CBS News Unveils the Next Generation of CBSNews.com

* Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.

Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:16am EDT

Redesign Sponsored by Sprint, BluePhone and Gateway
 
Redesign Makes it Easier Than Ever to Access Breaking News and Video from CBS
News

New Look and Feel, Plus More Original and Exclusive Content from CBS News,
Columnists and Content Partners, Including:

WASHINGTON UNPLUGGED Web Series with Bob Schieffer Moving to Daily Format
and Introducing 48 HOURS CRIMESIDER Blog from 48 HOURS MYSTERY 

NEW YORK, June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- CBS News today unveiled the next generation
of CBSNews.com (www.cbsnews.com), a dramatic redesign of its web site that
lets readers dig deeper into the stories that impact the world with 24-hour
access to news, videos and photos.  The new CBSNews.com offers a completely
new look and feel, more original and exclusive content from CBS News,
columnists and content partners, enhanced destinations for each of its
award-winning news programs, and access to live coverage of breaking news and
special events.

The CBSNews.com redesign is sponsored by advertisers including Sprint,
BluePhone and GateWay. Sponsors will have the opportunity to reach the
high-profile CBSNews.com audience through integrated advertising units
including branded resource centers and immersive video environments.

The redesign builds on CBSNews.com's recent success bringing original content
and breaking news to CBS News' audiences, adding depth to on-air news
broadcasts.  This includes the highly successful Webcasts during Election and
Campaign '08 hosted by Katie Couric, Anchor and Managing Editor of the CBS
EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC.  Couric is widely acknowledged for her
blogging, her candid FlipCam videos and her active presence on social media
web sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.  The redesign offers fans and
followers new opportunities to interact with Couric and her Web content.

"The new design and platform looks to capitalize on the legacy and strengths
of the CBS News' brands, while leveraging the web's ability to help us
dramatically expand our coverage, showcase our strength in video, and drive
greater engagement with our audience," said Joe Gillespie, Executive Vice
President, CBS Interactive Technology & News.  "The goal was to build and
design a site that clearly identifies the most important breaking news and
highlights each of CBS News programs' unique tones and personalities, all in a
framework that is easy to navigate and always in the moment."

"CBS News has always been a leader in innovating electronic journalism. This
redesign makes exclusive new content available and makes all our content more
accessible than ever," said Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports. 
"Working together with CBS News broadcast television and radio, CBSNews.com
will be a 24-hour pipeline for CBS News' content to reach millions of people,
anywhere, anytime."

"We are excited to be a part of this momentous occasion.  CBSNews.com, with
its engaged and informed audience, offers a terrific platform for us to
introduce the BluePhone service and our 24/7 Hotline to Personal Tech Experts
to the marketplace," said Allen Nieman, Vice President of Marketing,
BluePhone.

The CBSNews.com home page now features a visual carousel of the day's top
stories, with the latest, most significant and most popular headlines
prominently featured.  From the home page, users can easily access the site's
original content, including:


    --  Breaking News: Featuring news stories from CBSNews.com's editorial
        staff led by Editor-in-chief Dan Farber, the site also includes
stories
        from CBS News producers and editors, CBS Radio, as well as content
        partners like Politico, CBS MoneyWatch, Washington Post and WebMD.



    --  Original Web Series:
        --  Beginning this week, WASHINGTON UNPLUGGED
            (www.cbsnews.com/washingtonunplugged) moved from a weekly to a
daily
            format.  Hosted by Bob Schieffer, CBS News Chief Washington
            Correspondent and Moderator of FACE THE NATION, WASHINGTON
UNPLUGGED
            is a hard-hitting, topical, political forum with exclusive
newsmaker
            interviews and roundtable discussions every day at 12:30 p.m.
            Eastern Time. Launched in February as a 15-minute weekly series,
            loyal fans have made this a hugely popular online political
            destination.
        --  Debuting this summer, THE TOMORROW SHOW, hosted by CBS News
            Contributor Mo Rocca, will be a fun, interactive discussion about
            what the future has in store, and the possibilities on the horizon
-
            from the probable to the possible to the strange and inventive.
            Launching in early August, Mo Rocca and his guests will discuss
            technology, food, pop culture, the environment and more. Guests
will
            include the super smart - and sometimes bizarre - minds of the
            people who think about this stuff - scientists, authors, bloggers,
            futurists and the audience.


        --  Also coming this summer is IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH, hosted by
CBS
            News medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton.  The live weekly
            show will cover a variety of topical subjects in medicine,
            highlighting Dr. Ashton's specialization in women's
            health. Featuring experts and a variety of guests, the show will
            explore general health issues focusing on how they relate to
women,
            including discussions on everything from exercise at every age to
            stress-fighting foods.




    --  Blogs: Launched today, 48 HOURS CRIMESIDER (www.crimesider.com) is a
        provocative new blog from visionary executive producer Susan Zirinsky,
        which builds on the enormous popularity of 48 HOURS MYSTERY, the
        highest-rated true-crime program on television.  CRIMESIDER will be
the
        premium online destination for true-crime fans delivering original,
        exclusive content covering the most riveting crime stories of the day
        with rapidly updated news, images, audio and video streaming.
CRIMESIDER
        users will also be able to enter the highly interactive conversation
        with comments, webcams and social networking elements.




In addition, CBSNews.com users will find a variety of issue-oriented blogs
offering the latest buzz on the topics that interest them most. CBSNews.com's
expanding roster of blogs includes: Political Hotsheet, WorldWatch, EconWatch,
CourtWatch and RightsWatch.

The redesign also includes a new look and feel for each of the CBS News
programs that reflects the unique feel of the show, including CBS EVENING NEWS
WITH KATIE COURIC, 60 MINUTES, FACE THE NATION, THE EARLY SHOW, 48 HOURS
MYSTERY and SUNDAY MORNING.  For example, the 60 MINUTES site
(www.60minutes.com) will highlight the show's exclusive and historic segments
such as interviews with Captain Sully and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke.   In addition, through CBSNews.com's "Live Feed," users will
continue to have access to CBS News' live coverage of breaking news and
events.  The Live Feed will also be distributed to CBS Owned & Operated
stations, affiliates and via UStream.

As part of the new CBSNews.com, BlackBerry users can also take CBSNews.com
with them wherever they go through a new mobile application. Through the
application, users will have full access to the latest breaking news and
developing stories from CBS News and CBSNews.com - making CBSNews.com truly
available anytime, anywhere.  The application is available at:
http://blackberry.cbsnews.com from your BlackBerry.  CBSNews.com will also
launch an iPhone app this summer for iPhone and iPod Touch users.

About CBS News
CBS News is the news and information arm of CBS Corporation, dedicated to
providing the best in journalism under standards it pioneered at the dawn of
radio and television and continues to set in today's digital age.
Headquartered in New York, CBS News includes bureaus across the globe and
influential, critically acclaimed programs providing newsmaking features and
interviews, investigative reports, analysis and breaking news 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, utilizing a multi-platform model for news distribution
across television (CBS Television Network), radio (CBS Radio Network), the
Internet (CBSNews.com) and hand-held devices (CBS Mobile). CBS News'
multiple-award-winning programs include its flagship daily news program THE
CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC, #1 news magazine 60 MINUTES, fastest
growing network morning program THE EARLY SHOW, top-rated true-crime magazine
show 48 HOURS MYSTERY, newsmaking Washington public-affairs show FACE THE
NATION and #1 Sunday morning program SUNDAY MORNING.   Other CBS News
originals range from CBS Radio's WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP, broadcasting's longest
running program, to CBSNews.com's innovative new webcasts and blogs, available
at www.cbsnews.com.

About CBS Interactive
CBS Interactive, a division of CBS Corporation, is the best online content
network for information and entertainment.  With more than 200 million people
visiting its properties each month, it is the 8th largest Web property
globally and the 5th largest Web property in the U.S. in terms of unique video
viewers. Its portfolio of leading brands, which include CNET, CBS.com,
CBSSports.com, GameSpot, TV.com, BNET and Last.fm, span popular categories
like technology, entertainment, sports, news and business.



SOURCE  CBS Interactive; CBS News

Sarah Cain, CBSNews.com/CBS Interactive, +1-415-344-2218, sarah.cain@cbs.com;
Sonya McNair, CBS News, +1-212-975-2888, mcnairs@cbsnews.com
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