Maggie Rodriguez Taking Over Early Show
December 5, 2007

Maggie Rodriguez is taking over CBS's The Early Show less than a week after the network announced that Hannah Storm was leaving the morning talk show. E! reports that the 37-year-old Miami native will join Julie Chen and Harry Smith and weatherman Dave Price on January 7th and be a daily part of the show. Rodriguez told E!, "This is my dream job. I get to utilize the journalist skills I've developed over the past 15 years and have fun at the same time with feature segments. To do that with a group of people I like and respect as much as The Early Show team, who’ve made me feel welcome from day one, is wonderful."

Maggie Rodriguez has been hosting the Saturday Early Show since June and has also reported for the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and even anchored the Evening News on some weekend newscasts.

Senior Executive Producer Shelley Ross told E!, "Maggie is a terrific addition to The Early Show with so much experience in live anchoring. In the time she’s been working with our Early Show team, we’ve come to both respect her as a journalist and really enjoy her as a colleague."

Maggie Rodriguez really has climbed the CBS ranks quickly, joining only this year from the Miami CBS affiliate, WFOR-TV, where she was the 5pm and 11pm anchor for seven years. Before that, she anchored midday news and a weekend news magazine for KABC-TV in Los Angeles. CBS News president Sean McManus said in a statement, "Her tenacity as a journalist and her authenticity and warmth will serve Maggie and CBS News very well. As we look to the future-including our switch to a full national format on Jan. 7-I’m pleased that she, Harry, Julie, Russ and Dave will be in charge of the 'morning shift' at CBS News."

The addition of Rodriguez is another attempt to shake up a show that comes in third behind NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America. Hannah Storm is still with CBS and is in talks to do something else at the network, saying, "[I have] loved every minute of my five years at The Early Show, teaming up from the start with some of the best in the business. I am proud of my work at CBS News. We are in discussions regarding future opportunities across CBS."