CBS SCRAMBLES TO FILL IN FOR RATHER

With Dan Rather knocked out of his chair by a cold, CBS seemed to be adrift without an anchorman.

All the regular substitutes were away Wednesday when a sick Rather said he’d rather not. So Forrest Sawyer sat in.

Forrest who?

Sawyer has been with the network in New York for two months, but his is not a household name yet.

So where have all the anchors gone?

The first-string sub for Rather, Bob Schieffer, is on vacation.

Charles Kuralt is on the road in London.

Diane Sawyer--no relation to Forrest--is on assignment.

So are Ed Bradley and Harry Reasoner.

And Walter Cronkite is still retired.

So who is Forrest Sawyer, and what was he doing in Rather’s chair?

Since July, Sawyer has been anchoring the “CBS Early Morning News,” which is broadcast from 6:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. While Schieffer has been on vacation, Sawyer has filled in for him on the “CBS Morning News,” from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Previously, Sawyer, 35, anchored the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts on WAGA-TV, the CBS affiliate in Atlanta. He’s a native of Lakeland, Fla., and has extensive experience in radio and TV news, said CBS spokeswoman Iris Raylesberg.

He received an Emmy for news performance in 1982 and captured a Peabody Award for a documentary called “Georgia’s Greatest Treasure,” about an island off the Peach State’s coast.

The network brass was pleased with Sawyer’s evening news performance, Raylesberg said.

“Within the network, everybody is very, very pleased,” she said. “Everybody thinks he did a great job.”

However, on Thursday night the network said it would use a newscaster in a cast: Mike Wallace, who broke his left wrist in a tennis accident Aug. 10 on Martha’s Vineyard. But shouldn’t Wallace be on the disabled list?

“A cast on his left wrist may prevent him from playing tennis, but it won’t prevent him from anchoring the evening news,” Raylesberg said.

Why didn’t they call on Sawyer for a repeat performance Thursday?

“He’s very tired and deserves a good rest,” Raylesberg said, adding that he had been awake since before 3 a.m. Wednesday and stayed up to do the evening news.

Sawyer also is said to be in the running for the co-anchor slot on the “CBS Morning News” recently vacated by Bill Kurtis.

Asked whether his work Wednesday night would have any effect on Sawyer’s chances for that job, Raylesberg said, “One thing has nothing to do with the other.

“It’s not as if there is a list of candidates,” she added. “But I can tell you that Wayne Rogers is not in the running.”