Sep 1, 2006 2:07 am US/Pacific
Bob Schieffer Departs From Anchor's Chair
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Bob Schieffer concludes his duties in the CBS Evening News anchor seat Thursday night. (File)
CBS
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Katie Couric begins as the new CBS Evening News anchor on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006. (File)
Bob Schieffer, who led the "CBS Evening News" from the departure of Dan Rather to the dawn of the Katie Couric era, will make his last appearance in the anchor chair Thursday.
Couric, who makes her debut on Tuesday, will make a guest appearance on Schieffer's send-off. (On Friday and Monday, Russ Mitchell will fill in.)
"It's been a great adventure for me," said Schieffer, who will stay on the program as a weekly commentator and political analyst. "I never thought I would have a chance to do this."
Schieffer, 69, was named interim anchor after Rather departed amid controversy over a discredited story on President Bush's military service.
"To be absolutely frank about it, we were in a really hard place when I came here," Schieffer said Wednesday, explaining that part of his role was to have a calming affect on the newsroom.
Though Schieffer was expected to anchor the broadcast for just six weeks, his stay ended up lasting nearly 18 months, bringing a bright twilight to a long and respected career in TV news. Not only did Schieffer hold the fort, ratings increased.
Earlier this week, CBS said the "Evening News" has gained more than 600,000 viewers in the past year. It remains in third behind ABC's "World News Tonight" and NBC's top-rated "Nightly News," but has narrowed the gap.
"Over these last 18 months, we've managed to get ourselves back in the game," Schieffer said. "We're now major players again."
Schieffer, also the veteran host of "Face the Nation," credits the ratings upturn to the broadcast's team approach, which highlighted the reporting of correspondents Lara Logan, Lee Cowan and Byron Pitts, among others.
Schieffer expects to remain active in his continuing roles on the "CBS Evening News," and is looking forward to a little less stress.
"For the first time in my life, I won't have to feel responsible for getting scooped," he said, laughing, then added: "I hope I can break a story or two along the way."
In August 1996, Schieffer stepped down as anchor of the Saturday edition of the CBS Evening News, a post he held for 20 years. He and his colleague, Dan Rather, stand as the only two 20-year anchors of a regularly scheduled network news broadcast.
Schieffer joined CBS News in 1969 and, after a brief stint as a general assignment reporter, was named Pentagon correspondent, a post he held for four years.
Before joining CBS News, he was a reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and, in 1965, became the first reporter from a Texas newspaper to report from Vietnam. Schieffer later became news anchor at WBAP-TV Dallas/Fort Worth, a post that eventually led to his joining CBS News.
He is the author of "Face The Nation: My Favorite Stories from the First 50 Years of the Award-winning News Broadcast," as well as the 2003 The New York Times bestseller, "This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You On TV" and "Acting President," published in 1989.
Schieffer was born in Austin, Texas. He and his wife reside in Washington, D.C. They have two daughters and twin granddaughters.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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