CBS Evening News

The CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS.

Ratings slump

The program's fortunes fell, however, after Sauter ran afoul of Rather and others within CBS News who perceived him as being too low-market. Sauter was forced out and soon thereafter, the ratings of the Evening News began a decline from which they have never recovered.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Theories abound concerning the loss of viewers from the Evening News. One theory is decreasing viewer interest in evening news programs with the ascent of alternative media such as cable television news, talk radio, and the Internet. Others believe Rather's viewership has declined because he has not allowed the Evening News to change with the times. Yet another theory holds the ratings declined after corporate takeover baron president Laurence Tisch purchased CBS in the late 1980s and gutted the news division, hampering its ability to cover news well.

Related Topics:
Cable television - Talk radio - Internet - Laurence Tisch

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

CBS has made several attempts to boost the show out of third place including the hiring of Connie Chung as a co-anchor with Rather. For a while, it tried to attract younger viewers by running jokes from late-night comedy shows. The network has also attempted to make partnerships with the cable news channel CNN to exchange content and correspondents.

Related Topics:
Connie Chung - CNN

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~