On Oct. 25, CBS News announced the selection of Jeff Glor as the next Evening News anchor. The news did not generate many headlines, but The Hollywood Reporter writes that this could be because of his lack of star power or because of Glor’s dedication to putting the story first, rather than himself.
David Rhodes, CBS News president, said that the most important thing is that Glor is willing and able to do the job. “He has had this range of experiences in his time here. I think, for instance, he can do great work in the field, and we should be looking at more opportunities to get him out doing that even once he’s anchoring the broadcast full-time.”
According to sources at CBS News, Glor is a “classic David Rhodes pick” and Rhodes “seems to think the anchor isn’t that critical in the evening.” But internally, Glor was greeted warmly, and one employee told The Hollywood Reporter that Glor “made the most sense.”
Former MSNBC anchor Cenk Uygur discussed the pick on his Young Turks show. He said the fact that “you don’t know (Glor) is clearly not great news for CBS, or any of the evening news stations, or television overall, and certainly broadcast news.” But he added: “It could be potentially a good thing. Maybe they picked the guy out of nowhere because he’s really great, and who cares that we haven’t heard of him? That’s better than picking some stupid star.”
Glor is 42-years-old and has said that while he will be “conscious” of ratings, it won’t be his main focus. Also, he said he will respect the past while looking towards the future. His news career started at a local level, first in Syracuse and then in Boston. HLN anchor Erica Hill, who worked with Glor at CBS News, said, “He doesn’t take himself too seriously, but he takes his job very seriously. And I think that’s an important balance.”
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