...The triumvirate of Rather, Brokaw and ABC's Peter Jennings has ruled network news for more than two decades. Rather dominated ratings after taking over for Cronkite during the 1980s, but he was eclipsed first by Jennings and then by Brokaw. His evening news broadcast generally runs a distant third in the ratings each week....And it only got worse after "Memogate." That's the real message here: CBS pushed Rather out the door in order to rehabilitate Evening News and recapture market share (i.e., advertising dollars).
(Thanks to Captain Ed for the pointer to the CBS press release.)