NEW YORK — CBS is rebuilding its morning franchise in another attempt to escape the ratings cellar, betting on a sober-minded news broadcast behind hosts Charlie Rose, Erica Hill and Gayle King.
The new program, which doesn’t have a name yet, will replace “The Early Show” from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and will debut Jan. 9.
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Its new Manhattan studio and newsroom were a dusty construction zone Tuesday, symbolizing CBS’ efforts to start an entirely new show instead of make cosmetic changes on the old one. CBS has been third in the ratings behind NBC’s “Today” show and ABC’s “Good Morning America” for decades.
CBS News chairman Jeff Fager said the new show will be “hard news but not all serious.”
Rose, who will continue his late-night PBS interview show, will co-anchor the first hour with Hill, who has been on “The Early Show” for the past two years. King, a veteran talk show host, will join the panel at 8 a.m., an hour when morning show viewership is dominated by women. King said she is discontinuing her talk show on the Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN, and her satellite radio program.
Rose said he was “thrilled” to be on the new show. “CBS has a new spirit today,” he said, “and it builds on the tradition that I have known for a long time.”
CBS sees a niche for a more serious show at a time its chief rivals have moved in a softer direction, with rock concerts, Halloween costumes and more attention paid to tabloid stories.
Book criticizes Anthony’s attorney and jury
ORLANDO, Fla. — A retired prosecutor from the Casey Anthony murder trial calls her lead attorney “smarmy” in a new book and says he didn’t think a jury would ever agree to the death penalty for the Florida mother, who was ultimately acquitted of killing her 2-year-old daughter.
Jeff Ashton writes in “Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony” that toward the end of the trial, Anthony’s attorneys tried to persuade the 25-year-old to accept a plea deal but she refused to listen.
As it turns out, Anthony refusal to accept a deal paid off. Jurors in July acquitted her in the killing of her daughter, Caylee, and she was released from prison, though she is in hiding somewhere in Florida, serving probation for an unrelated check fraud case.
Ashton’s book is the first account written by one of the key players in the trial that captured the attention of the nation last summer.
In it, he takes direct aim at Anthony’s defense attorneys, specifically Jose Baez. He said Baez was careless with the facts, unmindful of deadlines and encouraged Anthony to be uncooperative with detectives searching for her daughter.
Baez said in a statement that Ashton’s characterizations were false.
Ashton also displays an unflattering view of the jurors. He wrote they seemed to give a lot of thought and discussion to which movies they wanted to watch or which restaurants to go to while they were sequestered. Yet no juror asked a single question about the evidence during deliberation.
Bed where Jackson died off the market
LOS ANGELES — The bed where Michael Jackson died is no longer available for sale.
Julien’s Auctions has removed the queen-sized headboard from its auction of items from 100 North Carolwood Drive, Jackson’s last residence.
“This item is the only portion of the bed that had been listed for auction, and no part of the bed remains for sale,” company President Darren Julien said Tuesday, adding that he removed the carved headboard at the request of Jackson’s estate.
Among the items that will be sold are antique furnishings, oil and watercolor paintings and other effects, including a chalkboard with a message from one of Jackson’s children that reads, “I (heart) Daddy.”
Julien said the mattress where Jackson took his final breaths “was never included in the auction.”
Pitt: Getting older makes him wiser
SEOUL, South Korea — Brad Pitt says he’s not worried about getting older. The 47-year-old actor says he likes aging because of the wisdom that comes with it.
Pitt made the comments Tuesday in Seoul, where he’s promoting his film, “Moneyball.” He arrived in South Korea alone after visiting Japan and Vietnam with Angelina Jolie and their six children.
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