Rather, who turns 72 in October, is starting to resemble the grandfather who refuses to give up his driver's license even though he can't see through the windshield.
Network lite -- The rise of Paul Magers
Neal Justin
Star Tribune
Published 08/21/2003
Paul Magers' coming move to Los Angeles suggests he may be in line to succeed CBS News anchor Dan Rather. In many ways, that makes sense. Magers will be anchoring at a CBS owned-and-operated station in the country's second-biggest market.
Never mind that one of LA's best media buyers didn't even know how to pronounce Magers' name when I called her on Monday. In Hollywood, stars are made faster than scrambled eggs.
The ratings for the "CBS Evening News" have never been lower and Rather, who turns 72 in October, is starting to resemble the grandfather who refuses to give up his driver's license even though he can't see through the windshield.
Magers, meanwhile, is only 49 and has the hair of a 25-year-old surfer. He's got the confidence and poise of a movie star, one who could hush Bill O'Reilly with just a lift of an eyebrow and a hint of a smirk. Nothing could ruffle him, not a tennis match running over into news time, not a street ruffian demanding to know the frequency, not a snippety George Bush.
"The CBS Evening News with Paul Magers." It's an awfully tantalizing proposal. It's also a lousy one.
A great reader
I'm a big fan of Magers. No one reads a TelePrompTer better, and that's not a trivial skill. Just watch the local news at some stations and you can tell exactly when the machine gets stuck. It's when the anchor's eyes expand an extra centimeter, he starts to bumble his words and his voice verges on crying out for his mommy.
Magers also knows what he's reading, and that helps a lot. For proof, you just have to listen to his afternoon reports on "The Chad Hartman Show" on KFAN radio. The man knows his material. He never overdramatizes his line readings or uses inflated inflections to sell the copy. He's the Clint Eastwood of broadcasting.
But being a TelePrompTer ace is not nearly good enough to be the face of CBS News. In fact, one could argue that it's not even good enough to be the face of Los Angeles -- or the Twin Cities.
Networks have almost always insisted that the top anchor in the house also be the top reporter. That's why Rather, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw and Aaron Brown all make sense. Each proved himself in the field. Jennings reported from just about every country in Europe and Asia. Brokaw hustled in Omaha, Atlanta and California before becoming host ot "Today," one of the trickiest juggling acts on TV. Rather covered the John F. Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War and Watergate. Brown spent 10 years as a Seattle reporter and filed stories for ABC from Hong Kong, South Africa and Columbine.
A regular at the Fair
Magers? He's been a regular at the Minnesota State Fair.
I don't mean to be harsh on our departing star. Local news just doesn't put the same weight on reporting chops. It takes affable, attractive people, who look great at celebrity golf tournaments and can make small talk with the meteorologist.
If they can do some investigative reporting a couple times a year, fantastic. But it's low on the list of priorities, somewhere between clear diction and clearer skin.
Network news has always been different -- but for how long? NBC has already announced that Tom Brokaw will be replaced in November 2004 by Brian Williams, who has been getting great anchor experience on NBC's cable stations. In many ways, he reminds me of Magers: very funny, very polished, very handsome and very inexperienced in the reporting world. Sure, he was White House correspondent, but that is one of the most overblown gigs around, with the biggest hardship being sharing cramped space with a bunch of other TV reporters dying to get their own shows.
But it's not like NBC has anyone else on the bench.
Rather, Brokaw and Jennings were all network star reporters in their day. There's no such thing now. Why? Because the big boys have made sure that no one can threaten them. Rather has been the biggest spotlight hog. He's made sure he's host of just about every news program on CBS. I wouldn't be surprised if he begged to be host of "Survivor."
In doing so, Rather has ensured that no one can really take his place before he's ready to retire. But at the same time, he's ensured that no one will be truly welcomed when he does.
CBS may go with a veteran reporter. There's talk of John Roberts and Scott Palley, both well-respected, hard-working field reporters. But they're so unknown, they might leave even Dennis Miller scratching his head. Magers isn't known either, but if he got the top spot, he could win the hearts of viewers a lot faster than some weathered beat reporter who has spent more time sleeping in tents than signing autographs in a fair booth.
If that happens, it'll be a giant step forward for Paul -- and a giant leap backwards for network news.
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