Rene Syler, one of four anchors on CBS's Early Show, will leave the show at the end of the year. Syler is leaving the third-place morning show Dec. 22 to "pursue other media opportunities," including publishing a book, according to CBS.
Syler has been an Early Show anchor since Oct. 2002, when the show took on a
multi-anchor format
. Syler, hailing from the CBS-owned station in Dallas, was the least known of the team, which also included national personalities Harry Smith, Julie Chen and Hannah Storm. Her contributions have included interviews with Laura Bush, Jimmy Carter, Colin Powell and many other politicians and celebrities.
These days, the CBS morning show ranks as a distant third to NBC's Today show and ABC's Good Morning America. For example, the week of November 13, Today averaged 5.74 million viewers, GMA averaged 5.41 million and The Early Show averaged 2.84 million, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Prior to her work in Dallas, Syler was a weekend anchor in Birmingham, Ala. and Reno, Nev. and a weekend reporter in Reno. Her book, Good Enough Mother, is scheduled to be published in March.
Syler's departure is the first in what is expected to be a series of changes CBS will make to The Early Show. CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus has said the show was next on his list of priorities after re-launching The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
CBS has not yet determined whether the The Early Show will keep a four-anchor format and replace Syler or air with the three remaining anchors.
