CBS Moves News From McManus To Fager

Sean McManus, who has served as president of CBS News and Sports since 2005, has relinguished his oversight of CBS News, but will continue to head sports as chairman of the division, the network announced today.

Replacing McManus as head of news will be Jeff Fager, the executive producer of 60 Minutes. He will hold the title of chairman. David Rhodes, most recently the head of U.S. TV operations for Bloomberg, has been named president of CBS News.

CBS said that McManus will focus on “the expanding portfolio of sports properties across all CBS Sports operations.”

In his new role at CBS News, Fager will report to Leslie Moonves, president-CEO, CBS Corp., and guide the overall editorial direction, content and quality of all CBS News broadcasts, both on-air and online.

As president of the division, Rhodes will report to Fager and run the operations of CBS News on a day-to-day basis, taking charge of all coverage and staffing. The appointments are effective Feb. 22.

After a long career in broadcast journalism, Fager became the executive producer of 60 Minutes when the broadcast’s iconic founder, Don Hewitt, retired in 2004.  

Before his work at 60 Minutes, and later as the founding producer of 60 Minutes II, Fager was the executive producer of the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather from 1996 to 1998. Fager was also the senior broadcast producer for the CBS Evening News between 1994 and 1996. Prior to that, he was a producer for 60 Minutes from 1989 to 1994, and was part of the original team that developed and launched 48 Hours, the primetime CBS News magazine.

Between 1983 and 1988, Fager was a producer on the CBS Evening News and was based in London and New. He joined CBS News from KPIX San Francisco, where he was a broadcast producer, and began his career as a production assistant in Boston in 1977 at the CBS O&O WBZ.

David Rhodes has been the head of U.S. Television for Bloomberg since November 2008, managing the channel’s programming, development, editorial, newsgathering, production and operations. In that post, he directed a staff of more than 200 in the United States, based at the company’s New York headquarters.

Prior to joining Bloomberg, Rhodes worked for 12 years at Fox News, starting at the channel’s inception in 1996 as a production assistant. At the time of his departure, Rhodes was VP of news, managing all of the channel’s day-to-day news operations and domestic bureaus, with a particular emphasis on breaking news and political coverage.

“Sports continues to grow into an ever-more important asset to CBS,” said Moonves. “As we expand our operations at CBS Sports, CBS College Sports Network and in other parts of our company as well, we will require Sean’s uncommon depth of knowledge of the business, his deal-making acumen and his unique and positive relationships throughout the world of sports to keep CBS on top of that game.”

Commenting on the new CBS News leaders, Moonves said: “In these two great news professionals, we get the best of both worlds: the quintessential insider with deep knowledge of the business and all the moving parts at CBS News, as well as a dynamic young executive with strong news management experience and a tough, fresh point of view.”