CBS News Exempts Osgood From No-Commercials Policy

In order to sign Charles Osgood as the successor to Charles Kuralt as host of “Sunday Morning,” CBS News made an exception to a longstanding policy prohibiting correspondents from doing commercials.

Osgood, who will take over for Kuralt this Sunday on CBS, will continue to do commercials on radio for sponsors of “The Osgood Files,” his commentaries that air four times daily on the CBS radio network.

“It certainly is an exception to CBS News policy,” CBS News President Eric Ober acknowledged Monday. “We decided to do it because Charles Osgood was easily our first choice for the job. Charles Osgood is a wonderful writer, as Charles Kuralt is, and he has the strong knowledge of culture and the arts that we felt were critical to ‘Sunday Morning.’ ”

“If I had to give (CBS Radio) up, I would not have been able to do ‘Sunday Morning,’ ” Osgood said in an interview. Osgood, who is said to make $1 million as the “voice” of the CBS radio network, noted that Paul Harvey and other syndicated radio hosts also do commercials along with their commentaries. He said that he did not believe TV viewers would be confused by his roles as newsman and pitchman.

Osgood, 61, a longtime correspondent who has been called the “poet laureate” of CBS for his humorous poems, left CBS News two years ago to join CBS Radio. Although he has continued as a contributor to “CBS This Morning” and “Sunday Morning,” CBS News maintained that he wasn’t in violation of the ban on commercials because he was employed by the radio network, not the news division.

Ober acknowledged that it would be preferable that the host of “Sunday Morning” not do commercials. But he said, “There are some people whose credibility with viewers is very strong. I think Charles is one of those people, and I don’t think his credibility on ‘Sunday Morning’ will be affected” by his work on CBS Radio.

The only current on-air CBS News personality for whom an exception is made is Mark McEwen, the weatherman and entertainment editor of “CBS This Morning.” He reads the promotional copy between prime-time entertainment programs on the CBS-TV network.

In taking over for Kuralt, Osgood said he does not plan major changes in the tone and format of the 15-year-old show.

“I’m not Charlie, but I think that there are some similarities between us that made me seem to some people to be a logical successor to him,” Osgood said.

“Charlie and (former executive producer) Shad Northshield created a program that is like the Sunday newspapers, with sections on the arts and a leisurely pace,” he said. “I think also that, in some ways, there is a kind of Sunday church-going aspect to the show for viewers in the nature pieces at the end of the show. I expect that style to continue.”

As anchor, Osgood said that he may include some of his humorous verse on “Sunday Morning.” But “it won’t be ‘The Osgood Files,’ ” he added. “I’m going to hold the little verses to a minimum.”

He does plan to play the piano--and even his banjo--on occasion, he said.

CBS, meanwhile, is planning a May special about Kuralt, which will include some of his stories over the years along with an interview by “60 Minutes” correspondent Morley Safer.