CBS ‘Early Show’ debuts new format

CBS debuted its new team of four anchors on “The Early Show” Monday in its latest effort to compete with more dominant morning rivals. Harry Smith, Hannah Storm, Julie Chen and Rene Syler presided over a typical morning mix of news and makeovers.

Smith is an old hand, with nine years as host of an earlier CBS morning show incarnation. Chen is a holdover from the Bryant Gumbel days, Storm comes from NBC Sports and Syler from local news in Texas.

The four-person team, replacing Gumbel and Jane Clayson, is an attempt to add a new wrinkle to the morning formula. Each took turns reading the news and conducting inter- views.