CBS This Morning


CBS This Morning is an American morning television program that is broadcast on CBS. The program, which shares its title with a more traditionally formatted morning news program which aired from 1987 to 1999, is broadcast Monday thru Saturday. It airs live from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in the Eastern Time Zone. On weekdays, it airs on tape-delay in the Central and Mountain Time Zones; stations in the Pacific, Alaska and Hawaii Time Zones receive an updated feed with a specialized opening and updated live reports. Stations outside the Eastern Time Zone carry the Saturday broadcast at varied times. It is the tenth distinct morning news-features program format that CBS has aired since 1954, having replaced The Early Show on January 9, 2012.
The program emphasizes general national and international news stories and in-depth reports throughout each edition, although it also includes live in-studio and pre-taped interviews. The format was chosen as an alternative to the soft news and lifestyle-driven formats of competitors Today and Good Morning America following the first hour or half-hour of those broadcasts, in an attempt to give the program a competitive edge with its hard news format.

History

''CBS This Morning'' (first incarnation) and ''The Early Show''

The original incarnation of CBS This Morning made its debut on November 30, 1987, with hosts Harry Smith, former Good Morning America news anchor Kathleen Sullivan, and Mark McEwen, a holdover from the show's infotainment-intensive predecessor The Morning Program as weather caster and announcer. Sullivan was replaced by Paula Zahn on February 26, 1990. Beginning on October 26, 1992, in an effort to prevent affiliates from dropping the program, CBS increased the amount of time available during the broadcast for local stations, most of which broadcast their own early morning news programs before the national news begins. Despite a far more successful team in Smith, Zahn and McEwen, CBS This Morning continued to languish in third place. It was, however, far more competitive than any of its predecessors. A new set and live format introduced in October 1995 had little effect on the ratings.
Smith and Zahn left the program on June 14, 1996, with CBS News correspondents Harold Dow and Erin Moriarty anchoring CBS This Morning for seven weeks until a new format was in place. In August 1996, the program was revamped again, as simply This Morning, with McEwen and Jane Robelot as co-hosts, news anchor Jose Diaz-Balart and Craig Allen serving as weather anchor.
A new format was created where local stations could opt to air their own newscast from 7 to 8 a.m. local time, interspersed with inserts from the national broadcast; the second hour of the national broadcast would then air uninterrupted from 8 to 9 a.m. Ratings went up slightly, and at one point in 1998 the program even moved ahead of Good Morning America. But its ratings success was also brief, and CBS announced its decision to cancel the program in early 1999. Robelot left This Morning in June 1999 after it was revealed that the program would be replaced. Assuras served as co-anchor and Chen as newsreader for the show's remaining five months. McEwen left the show at the end of September 1999 to prepare for the launch of The Early Show and was replaced by Russ Mitchell, who formerly conducted sports segments.
This Morning ended on October 29, 1999 after twelve years. It was replaced by The Early Show, which debuted the following Monday, November 1. Though it had occasional peaks in the ratings, The Early Show was a perennial third-place finisher behind NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America. In its last year, The Early Show shied away from the news, features, light stories and "infotainment" approach used by the program since its debut, that it based off the formats of its two main competitors.

Development and revival

On November 15, 2011, CBS News announced that The Early Show would be cancelled, and that the news division would overhaul its morning news program effective January 9, 2012. The news division's chairman Jeff Fager and president David Rhodes revealed at the official announcement that day that the revamped and retitled program would "redefine the morning television landscape" – meaning that rather than replicate the relaxed lifestyle-driven styles of Today and Good Morning America, the new format would feature a mix of "hard news", analysis and discussion. On December 1, 2011, the title of the new show was revealed as CBS This Morning, marking a return of the name to the morning newscast since 1999.
The founding executive producer of CBS This Morning was Chris Licht, who was hired by CBS in the spring of 2011 after serving as executive producer of MSNBC's morning news-discussion program Morning Joe. Licht's move to CBS led to speculation that Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski would follow Licht to CBS, as their contracts with MSNBC were set to expire; though Scarborough and Brzezinski confirmed contemplating offers from CBS and other networks, they signed a new contract with MSNBC out of a belief that their interview-intensive approach could not be duplicated on broadcast television.
CBS instead tapped a trio of noted television veterans for the weekday edition of CBS This Morning: Early Show holdover Erica Hill, Gayle King and Charlie Rose. Licht describes Rose, who previously hosted CBS's former overnight news program CBS News Nightwatch in the 1980s, and has also served as a part-time correspondent for occasional segments since 2008 on the long-running newsmagazine 60 Minutes, as "an incredible interviewer."
Licht promised an "outside the box" approach to CBS This Morning, insisting that the show would not include forced anchor banter, cooking segments, "comedic weather forecasters, cheering fans on an outdoor plaza."

Since revival

On July 26, 2012, CBS announced that its Chief White House Correspondent Norah O'Donnell would replace Hill starting in September 2012. Hill was pulled from the program immediately after the announcement, and was eventually released from her CBS contract.
On November 20, 2017, Rose was fired by CBS following a report in The Washington Post in which eight women accused him of sexual harassment. King and O'Donnell addressed the issue on the show. In January 2018, it was announced that John Dickerson would join the program as the third co-anchor.
On May 6, 2019, it was announced that Dickerson and O'Donnell would leave CBS This Morning, with Dickerson moving to 60 Minutes and O'Donnell to CBS Evening News. Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil were named as successors, and made their debuts on May 20, 2019, alongside King. O'Donnell's last day on the show was May 16, 2019 followed by John Dickerson on May 17, 2019.

Format

Both hours begin with the "EyeOpener," a fast-paced 90-second video montage of the day's top stories, ending with overnight sports highlights clips and quips from late-night talk shows. The first hour of the show is more news-intensive, with more original journalism and analysis than the second hour. The 8:00 hour begins with the "EyeOpener @ 8," recaps the first hour's news, leads into a brief summary of the morning's news headlines, and then shifts its focus to interviews and discussion and lighter fare.

Weather reports

True to Licht's "no comedic weather" promise, the show does not include any standalone national weather segments – this makes CBS This Morning the only national morning news program on any of the "Big Three" networks not to include such a segment, although time is allotted for CBS affiliates to insert their own local weather forecasts.
However, the program will use local meteorologists from CBS stations to provide the forecast during major severe weather events. Lonnie Quinn of flagship New York City O&O WCBS-TV - appears weekdays, and Jeff Berardelli, CBS News Weather and Climate Specialist, works the Saturday edition.

Local news cutaways

For stations that do not make use of the local news cutaways at :26 and :56 past the hour, the program uses a taped story introduced by that day's CBS Morning News anchor during that time; previously it contained a happy talk segment between the anchors and panelists. This was similar to what was done during the 1981-87 run of the CBS Morning News.

West coast

For the Pacific, Alaska and Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zones, an updated version of the broadcast incorporates an additional greeting to those viewers, along with updated reports previously denoted by the reporter specifically acknowledging the viewers in that part of the country.

Studio

CBS This Morning operates out of a set in Studio 57 at the CBS Broadcast Center. The new set was originally planned for use by The Early Show before its cancellation; that program was based out of the windowed General Motors Building during its entire run, which was shared with the network's NFL pre-game show The NFL Today at times, though during the final year of The Early Show the windows were covered at all times due to the change to a hard-news focus. A section of the studio's exterior, covered in white walls and adorned with the CBS Eye logo, was featured in promos for the show that began airing in early December 2011. CBS Evening News has shared Studio 57 with CBS This Morning since December 2016, when the former program moved from its longtime home at Studio 47.
Bits and pieces of the CBS This Morning set were revealed in promos and web videos released prior to the program's debut, with the full set unveiled during the January 2012 premiere. Some of the set's features include:
Also included on the set, as reported by TV Guide reporter Stephen Battaglio, is an Oakland Athletics baseball cap; executive producer Chris Licht included it to remind his staff of the sports film Moneyball, whose central character took an "outside-the-box" approach that Licht hopes CBS This Morning replicates.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the associated closure of the CBS Broadcast Center on March 11, 2020 for disinfection, CBS This Morning was briefly re-located to the Washington, D.C. studio of the CBS Evening News for two editions. After the facility was closed once more on March 18, the program began broadcasting from the Ed Sullivan Theater on the stage of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Notable on-air staff

The program was originally hosted by Charlie Rose, Erica Hill and Gayle King. Hill left the show about six months following its debut, and was replaced by Norah O'Donnell. In November 2017, Rose was suspended and subsequently fired following sexual harassment accusations made against him becoming public knowledge. Upon Rose's firing, various anchors have filled the third spot on a rotating basis. On January 9, 2018, CBS News president David Rhodes announced that former Face the Nation host John Dickerson would join Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell as the third co-anchor of CBS This Morning. It was announced on October 3, 2018, that correspondent Bianna Golodryga would be joining the show as the fourth co-host. However, six months later, in April 2019, Golodryga chose to leave CBS News. On May 6, 2019, it was announced that Dickerson and O'Donnell would leave CBS This Morning, with Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil named as successors. O'Donnell's last day on the show was May 16, 2019 followed by John Dickerson on May 17, 2019.

Correspondents

CBS This Morning Saturday is the Saturday edition of the program, which premiered on January 14, 2012 and is currently anchored by Michelle Miller, Dana Jacobson and Jeff Glor, who joined them in late June 2019. It airs live from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, although local air times for the Saturday broadcast vary significantly from station to station, even within the same time zone; in some markets, the local CBS affiliate may opt to pre-empt CBS This Morning Saturday – usually to carry extended weekend morning local newscasts – and may instead air it on a digital subchannel, a sister station or refuses to air it.
Most CBS affiliates in the Central Time Zone carry the Saturday edition live from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central Time, unlike its morning counterparts, which air their Saturday editions on a tape delay; it is the only morning program that airs live in both the Eastern and Central time zones, whereas the Saturday edition is aired on tape delay in the remaining time zones.
When it debuted, the Saturday edition was originally anchored by Rebecca Jarvis and Jeff Glor, with Betty Nguyen serving as the program's news anchor and Lonnie Quinn as weather anchor. After Glor was named anchor of the Sunday edition of the CBS Evening News, the program started using various male correspondents, including Anthony Mason, Chip Reid, Jim Axelrod, Maurice DuBois, James Brown, Byron Pitts, Ben Tracy, Lee Cowan, Seth Doane and John Miller, rotating every other Saturday. Following a divisional restructuring in May 2019 that resulted in his departure from the CBS Evening News, Glor rejoined CBS This Morning Saturday on June 22, 2019.
Like the weekend editions of other network morning shows, the program has a greater focus on human-interest pieces than on weekdays, though it still concentrates primarily on the news of the day during the first half-hour. It also retains some of the common features of the morning show genre which were removed from the weekday show, such as musical performances and food segments, and a couch moved temporarily onto the main set where the hosts introduce certain segments; it also did not include some features of the weekday program including the "EyeOpener". Formal national weather segments continued to be included until March 2013; Lonnie Quinn served as the Saturday weather anchor until his unannounced departure in late 2012, with CBS owned-and-operated station meteorologists substituting until formal weather segments were dropped in accordance with the weekday edition of the program.
An exception to the usual Saturday format occurred on February 2, 2013, when the weekday anchor team hosted from New Orleans, an edition that was branded as simply CBS This Morning and was formatted similarly to the weekday program, including "EyeOpener" segments at the top of both hours.
CBS This Morning does not produce a Sunday edition as a result of the long-running CBS News Sunday Morning, a newsmagazine that debuted in 1979. In contrast to CBS This Morning, CBS News Sunday Morning has long led the ratings among the Sunday morning shows.

Anchors

In the Southern Hemisphere, in the Commonwealth of Australia, a trimmed version of the CBS This Morning weekday edition currently airs on CBS's sister network Network 10, along with regional affiliate WIN Television, on Tuesday - Friday mornings from 6:30 am until 8:00 am AEST. A national weather map of Australia is inserted during local affiliate station's cutaways for weather reports and forecasts. Commercial advertising is inserted instead of the usual cutaway to the local news programming, however, near-simultaneously with the other US's major "Big Three" television networks' breakfast / morning television programs, along with ABC-TV's longtime Good Morning America on the Nine Network from 3:30 a.m. and the NBC's Today longtime morning news/features show airing on the Seven Network from 4:00 a.m. It is subject to preemption in regional areas for paid and religious programming. Until recent March 2020, the program was broadcast weekday mornings from 4:30 - 6:00 am, with the Friday edition usually held over to the following Monday. As a result of Network 10's plans to give local mid morning program Studio 10 a natural lead in for watching by Australian viewers, the program will now air four days a week, in direct competition to rivals of Network Seven's Sunrise and Nine's Today, with encores of CBS daytime soap opera dramas The Bold & The Beautiful to air for two hours on Monday mornings from 6am. Unlike the Nine Network and Seven Network, the weekend edition is not shown.

Reception

The format of CBS This Morning was praised by Associated Press critic Frazier Moore, noting the network was differentiating itself from its competitors with its focus on hard news: "CBS This Morning has, in effect, vowed to keep the silliness to a minimum, and its first week is promising." He noted the absence of tabloid news items, saying " CBS This Morning didn't have – that, too, provides a good argument for watching." Gail Shister of TVNewser gave Charlie Rose "an A for effort" for stretching past his usual slate of hard news into pop-culture stories. Shister concluded, "CBS is not reinventing morning TV. But at least they're trying, and that, in itself, is good news."

Awards and nominations

CBS This Morning won a Peabody Award in 2014 for "its timely, meaningful look into the face and mind of a tyrant" in the feature story "One-on-One with Assad".

Ratings

Upon the show's launch, CBS executives said that they expected it would take years for a ratings turnaround in the morning time period. The program debuted to an average of 2.72 million viewers in its first week; its total viewership was 10% lower than The Early Shows during the same week in the previous year. As of August 2015, CBS This Morning continued to show the most growth, up to 12 percent in viewers and up to 14 percent in the A25-54 demo vs. the same week in 2014, with 3.196 million viewers.
In November 2016, "CBS This Morning" came within striking distance of Today and scored the best November sweeps month for a CBS morning show in 23 years, averaging 2.8 million viewers - only 800,000 viewers behind "Today."