But Can They Tapdance?
May 23rd, 2005 at 1:47 pm by Susie
I keep telling you this is all showbiz:
The development of a permanent successor to Dan Rather on the “CBS Evening News” has been shrouded in secrecy, but a meeting last Tuesday at the headquarters of the network’s parent company, Viacom, suggests that CBS is canvassing opinions from people well outside the news division.
One of the six attendees was Terry Wood, who developed the “Dr. Phil” talk show and “The Insider,” a celebrity news program, and who now supervises those programs as an executive at Paramount Television and King World Productions, both Viacom divisions. Ms. Wood, in a high-profile flourish of corporate synergy, was responsible for the recent CBS prime-time special in which Dr. Phil (Phillip McGraw) interviewed Pat O’Brien, the host of “The Insider,” about his treatment for substance abuse. She is a close associate of Leslie Moonves, the chairman of CBS.
… The meeting was described last week by three people, each of whom had either participated in it or been told about it, but who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. One of those individuals agreed to describe it after having expressed disappointment that people from the entertainment side of Viacom were being given a voice in the affairs of CBS News.
How could anyone who has seen the movie “Network” disagree with you? It has been all about showbiz for a while.
I am not arguing that it’s all about showbiz. What’s truly astonishing is that they haven’t realized yet that news makes for crappy entertainment. It’s like selectively breeding two different species to intentionally produce the worst attributes of both. The hybrid becomes an embarrassing parody of the parents.