The newest TV anchor in Los Angeles -- thought to be in the line of CBS succession to Dan Rather -- is the subject of an unfriendly farewell in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The column by Neal Justin is given prominent play on Romenesko this afternoon, and says that Paul Magers is no Rather (and not in all the good ways that could mean):

Magers, meanwhile, is only 49 and has the hair of a 25-year-old surfer. He's got the confidence and poise of a movie star, one who could hush Bill O'Reilly with just a lift of an eyebrow and a hint of a smirk. Nothing could ruffle him, not a tennis match running over into news time, not a street ruffian demanding to know the frequency, not a snippety George Bush.

No one reads a TelePrompTer better, and that's not a trivial skill. Just watch the local news at some stations and you can tell exactly when the machine gets stuck. It's when the anchor's eyes expand an extra centimeter, he starts to bumble his words and his voice verges on crying out for his mommy...

But being a TelePrompTer ace is not nearly good enough to be the face of CBS News. In fact, one could argue that it's not even good enough to be the face of Los Angeles -- or the Twin Cities.

While Rather has reported alll over the world, the column says of Magers: "He's been a regular at the Minnesota State Fair." The St. Paul Pioneer Press sendoff is more complimentary.

Earlier: Magers was ratings leader in Minneapolis

More: Television
© 2003-2009   •  About LA Observed  •  Email the editor
LA Biz Observed
9:32 AM Sun | A couple of things worth noting: The box office potency of teenage girls and the value of turning movies into communal events
Native Intelligence
Jenny Price | Recycling!
Veronique de Turenne | And there's still time to take part!
Phil Wallace | Searching for answers after a third loss this year.
Deanne Stillman | Jihad and cash offers meet American soldiers during the Gulf War, and beyond.
Iris Schneider | After a tough year financially, the Museum of Contemporary Art put on a gala party to celebrate with 1,000 of its closest friends.
Jenny Burman
Thinking more about buying less.
Here in Malibu
Clear and cold this morning in Malibu.
Sponsors
Jewish Journal logo
The California Wellness Foundation
Playa Vista ad
Blogads

Blogads Los Angeles network

Get RSS Feeds
of LA Observed
LA Observed publishes several Real Simple Syndication feeds for easy scanning of headlines. If you wish to subscribe to a feed, most popular RSS readers will do it for you. You can also enter the web address from the XML button below or click on a specific feed. For more help with RSS, try here or here.




Add to Google