Early Bird Shelley Ross Fired From Show

• Mar 8, 2008 04:04 AM ET
• by TV Guide News

After just six months as Early Show's senior executive producer, Shelley Ross, has been dropped by CBS. Having turned around ABC's Good Morning America, things didn't fare as well at the Eye. Ross quickly became a controversial figure, seeing a rumored 21 staff departures, internal strife and general unhappiness all around. Her last day was March 6.

Rick Kaplan, exec producer of the CBS Evening News, will take over temporarily, although his focus will shift to the morning program, including its 3:15 a.m. wake-up time. He told the Reporter, "[The Early Show's] built up some great momentum. Nobody wants the show to slow down or lose the energy that it's built up."

Ross joined the show in the wake of another executive shake-up, so where this latest move will take the show will likely reveal itself in the early mornings to come. - Anna Dimond