CBS Names McManus News Chief

Viacom's (VIA Quote) CBS named its head of sports, Sean McManus, to its top news position.

He'll replace Andrew Heyward, whose contract won't be renewed at year's end.

The appointment is effective Nov. 7. Heyward, who has held the post of president of CBS News for almost 10 years, will serve as an adviser to the CBS News division and assist McManus in the transition.

CBS News came under heavy criticism last fall for running a story taking issue with President Bush's National Guard service in the early 1970s. After mounting a vigorous early defense of the story and its sourcing, anchor Dan Rather and CBS conceded that they couldn't confirm the authenticity of documents cited in the report.

The furor started with the Sept. 8, 2004, "60 Minutes" broadcast. After initially brushing off questions about the segment, CBS in mid-September started an investigation into the matter and said it would seek to get to the bottom of the dispute.

"Based on what we now know, CBS News cannot prove that the documents are authentic, which is the only acceptable journalistic standard to justify using them in the report," Heyward said Sept. 20. "We should not have used them. That was a mistake, which we deeply regret."

Rather, who reported the story, issued an apology.

"We made a mistake in judgment, and for that I am sorry," he said in September. "It was an error that was made, however, in good faith and in the spirit of trying to carry on a CBS News tradition of investigative reporting without fear or favoritism."

Heyward was spared the brunt of the ordeal last year, with CBS Chairman Les Moonves standing firmly beside him, but Rather soon announced his own retirement and a number of producers associated with the piece departed as well.