With last week’s news (expected officially tomorrow) that Charlie Rose and Gayle King will headline a revamped CBS morning news, Howard Kurtz takes the temperature of the broadcast network morning shows. Kurtz talks with GMA co-host Robin Roberts about the program’s growth — cutting “Today” show’s lead in half — at the expense of hard news.
“I’ll be honest, it’s been an adjustment for me, the lighter fare,” she tells Newsweek. “I want to be No. 1. I don’t want to sell my soul to the devil to be No. 1.”
“Today” co-host Ann Curry echos the sentiment: “I’m at my core a hard-news reporter. I want more spinach and less sugar in this big meal we give viewers. Sometimes I feel personally our balance isn’t quite right. I fight for stories that matter.”
With Rose and King on CBS, News chairman Jeff Fager promises what you won’t get: “You won’t be seeing our anchors dressing up in Halloween costumes. We won’t be having a lot of people outside screaming at a weatherwoman.”