NEW YORK CITY -- Local fans of former WSTM anchor/reporter Jeff Glor will have more chances to see him on TV starting in 2011. The current Saturday anchor of the CBS Evening News will take over the news desk at the CBS Early Show.
Hardcore morning news fans may debate over whether the change is a blessing or a curse for Glor, given the Early Show's consistent performance in third-place among the major networks. According to an article in The Huffington Post, the Early Show averaged 2.9 million viewers a day, compared to NBC's Today show pulling almost twice that, with 5.6 million viewers. ABC's Good Morning America trails NBC by a million viewers. The article cited Nielsen ratings numbers for the week before Thanksgiving.
Glor's new assignment is part of a complete overhaul for the Early Show: current weekday co-anchors Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez will be replaced by Saturday co-hosts Chris Wragge and Erica Hill. In addition to Glor reading the news, Marysol Castro will present the weather. The new on-air team starts on Monday, January 3.
Jeff Glor's bio on the CBS News website recounts his professional history: the dual-degree graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the College of Arts and Sciences started his career as morning co-anchor at WSTM in 1997, the same year he graduated. In 2000, he flipped his body clock to anchor at 5pm and report for the 11pm newscast. Glor moved east in 2003, working as an anchor and reporter for Boston's WHDH-TV until he started working for the network in 2007.
According to The Huffington Post, CBS says the talent being displaced by the changes will remain with the network in various capacities. For example, Harry Smith will return to reporting duties, and he'll be the primary substitute for CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric.
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