Jon Stewart to CBS Evening News?

Okay, that's a gotcha headline, definitely. The idea of Stewart crossing over to a corporate sister is something that has been bandied about a lot since Dan Rather stepped down, and I have nothing new to offer on that score. But, this article in Forbes by David Andelman mentioned it as part of a slightly tongue-in-cheek list of media predictions for 2006.

CBS News will move The Daily Show over from Comedy Central, and anchor Jon Stewart will replace an aging Bob Schieffer in a last, desperate effort to attract the young viewers that advertisers so lust after and increasingly fail to find on the networks' news programming.

On the face of it, I don't think this is likely at all. First of all, Stewart is not news, and his demographic doesn't start watching television until later on in the evening. The network may not have a hit on its hands, but I'm sure the status quo makes money. I think it's too big a risk to move Stewart to broadcast television, because his act would largely have to change.

Besides, I don't believe the show is as good any more since The Colbert Report began. Colbert always had the best lines on the Daily Show, and his absence has created a huge void for the parent show. I'm confident the Daily Show will find its stride again, but it won't be on CBS.