CBS News is tapping another ABC News veteran to lend a hand with the ambitious task of trying to move its morning- and evening-news programs out of third place.
Steven Baker, a former executive producer at ABC News’ “Nightline,” joined CBS News as a consultant earlier this week, according to two people familiar with the matter. During his tenure at ABC News, Baker gained a reputation as someone willing to experiment and try new things. Baker supervised an effort, for example, to try and put “Nightline” programming in places other than the post-Jimmy Kimmel slot at ABC. Under his aegis, for example, “Nightline” developed an hour-long special program for the Freeform cable network that aimed for younger viewers. In 2020, he helped orchestrate a “takeover” of the “Nightline” timeslot by “Turning Point,” a monthlong look at the state of race relations in the U.S.
“’Nightline’ is more than just a time slot,” Baker told Variety in 2018. “This is a brand that tells stories, no matter where it is seen.” CBS News declined to make executives available for comment.
Both programs remain well behind their time-slot competitors at ABC and NBC.
CBS News has tested other innovations in recent weeks. On “CBS Evening News,” for example, new segments like “The Big Question” and “The Good Stuff” are viewed as distinctive pieces of the program that not only serve as regular features, but can be detached from the show and featured as pieces of short-form content suitable for viewers of digital platforms.
