On this day in 1999, CBS revamped its morning show lineup to present a new show, more like NBC’s Today, that mixed hard news with softer feature stories and segments.
The primary host of The Early Show was Bryant Gumbel, a long-time veteran of Today, paired with relative newcomer Jane Clayson. Doing weather duties was Mark McEwen, and the news desk anchor was Julie Chen, who eventually ascended to co-host status herself, as well as hosting CBS’s prime-time reality series, Big Brother.
The Early Show ran until January 2012, hosted by a succession of morning teams, and at that point was replaced by CBS This Morning, co-anchored by Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell.