ANDY ROONEY TAKES AIM AT CBS

Andy Rooney, resident pundit on “60 Minutes,” has aimed his barbs at his own organization over the handling of recent news staff cuts and changes on the “CBS Morning News.”

In a syndicated newspaper column published by 300 newspapers this week, Rooney wrote: “CBS, which used to stand for the Columbia Broadcasting System, no longer stands for anything. They’re just corporate initials now.”

In an interview Wednesday, Rooney explained why he took the unusual action of publicly criticizing his company.

“I am nervous having done it, but I felt it had to be done,” he said. “CBS is important to me. I like CBS, I’m proud of it and I’m saddened by its decline. . . . It’s my company. I don’t care who owns the stock. I’ve worked here since 1949. I don’t like to see this happening to news in general and CBS in particular. It all makes me more sad than angry.”

In his newspaper column, Rooney lamented the loss of news colleagues (more than 200 news division staffers have been released since 1985) and the recent announcement that the “Morning News” will be removed from news division control in January.

Van Gordon Sauter, president of CBS News, declined to comment on Rooney’s newspaper column.

In a related development, 16 staffers were dismissed from CBS News’ late-night program, “Nightwatch,” in the latest round of budget cuts. Since its introduction in 1982, the Washington-based program has gone from a live, four-anchor news show with a staff of 100 to a taped single-anchor interview show with a staff of 21. The cuts included positions ranging from producers to news clerks.