Andrew Tyndall: Harry Smith Leaving ‘The Early Show’ is ‘A Deliverance, Not a Demotion’

Television news analyst Andrew Tyndall weighs in on the CBS “Early Show” changes, and uses the situation to reitierate why he does not cover the morning programs on a regular basis:

The morning shows, profit centers for the networks’ news divisions, are not centers of journalistic excellence…

These programs turn out to be a toxic mixture of condescension and trivia, hucksterism and self-help propaganda. Anchoring them must seem like some sadistic initiation rite to which aspiring network anchors are subjected–to prove loyalty to the division and to earn it sufficient profits, all with extremely anti-social work hours–before being liberated to cover proper news properly. Preceding Gibson, Sawyer and Couric, Tom Brokaw and Barbara Walters underwent the same torment; George Stephanopoulos is going through that ordeal right now.

Indeed, with the news that Harry Smith will be serving as the primary fill-n for Bob Schieffer and Katie Couric, Tyndall writes that the move could end up being good news for the longtime CBS News anchor:

Harry Smith must view the prospect of one day taking over Schieffer’s or Couric’s anchor chair as a deliverance not a demotion.

Check out Tyndall’s full analysis here.

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