NEW YORK - The CBS television network announced Wednesday the cancellation of its weekday edition of "60 Minutes," eight months after the flagship news magazine became embroiled in a row over US President George W. Bush`s military record.
CBS spokeswoman Sandy Genelius said the Wednesday night "60 Minutes" would be pulled from the air after the summer season.
The cancellation was announced earlier at a breakfast function for journalists hosted by CBS chairman Leslie Moonves.
"This was a ratings call and not a content call," Moonves said of the decision.
The programme`s Wednesday night ratings were already in decline when, in September of last year, it broadcast a report questioning Bush`s Vietnam War-era service with the National Guard.
When suspicions were voiced over the authenticity of documents used in the broadcast, CBS initially stood by the story but was later forced to acknowledge that it could not vouch for the documents` validity.
The about-face included a public apology from veteran newsman Dan Rather, who had presented the programme and shortly afterwards announced he was stepping down as the "CBS Evening News" anchor after 24 years.
Rather had been kept on as a "60 Minutes" reporter but, with the cancellation of the show, sources cited by the New York Times said Rather would probably be given a slot on the news magazine`s Sunday edition.
After an independent probe into the Bush report found the network guilty of "myopic zeal," three CBS executives were sacked, along with the show`s producer Mary Mapes.
05/18/2005 14:53 GMT