CBS Evening News has always carried the weight of history. For decades, the program was a dominant force in television journalism, anchored by names that helped define the medium. But in recent years, especially since Norah O’Donnell’s departure, the show has slipped further from the top of the ratings conversation. And that shouldn’t surprise anyone—because when a program doesn’t know what it wants to be, viewers quickly figure that out.
The challenge CBS faces isn’t just that NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas and ABC World News Tonight with David Muir are formidable competitors. It’s that both of those broadcasts have an identity. Muir’s program is urgent, polished, and accessible, designed to keep pace with the hyper-speed of social media headlines.
Llamas, meanwhile, has leaned into being a steady, authoritative figure while still looking and sounding fresh for an audience that consumes news differently than their parents and grandparents. CBS, on the other hand, has spent 2024 experimenting with different looks, different presentations, and different tones. Since January, it has changed its presentation twice, before eventually deciding to revert back to a style that closely mirrors what ABC and NBC are already doing.
And that’s the problem. If you’re going to look like your competitors, you’d better be at least as good as them. Right now, CBS Evening News is neither.
The show’s identity crisis has been glaring. When O’Donnell was in the chair, CBS attempted to position her as the authoritative anchor in the Cronkite tradition, delivering the news with gravitas. Whether or not that worked is debatable, but at least it was a strategy. Post-O’Donnell, the show has been caught between trying to look modern, attempting a more news-magazine approach, and trying to reclaim its heritage. Those aren’t inherently bad goals — but when they change every couple of months, it sends the message that CBS isn’t confident in its own product.
Meanwhile, audiences are creatures of habit. They want to know what they’re getting every night when they tune in. David Muir isn’t suddenly going to reinvent himself next month. Tom Llamas isn’t going to completely overhaul NBC’s broadcast in October. Viewers know what those shows are and why they tune in. CBS can’t say the same.
Here’s the blunt truth: no one is going to beat ABC or NBC by offering a slightly worse version of what they’re already doing. “Almost as good” doesn’t sell. If the viewers wanted Muir’s style, they’d just watch Muir. If they wanted Llamas, they’d watch Llamas. CBS Evening News has to carve out something different —something that separates it from the pack — if it ever wants to be competitive again.
That doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel. It doesn’t mean filling the program with gimmicks or desperately chasing a younger demographic that probably isn’t going to sit down for a network evening newscast anyway. What it does mean is leaning into what CBS can uniquely provide. CBS has the infrastructure, the reporting talent, and the credibility to emphasize deeper, more substantive reporting. Rather than racing through headlines in 22 minutes to keep pace with ABC, CBS could position itself as the show that goes a layer deeper, that explains why a story matters, not just what happened.
In a media landscape dominated by hot takes, viral clips, and doomscrolling, there’s a massive audience that would appreciate a thoughtful, well-paced, intelligent evening newscast. CBS could own that lane if it had the courage to commit to it. Instead, it seems paralyzed by the fear of losing ground, so it tries to mimic what’s working for the competition. And every time CBS takes another step in that direction, the show becomes less distinct—and therefore less valuable to viewers.
The irony is that CBS still carries the credibility of its brand name. For all the struggles, when people think of CBS News, they still think of Murrow and Cronkite. They still associate the network with serious journalism. That reputation is an advantage. But it only matters if CBS leans into it, not if it waters it down by offering a B-minus imitation of the competition.
CBS Evening News doesn’t need another set redesign. It doesn’t need to change its graphics package again. It doesn’t need to hire a consultant who tells them to “look more like ABC” or “sound more like NBC.” What it needs is a strategy. A real one. Something clear, something definable, something that viewers can immediately recognize as CBS.
Help, conceivably, is on the way. Last week, the network named Kim Harvey as the new Executive Producer of the nightly newscast. She replaces Guy Campanile, a veteran 60 Minutes producer who oversaw the reinvention of the show earlier this year. As I noted in one of the early iterations of the program, I actually liked the more in-depth approach of the nightly newscast, opposed to the “how much can we cram into 21 minutes” style ABC and NBC News employ at 6 PM ET.
But the numbers speak for themselves. What was once more than 5 million viewers per night just this year has dwindled to less than 4 million and is approaching 3.75 million. That’s not something you can just write off.
If CBS has the courage to stop following and start leading, the ratings can bounce back. But until that happens, the show will remain exactly where it is now—stuck in third place, without an identity, wondering why viewers continue to choose its competitors.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
