Saunders: Energizer anchor still going

Published February 23, 2006 at midnight

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Bob Schieffer was asked the ultimate "what if" question regarding his career.

If CBS head Les Moonves asked Schieffer, who turns 69 this weekend, to become the permanent anchor of the CBS Evening News, would he accept the job?

"I don't know what I'd say," Schieffer said from his New York office.

A pause.

Then he adds: "I'd probably say no. Ten years ago I would have jumped at the chance. I'm energized. I love this job. But at 69 - well, anchoring a network newscast five nights a week is definitely a young man's game.

"Anyway, that offer is not going to be made," says Schieffer, who on March 10 celebrates his first anniversary as interim anchor after taking over from Dan Rather.

However, it's been anything but an interim year for the Texas native, who got his start in journalism as a police reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Schieffer has earned praise from his network bosses and critics for energizing the telecast, both internally and externally.

CBS News President Sean McManus calls Schieffer "the oldest overnight sensation I know."

"He's trusted and he's very comfortable providing the news," McManus says.

While the CBS Evening News still runs third in ratings behind NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight, the audience continues to increase, often at the expense of its rivals.

During the week of Feb. 13, the half-hour averaged 8 million viewers nightly, compared with 7.4 million the previous week.

Schieffer has stamped his personality and knowledge on the telecast, regularly asking correspondents questions after their reports.

"This is not planned ahead or done to denigrate the correspondent, indicating the report is not complete," Schieffer says.

"But I've been around long enough to have background information on many subjects. And asking follow-up questions also appeals to viewers who might feel there's more to a particular story.

"In print, my questions and the answers might be considered a sidebar."

Schieffer also has become the antithesis of the "voice of God" delivery so prominent in many news anchors, including Rather. No one can accuse Schieffer of delivering the news as if he has come down from Mount Olympus.

Schieffer acknowledges his role as interim anchor borders on the bizarre, particularly when it comes to network hype and promotion.

While CBS is trumpeting the fact Schieffer has added zest and viewers to the telecast, the network is counting down the days until Katie Couric or someone else takes over.

Schieffer laughs at the situation.

"It's the way this business operates. CBS is appreciative of my professionalism and the work I've done, yet they're eager to find my replacement.

"Executives want to hire someone younger. That's understandable.

"The network is looking 10 years down the line. If I'm around, I'll be 79 - far too old to anchor a weekday newscast.

"But I'm not too old to continue moderating Face the Nation," Schieffer says. "I'll continue that indefinitely after the anchor duties are concluded."

Schieffer commutes between New York and Washington, D.C. where he lives and where Face the Nation is broadcast on Sunday.

Schieffer feels the ongoing reports and rumors about the potential Couric-CBS tie-up have become a "cottage industry."

"Hardly a day goes by that a story or a rumor doesn't pop up in print or on the Internet," he says.

"I really don't know if she'll become the anchor. I like Katie and I believe she'd be an asset to CBS News.

"I sometimes wonder if she's decided what she wants to do."

As Schieffer's career begins to wind down, award ceremonies honoring him gain momentum.

He'll be in Denver on Wednesday night to accept the Anvil of Freedom Award in recognition of "superior leadership and commitment to the protection of the First Amendment."

The award, to be given at a dinner at the University of Denver Cable Center, is part of the Estlow Lecture Series, honoring Ed Estlow, retired Rocky Mountain News executive.

"I don't get to Colorado and Denver as much as I'd like these days," Schieffer says.

"I was there regularly in the mid-'70s when I was White House correspondent and Jerry Ford would vacation in Vail.

"Those were the Stone Age days of TV news before we used video tape.

"We'd fly via helicopter from Denver to Vail to film Ford. Then we'd fly or drive back to Denver to process the film at the CBS affiliate so it could get on the network.

"Those were hectic but fun times."

TODAY'S NOSTALGIA: Feb. 23, 1971, CBS Reports aired a controversial documentary, The Selling of the Pentagon, which accused government executives of close financial ties with U.S. defense contractors.

Dusty Saunders is the broadcasting critic. Saunders@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5137

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