In a not-so-subtle effort to remind viewers of CBS News’ dominance on TV when Walter Cronkite ruled the airwaves, the network unveiled a new set this week that is heavy on history and “hard” newsgathering, yet calming with brick walls and a collection of historical memorabilia that includes an old TV set and an Ikegami TK-47 camera on a shelf along one side.
The “Studio 57” set includes a large monitorwall that replicates the same virtual multiview wall used by the director in a new HD control room (“Control Room 47”).
In a pre-taped video online, executive producer Chris Licht said the plan was to break through the wall to the other side, where a newsroom is being built, but “that was too expensive.” The newsroom will feature large windows facing the street.
The set feature a large glass table at the center, where the three new anchors (Charlie Rose, Gayle 57 King and Erica Hill) sit around and discuss news of the day. To one side is a greenroom for celebrity interviews, a “Magic wall” interactive touchscreen that’s looks to be about 120-inches in size. There’s also a green room for interviews in one corner while another side includes the very map used by Walter Cronkite during his days as anchor of the “CBS Evening News.”
Guests can also appear via satellite feed on a monitor in set (that’s mounted on a special rig that extends closer to the table during interviews).
Licht had promised “no comedic weather" segments and the show lives up to that promise. Local stations break in with their stand-up weather reports at certain times during the two-hour show form their respective studios across the country.
Also included on the set is an Oakland Athletics baseball cap, courtesy of Licht, who has said he included it to remind his staff of the film “Moneyball,” whose central character (A's executive Billy Beane) took an outside-the-box approach that Licht hopes “CBS This Morning” replicates. (Licht has called the show "The Moneyball of TV," and reportedly screened the film for the shoe staffers as a motivational tool.
