Irreconcilable Ratings

摘要

It started, two years ago, like any coupling. Lots of hugs and kisses and earnest proclamations that this marriage would work. They all say that. Last week the Dan Rather and Connie Chung pairing on the "CBS Evening News" not only crumbled but did so in one of the more extraordinary displays of public venom ever seen among high-profile TV journalists. As Chung's camp saw it, the network's decision to remove her as coanchor was sexist and probably the behind-the-scenes work of Rather, whom they depicted as a big-foot turf protector. To Rather's side, Chung was a lightweight journalist who didn't read enough. The only thing everyone agreed on was that CBS's idea to couple the two was probably the most ill-considered decision since Barbara Walters was teamed with Harry Reasoner in 1976.