CBS is rebooting its underperforming morning program, “The Early Show,” bringing on Charlie Rose and Gayle King as co-hosts, according to the New York Times.
Brian Stelter writes that CBS will announce a two-hour news show next Tuesday that, with a conversational approach to hard news, will look more like MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” or ABC’s “The View” than the morning shows of its competitors.
Rose is the long-time host of PBS’ “Charlie Rose” and a contributor to “60 Minutes” while King is an editor-at-large for O, The Oprah Magazine, and host of her own talk show on OWN, “The Gayle King Show.”
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The new duo will join two current co-hosts, Erica Hill and Jeff Glor, as well as other new hires.
None of this has been announced publicly – it is a story based on insider knowledge rather than the quoting of direct sources, a complication Stelter hinted at Thursday with the following tweet: “Days like today make me love my job. Big, gossipy thousand-word story on the way tonight.”
The big question for CBS is whether any of these changes will make a difference. Its morning show has long trailed NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America” in the ratings, prompting frequent alterations and makeovers.
While both Rose and King are well-respected — instantly boosting the prestige of the show — it is not for their ratings.