake.