CBS STAYS MUM ON ANCHOR PLAN.

Byline: David Kronke Television Writer

For a guy who heads up CBS News, Sean McManus sure doesn't have much interest in helping reporters do their job.

McManus, who's also president of CBS Sports, gave a press conference in Pasadena as part of the Television Critics Association's semiannual press tour, where Topic A was ``The CBS Evening News,'' and when a permanent anchor would be named and whether that anchor might be Katie Couric. Well, it was Topic A with reporters, anyway, but McManus declined to discuss it.

``We have a number of plans, though I cannot specifically address them for obvious reasons,'' said McManus, who took over the network's news division in November. Technically, the network cannot negotiate with Couric while she's under contract with NBC, which she will be through May. Asked if he could publicly admit he's interested in Couric, McManus replied, ``That I can't do.'' Asked if the anchor would come from outside CBS, he answered, ``Probably.'' Asked if he might announce a replacement before May, McManus congratulated the reporter for his cagily phrased question, then responded, blandly, ``Possibly.''

Of course, if it ain't broke, there's little need to fix it, and currently, ``The CBS Evening News'' has steadily been gaining viewers - the only network newscast to do so - with Bob Schieffer receiving universal praise for his work as the interim anchor replacing Dan Rather, who stepped down after some reporting on a ``60 Minutes'' feature was found to be rushed and faulty.

Calling Schieffer ``the oldest overnight sensation I know,'' McManus lavished him with praise. ``He's respected, he's trusted, and he's comfortable giving the news. Bob talks like you and I do - he's not presenting the news, he's talking to viewers. He's the antithesis of 'the voice of God' '' - a phrase CBS CEO Les Moonves once used describing the old guard of now-departed network anchors.

``News should be delivered in a respectful, comfortable way, not as though you're preaching the Gospel.''

McManus added that while Schieffer has offered to stay in the job as long as necessary, they've informally agreed that he'll be there for a year.

``Bob wanted to start to slow down,'' McManus said of his anchor, who will turn 69 in February. ``If he wanted (the permanent job), we wouldn't be having this conversation (of a replacement) now.''

Though Moonves had earlier suggested CBS' newscast would soon have a multiple-anchor format, McManus suggested otherwise. ``The goal should be to find the face of CBS News,'' he said, ``to have someone that, during times of national crisis, or during the State of the Union address, or during an election, is first and foremost recognizable as the front of CBS News.

``All sorts of ideas have been looked at,'' he added, ``but right now (Moonves and I) are focused on the telecast itself and finding the right person for it.''

McManus insisted that the new anchor's salary - one report had CBS offering Couric $60 million over five years, a little less than her current contract at NBC - would not affect the budget for the rest of the news division. The new anchor could contribute to ``60 Minutes,'' he added, though he wouldn't allow him or her to be stretched too thin, which contributed to the mistakes in Rather's report. (McManus said he has not ``formally'' met with Rather since taking the job.)

Though CBS was caught unprepared when Rather announced his resignation, with no clear replacement in the wings, McManus said he has made it a priority to groom several reporters who could do so in the future. ``It's critical - there should be at any given time at any given network a small number of people capable of filling in and doing the job admirably,'' he stated.

Morale has returned to employees of the news division, McManus said, ``but that's the way it should be.''

David Kronke, [phone]

david.kronke(at)dailynews.com

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Popular Rather replacement Bob Schieffer doesn't want the permanent job, says CBS.