PSA!

Couric Says She's Leaving 'Today' for CBS
On her 15th anniversary on "Today," Katie Couric told viewers Wednesday she's leaving NBC to join CBS, where she will become the first woman appointed to anchor a network evening newscast alone.

The 49-year-old Couric, longest-serving anchor in "Today" show history, is expected to replace Bob Schieffer on the third-rated CBS broadcast in September.

clunk, clunk (me stepping up on my soapbox): Is this thing on? Testing?

Katie, DON'T DO IT!

Look what CBS did to Howard Stern when he left for satellite radio. Okay, so maybe Stern did single-handedly draw the largest fine in FCC history -- he also earned a nice chunk of change for CBS during his tenure there. How does CBS thank him for years of service? They filed a lawsuit against Stern. Nice. Rumor has it that Stern's replacement on terrestrial radio, David Lee Roth (yes, THAT David Lee Roth), is well on his way to getting screwed by CBS as well.

AND lest anybody forget that CBS was responsible for Rather-Gate....forged documents, possible conspiracy, mea culpa Dan Rather ... Oh YEAH, remember that? CBS would certainly prefer we didn't.

Despite the fact that both Survivor and Amazing Race air on CBS, I have a hard time taking CBS seriously as a legit network. (Maybe because CBS airs both shows? P.S: "Nerds rule!") A few years ago, I read "Bias, A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distorts the News" by Bernard Goldberg. According to Goldberg, Rather IS (or WAS) CBS and ruled the network with the intensity of a despot. In his book, Goldberg neither villifies nor euphemizes Rather. Goldberg describes how Rather used his influence and power within the industry to shape the editorial board of CBS in every respect. Whether through arrogant ignorance of his power or deliberate intent, Rather-Gate shed a little tiny light on the editorial forces at work that play a huge hand in delivering "objective" news to the public. Which just goes to show you that noone is fair and balanced.

CBS, Dan Rather & the Blogosphere

This article is something of a tangent to the topic I started above, but it was much more interesting to me than what I was looking for originally! This paper looks at ways in which the blogosphere has emerged to change traditional methods of controlled messaging used by the media. It's a scholarly article that discusses Rather-Gate in terms of traditional communications theory (dang, another subject I'd like to go back to school for!) and quotes contemporaneous posts (Circa Jan. 2005) from various blogs that questioned the validity of the source documents even before they were debunked and dismissed as forgeries, to the possibility that CBS's mistake could be far more sinister than innocent.

May favorite quote from this article:

"Therefore, despite being dismissed by some as people in pajamas, bloggers can affect corporate communication--and the corporate bottom line, as in the case of Dan Rather and CBS shows."

I can see the headlines now: Panda Blogger Single-Handedly Brings Down CBS

And the next day's headlines: Panda Blogger Kills Self when Survivor, AR Unexpectedly Cancelled