THE scramble to replace Dan Rather was in full tilt yesterday – both inside and outside of CBS News.
Some parties are pushing to promote the next “CBS Evening News” anchor from within – while others are looking to poach a big star from another network.
“I think they’re going to have to go outside,” says Jeff Alan, author of “Anchoring America: The Changing Face of Network News.”
“They’re in business to make money and they haven’t been making money with that newscast for a while now.”
The decision, reports say, won’t be made until next year, but some of the many names bandied about this week include Russ Mitchell, co-anchor of CBS’ Saturday edition of “The Early Show”; MSNBC’s John Seigenthaler and Lester Holt; and NBC’s Martin Savidge.
CBS insiders maintain that there are just two contenders for the job who have made the short list: CBS News’ chief White House correspondent John Roberts and “60 Minutes” Wednesday edition correspondent Scott Pelley.
Roberts, a polished anchor, has anchored the “CBS Evening News” on Sundays since 1995 and is said have the inside track.
But buzz yesterday among industry agents and managers suggested that some at CBS might be considering a dark horse candidate or even trying to land a bigger fish – like ABC News’ Diane Sawyer.
“She’s pretty much one of the most popular people in network news, although ABC might never let her out of her contract,” said an industry vet.
There have long been rumblings that Sawyer – who is now in the fifth year of her “three-month” assignment to fill in as a temporary anchor on “Good Morning America” – is tired of getting up early, and might prefer a more cushy and equally high-profile job like anchoring a network evening newscast.
An ABC insider told The Post yesterday, “I just spoke to Diane – she laughed and said, ‘That’s flattering, but completely out of the question.’ ”
“From one perspective, they could take a risk and go outside,” said IF Management’s Steve Herz. “I think at the end of the day, if I had to make a prediction, they will make the conservative choice and choose someone from inside, probably Roberts.”