Current CBS “Early Show” weather anchor Dave Price is leaving CBS News, he said on the program today. Last month CBS News announced a total reshuffling of the “Early Show” anchor team, adding that it would be working to find other roles for the departing anchors at the company.

Price is opting to leave CBS instead.

“Today is my last day at CBS News,” Price said. “I’ve had my dream job at The Early Show for eight years and deeply appreciate the outpouring of affection from so many viewers and colleagues. While sorry to leave, I’m eager and very excited about the next phase of my career.”

CBS News and Sports president Sean McManus also had kind words to say about Price in a statement:

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It’s good to be king. Ask Jim Bell.

The executive producer of NBC’s “Today” – No. 1 for 15 years, as of Dec. 11 – is not exactly quaking in his loafers about the all-new lineup for CBS’s third-place ‘Early Show.’

Erica Hill, Chris Wragge, Jeff Glor and Marysol Castro will replace the team of Harry Smith, Maggie Rodriguez and Dave Price beginning Jan. 3, the network announced Tuesday.

While hesitant to react to the changes himself, Big Jim confesses he was tickled by a tweet from The Daily Beast’s Kate Aurthur that read: “In theory, I like Maggie Rodriguez and am sad she’s gone from ‘CBS Early Show.’ In practice, I watch ‘Today’ like everybody else.”

The question, of course, is how CBS will pull itself out of the Nielsen basement it has occupied, seemingly, since the invention of the cathode ray tube.

“I don’t know if anything will make a difference, but they’re willing to try, and we have to take it seriously,” says Bell.

Comparing the move, as have some bloggers, to re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic is “an unfair and mean-spirited characterization that unfortunately seems to play well in places where people can post anonymous comments,” Bell says.

Steve Friedman, executive producer of MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan show, did two tours at CBS running the morning program and was e.p. of “Today.” Given the money at stake, he says CBS had no choice but to try, try, try again.

“I applaud them for saying, ‘OK, we’re going to start over.’ These are ensemble shows. There’s no such thing as ‘I do good and you don’t.’ The ensemble wasn’t working. To hold the new guy running the show [David Friedman, no relation] responsible for other anchor teams is crazy.”

Equally crazy, he says, is the notion that CBS is somehow cursed in the mornings.

“You’re cursed until you’re not. You fail until you succeed. Today’s cursed failure is

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Harry Smith used his “Just a Minute” feature on CBS Radio News to discuss his impending departure from CBS’ “The Early Show.”

“I’m leaving my job on ‘The Early Show’ soon, but I will always be grateful for having one of the best seats in the house.”

• Here’s the audio

As we reported yesterday, Smith as well as co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez and weather guy Dave Price are being moved off the show. CBS News & Sports president Sean McManus wrote that the three, “are moving on to new and significant roles at CBS News that capitalize on their talents and their interests.”

Smith and Price were on today’s show. Rodriguez was not. The new anchor team takes over January 3.

As we reported earlier, CBS News announced sweeping changes to its morning news program “The Early Show.” Anchors Maggie Rodriguez and Harry Smith, along with weather anchor Dave Price will all leave the program, with Chris Wragge, Erica Hill, Jeff Glor and Marysol Castro taking over January 3rd.

TVNewser spoke to “Early Show” executive producer David Friedman–now almost exactly a year into his current role– about the decision to relaunch the program with a new team.

TVNewser: Why did you decide to make the changes at The Early Show?

David Friedman: Well, I started here a year ago, and when I came in the goal was to continue to grow this show and be more and more competitive in the morning, I looked at every single aspect of the show, from content to bookings to staffing, talent, and my big priority was not to rush to do anything, but to soak it all in and make decisions that would take us to the next level.

This was a very long process to figure out what would do just that, and put a team in place that would make us even better than we already are and going forward. It wasn’t a rushed thing, we have been talking about different options and different teams for a quite a while, and we decided this was the way to go. I am sure it feels abrupt to everyone else, but we have put a lot of thought into it.

TVN: How did you decide on the anchor lineup that will be starting January 3^rd?

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That didn’t take long. Here’s the new publicity photo of the new CBS “Early Show” anchor team, beginning January 3, 2011. It was announced this morning that current anchors Harry Smith, Maggie Rodriguez, and Dave Price are all being moved off the show, but have been offered jobs at the network.

(l-r) Jeff Glor moves from correspondent and anchor of The “CBS Evening News” Saturday edition to news anchor on “Early”. Chris Wragge will leave his anchor job at WCBS-TV and co-anchor of “Early Show” Saturday to become co-anchor of the weekday edition. Erica Hill moves up from newsreader and weekend co-anchor to weekday co-anchor and Marysol Castro, late of ABC’s “Good Morning America” weekend joins as weather anchor.

TVNewser’s Alex Weprin will be speaking with “Early Show” EP David Friedman about the changes this afternoon. Look for that story in a few hours.

TVNewser hears that an anchor change is in store at CBS’ “The Early Show.” Co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez is believed to be leaving the program, with news anchor Erica Hill to step in and take her place.

The announcement could be made as soon as today. Rodriguez anchored the program this morning (left) alongside Harry Smith.

A spokesperson for CBS News would not confirm the report, and said that the network does not comment on rumors and speculation. Rodriguez joined “The Early Show” as a co-anchor in 2007, and had previously served as co-anchor of the Saturday edition of the program. Before that, she worked at CBS O&O WFOR in Miami, Florida.

Hill joined CBS full-time earlier this year. She has been co-anchor of the Saturday “Early Show” since 2008.

> More: The AP”s David Bauder reports that co-anchor Harry Smith and weather anchor Dave Price will also be leaving the show, and will be replaced by Chris Wragge and Marysol Castro, respectively.

> More: Insiders tell us Smith will stay with CBS News in an as-yet determined position. Smith, who has co-anchored “Early” since 2002, joined CBS News as a Dallas-based correspondent in 1986.

> Confirmed: Internal memo from CBS News & Sports president Sean McManus after the jump. The “exciting changes” take effect Jan. 3.

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CBS weather anchor Dave Price ended his journey for “The Early Show” this morning. He has successfully made it back to CBS headquarters in New York City from Alaska with only $50 and a cell phone. The trip this year has taken a more charitable tone, starting a new coat drive to keep America warm.

TVNewser spoke to Price yesterday about his trip back home from Anchorage, Alaska with only $50 and a cell phone. The last time we spoke to the anchor, he didn’t even know where he was going, because this year, where he was going was the viewers’ choice.

TVNewser: Where are you in the way home now?

Dave Price: I’m just in the final 470 miles.

TVNewser: Your voice sounds hoarse. How’s it going?

Dave Price: It’s a combination of not sleeping a lot, sleeping in rooms that are 20 degrees, cars, locker rooms. It’s the result of seven days of exciting living.

TVNewser: How long were you in Anchorage? Read more

The last time TVNewser spoke to “Early Show” weather anchor Dave Price, he was getting ready for his second journey across the country with $50 and a cell phone to find his way back to CBS’ New York City headquarters. The viewers have spoken: they voted for Price to go all the way out to Anchorage, Alaska. Here’s an update to his journey towards home as the anchor takes some work in a Holiday Inn to help him pay his way.

Last year, CBS “The Early Show” weather anchor Dave Price was sent on a special assignment: Go to Santa Monica, Calif., take $50, and make your way back to “The Early Show” studio in a week. And Price is doing it again, only this time you can choose where he starts. Then, next Thursday, the CBS weather guy hits the road.

TVNewser spoke with Price about the trip including what happens when he runs out of money. (Hint: he sleeps near a Las Vegas hotel swimming pool after blowing his cash in the casino). But we began by talking about his recent life change:

TVNewser: You got married this Summer, what does your wife think of you leaving soon?

Dave Price: In all the time I’ve know my wife and dated my wife Jackelyn, I’ve been on the road. I’ve been on the road what seems like half the time, 30% of the time, all over the country. But Jackelyn is really busy herself. She’s a partner in a real estate consulting firm. So she’s here, there and everywhere. The concerning thing is if she starts tweeting me and telling me to take my time getting across the country. But other than that, she’s been really supportive. I love being married, but it’s a challenge to just get married, and then be on the road like this.

TVNewser: What city are you excited about this year?

Dave Price: Last year, what we decided was “The Early Show” was going to drop me in Sana Monica, Calif., and I would have seven days to find my way home with nothing but $50, a backpack full of gear (computers blackberries, etc…), and I needed to figure out a way to get back to the corner of 59th and 5th avenue in seven days by earning an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work and using social media to garner favors in order to weave my way back home. This year, the difference is that our viewers are deciding where I start. So it could be anywhere from the San Diego Zoo to San Francisco to Newport, Oregon to Seattle, Washington, all the way out to Anchorage, Alaska. All of them provide their own unique challenges. I’m afraid of getting excited about one place or another, because I don’t know where I’m going to wind up.

TVNewser: Do you do anything to prepare for the trip?

Dave Price: If I start in a place like San Diego, tactically speaking, I’ll probably journey a southern route if I can across the country. If I start in Northern California/Oregon/Seattle/Alaska, it’s a northerly route. I have to take into account topography, the climate, and the viability of getting from one place to another in seven days.

TVNewser: How does your expertise as a CBS weather anchor help you on these trips?

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It has been a crazy year for the team at CBS’ “The Early Show,” with many babies being born and a marriage thrown in for good measure.

Monday, co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez returns from maternity leave and the entire crew will be back together again. Rodriguez will be joining fellow co-anchors Julie Chen and Harry Smith, as well as weather anchor Dave Price.

Rodriguez, Chen and news anchor Erica Hill have all given birth this year, with Price tying the knot.