'Death spiral': CBS News producer may be axed as MAGA-friendly reboot sheds viewers
A top producer at "CBS Evening News" may be on her way out as the network's high-profile MAGA-friendly reboot under editor in chief Bari Weiss continues to hemorrhage viewers, according to insiders cited by the New York Post.
Executive producer Kim Harvey has overseen the nightly broadcast since August, and sources told the Post she may ultimately take the fall if ratings fail to rebound. Viewership sunk to 3.8 million for the week ending March 13, a new low for the Weiss-engineered overhaul.
Weiss, a prominent conservative media figure who took the network's helm in October, installed anchor Tony Dokoupil in January, replacing co-anchors John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois in a move widely seen as a rightward editorial shift. Dokoupil's debut drew 4.4 million viewers and has since steadily declined.
“It’s pretty terrible. Once you’re under 4 million, you’ve got to be worried that you’re in a death spiral,” one CBS insider told the Post. “If they can’t retain an audience in the middle of a war, God help you when the war ends."
Critics inside the network pointed to "soft" programming under Harvey's direction, with segments on meteor sightings and cute animals.
"It’s animal story overload," one source said. "Kim’s thing is animals. She’s turning Tony into the animal anchor."
Another CBS News source gave a blunt assessment.
"The show has lost over a half a million viewers in three months. You’ve got to sacrifice somebody to the ratings gods," the source said.
The news comes after ABC's "World News Tonight" pulled 8.5 million viewers and NBC's "Nightly News" drew over 6.5 million, lapping CBS.
Even so, CBS blamed daylight savings time for the ratings drop, and swatted away "ludicrous" notions that Harvey's job was in jeopardy.
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