On the Last Day of 2010, Harry Smith Says a Final Good-Bye to the CBS Early Show

I felt a sense of sadness, as did many other viewers from the blogs I've read, as Harry Smith bid his final farewell to the CBS Early Show on the last day of 2010. Harry Smith was the last of three to leave after being axed from the CBS Early Show. Maggie Rodriguez and Dave Price were the other two individuals from the Early Show team that lost their spots during this latest CBS shakeup.

The New CBS Early Show team will consist of Jeff Glor, Erica Hill, Chris Wraggle and Marysol Castro. I don't wish them any bad luck, but my guess is they won't do any better in the morning show ratings then their predecessors. As Howard Kurtz from The Daily Beast said, "it just seems to be Mission Impossible for the CBS Early Show, as every format under the sun has been tried". I have the tendency to agree with him. "If you're a GMA or Today Show fan it's tough to get these people to change," Kurtz goes on to say.

A number of journalists including Maria Shriver, Bob Schieffer, Kathleen Sullivan and Phyllis George, just to name a few, have sat in the CBS Early Show chairs and have not been able to get past the 3rd place ratings the show seems to always be getting. Harry Smith has done morning television on CBS for 17 out of the past 23 years and as good as an anchor as he is, those ratings just never seemed to go up. I just don't think this new young blood that CBS is putting in to replace a seasoned anchor like Harry Smith is going to change that either.

As many viewers may have seen when Harry Smith was saying good-bye to the CBS Early Show, Oprah Winfrey made a tribute to him. She described him as being gracious, generous and a great steward at holding the space for the morning audience. Truer words were never spoken, in my opinion.

I guess for CBS, Dec.31,2010 the last day of the year, was probably an ideal time to bid farewell to Harry Smith as co-host of the Early Show. It was out with old, and ringing in 2011 with the new. One year from now when 2012 rolls around, I wonder if this new dynamic CBS Early Show team will all still be around and if they are, will the shows ratings have changed much. Personally, I'll be very surprised if there is one bit of difference from the end of 2011 to the end of 2012 as far as the ratings go for the CBS Early Show.

Sources: CBS Morning Show/12/31/2010
The Daily Beast/11/30/2010
personal opinion