Rant #3,406: Two For the Price of One

Well, CBS was pretty quick in naming the successor to Norah O'Donnell at its forever-failing "CBS Evening News" franchise.

Taking over for O'Donnell, who is bailing out of this sinking ship after the presidential election in November  is not one, but two new anchors.

John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois will co-anchor the show, with Margaret Brennan as chief political correspondent and Lonnie Quinn as chief weather correspondent.

I read that the show will also go more heavily on interviews, sort of a "60 Minutes"-lite style format.

And the show will move back to its base in New York from Washington.

These are interesting moves and choices, to say the least, but it demonstrates that CBS has pretty much bailed out on the show.

Dickerson and DuBois are exceedingly good journalists, but the co-anchor format rarely works.

The only time I can remember it working was when Chet Huntley and David Brinkley co-anchored the nightly NBC News, but there are plenty of times it didn't work:

Harry Reasoner and Barbra Walters.

Dan Rather and Connie Chung.

And the change in format is kind of odd, more interviews and less immediate coverage of news.

I guess the CBS honchos will throw everything against the wall, see what sticks, and go with that.

The more-traditional newscast was not working, and hadn't worked for the network in decades, so why go with it again?

DuBois and Quinn are long-time New York personalities on the local CBS affiliate, and they know their business top to bottom.

Dickerson and Brennan are more well known on the national stage, and like the other two, know whst they are doing.

So yes, it is a dice roll by CBS.

When you are perpetually an also-ran, you will try anything to gain an audience, and this seems to be it.

I really like DuBois and Quinn in particular, as they have been quite good on the local CBS News on Channel 2 for years.

If they can bring the verve they have had on thst local broadcast to this new national venture, it might be an interesting daily watch.

I also like Brennan, is a top-notch journalist who moderates "Face the Nation." 

And in my eye, yes, she is a bit of eye candy that this show, as it is set up, greatly needs, but she is really so much more than that.

To me, Dickerson is the wild card.

He is kind of bland, kind of vanilla, but he is also quite talented, and might resonate with middle America.

Even though O'Donnell failed to bring this show out of the doldrums, she remains a strong presence at CBS, so the show will have to emerge out of her shadow.

Perhaps that is why CBS went this radical route, but as a long-time viewer, I am willing to give it a try.

I just wonder if the "Double D" anchors can work, but we will find out later this year if this is mere folly or something sustainable.