CBS won't drop solo anchor

Despite speculation that CBS might try a multiple-anchor format, network news president Andrew Heyward said yesterday that the evening newscast will revolve around interim anchor Bob Schieffer for the foreseeable future.

In a Globe interview, Heyward said that CBS chairman Leslie Moonves ''threw [the multiple-anchor concept] out as an idea, one of several different approaches that were worthy of considering. Part of Leslie's job is to be an agent provocateur, and he's very good at that." But Heyward dismissed the idea of using anchors behind desks in different cities.

''I'm intrigued by an ensemble of reporters with more of an emphasis on reporting from the field," said Heyward, who was in Boston yesterday to speak at Harvard. The plan, he added, is to use Schieffer ''as the center of gravity that allows us to highlight the roles of the reporters around him."

The 68-year-old Schieffer, who replaced Dan Rather as ''The CBS Evening News" anchor last month, has won praise for a conversational style and his habit of quizzing correspondents during unscripted on-air exchanges. Asked about Schieffer's positive reviews, Heyward said: ''I was initially surprised by how much buzz it generated . . . Because it suits Bob's personality so well, it feels comfortable, natural, and authentic."

''My boss has said it's time to get away from the anchor being 'the voice of God,' and I agree," he continued. ''With Bob, you get the sense he's learning along with you. That's a sea change."

While enjoying his new job, Schieffer told the Globe last week he plans to retire at age 70. ''We haven't had any discussion with Bob about the long term," Heyward said yesterday.

Rather left the anchor desk under a shadow -- the flawed ''60 Minutes Wednesday" story on President Bush's military record that aired last September and cost four CBS staffers their jobs. Heyward said he feels bad that the anchor's reputation became so intertwined with that broadcast.

''Dan has a splendid legacy, and I hope that '60 Minutes Wednesday' plays a small, maybe over time negligible, part of it," he said. ''Dan got caught up in a very polarized time in the country."

Heyward was also critical of some of Rather's colleagues -- ex-anchor Walter Cronkite, ''60 Minutes" correspondent Mike Wallace, and ''60 Minutes" creator Don Hewitt -- who made unflattering comments about Rather in a story in The New Yorker. ''I was very disappointed,' " he said. ''Those remarks were churlish and inappropriate."

Heyward said that after the ''horrible experience" of the ''60 Minutes Wednesday" controversy, the healing process has begun at the network. ''I think that there's so much good work going on, and as the clouds lift, people are able to see it," he said.

He dismissed the notion, advanced by some commentators, that ''The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart should be part of a dramatically reshaped nightly newscast.

''He plays a terrific role as a satirist, as a perspective provider, and sometimes as a truth-teller," said Heyward, who watches Stewart's Comedy Central show. ''He will never be [an] anchor of the newscast that I can imagine."

'Will & Grace' cast

agrees to contract

NBC and the producers and cast of ''Will & Grace" have agreed on a deal for an eighth and probably final season of the Emmy-winning comedy series. Sources said the show's four key cast members -- Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes, and Megan Mullally -- secured significant salary bumps in the one-year deals that were hammered out late Friday. Each of the actors will pocket between $13 million and $15 million, or about $600,000 per episode, compared with fees estimated at $400,000 per episode this season.

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Globe on NECN

Here's what's happening on ''Around the Globe" today on NECN:

9:30 a.m.: ''Talk of New England" -- Technology writer Hiawatha Bray on the future of WiFi.

12:30 p.m.: ''Globe at Home" -- Living/Arts writer Bella English and Chris Campbell, owner of Boston restaurant Troquet, offer a lesson about Bordeaux wine.

6:30 p.m.: ''New England Business Day"

8:30 p.m.: ''NewsNight"

Schedule is subject to change.

On Boston.com

Noon: The Globe's Nick Cafardo chats about the NFL draft.

Radio highlights

9 a.m. WCRB-FM (102.5) -- Mozart's Piano concerto No. 18; Schumann's ''Scenes From Childhood"; Handel's Concerto No. 9 in F.

Noon WUMB-FM (91.9) -- ''Live at Noon." Guest: Heather Waters, bluegrass vocalist.