News Analysis: Future of '60 Minutes Wednesday' in Doubt

From The New York Times. (Registration required; free of charge.)

How doubtful is the future of 60 Minutes Wednesday? Consider this: Leslie Moonves, the head honcho at CBS, recently said that Dan Rather would continue working at 60 Minutes Wednesday "provided the show continues." That's quite a proviso! Would Dan Rather continue at CBS if 60 Minutes Wednesday folds? Read for yourselves:

Dan is under contract to CBS News...[Dan] will be doing assignments on "60 Minutes Wednesday" and other assignments on other magazine shows that come up.

Double talk, Mr. Moonves! Do you really think you're fooling anyone with that? If you're fooling Dan Rather, then he's a bigger fool than I thought.

It's like this, sportsfans: If you have someone under contract to you, but the public can't stand the sight of him and you know it, do you insist on putting him out before the public? No. You buy him out. The old movie studios did that all the time before the contract star system collapsed. Dan Rather has very likely become the Norman Maine of network news, and by that I do not mean to say that he drinks to an unattractive extent. Consider! In the same interview, Moonves admits that the ratings for 60 Minutes Wednesday are in the tank, and sinking fast. Elsewhere, some CBS execs are talking about doing away with the old evening-news format completely. The situation is so bad that Dan Rather's former boss says that the old show is now un-watchable! And get this: Moonves hasn't yet renewed Andrew Heyward's contract, either.

In a situation like this, no one's job is secure--absolutely no one's. I know--I've been down that road personally. I know management double-talk when I hear it and read it. Les Moonves is many things, but he is not stupid. At least, not entirely. He needs to bite the bullet, buy Dan out completely, and stop talking out of both sides of his mouth, if he doesn't want to cause the morale at CBS any further damage than it has already suffered.