HARD-driving television producer Shelley Ross, who’s known for her volcanic temper and her 16-hour workdays, is shaking up CBS’s “The Early Show.”
Since Ross was named senior executive producer in September, eight staffers are said to have left the show, having either quit the network entirely or transferred to other jobs at CBS.
“The screaming, the 3 a.m. phone calls, it’s all happening. Shelley’s working with a much thinner staff than she’s used to. She’s driving the production staff crazy,” said one insider. A different source told Page Six: “The staff there has an over/under pool on how long she’ll last. It’s about eight months. One CBS executive said, ‘I don’t want to breathe the same air she does.’ ”
Ross was executive producer at ABC’s “Good Morning America” and did a great job boosting the ratings there before she was let go in 2004, having made some enemies with her tyrannical management style.
“She’s very talented, very intense, and she’s independent, because she’s got a rich husband,” said one source.
Last month, when California was beset by wildfires, Ross allegedly got into a dispute with Rick Kaplan, executive producer of the “CBS Evening News With Katie Couric,” over a $50,000 airplane charter. Ross wanted to fly a female fire victim from LA to NY, but the woman couldn’t travel. “So CBS was stuck with no guest and a $50,000 charter sitting on a runway,” said one source.
“News execs flipped out even more when Shelley tried to stick the ‘Evening News’ with the bill, claiming that Katie had stolen her guest.”
According to several sources, Ross had “a full-on meltdown. She went ballistic.”
An “Early Show” spokeswoman denied there was a dispute over the plane: “The CBS News charter on Oct. 24 was booked and paid for by the ‘CBS Evening News’ for the purpose of getting the broadcast’s staff that had been covering the California wildfires back to New York in plenty of time for the next night’s broadcast. ‘The Early Show’ played no role whatsoever in that process.”
And CBS says it’s pleased with Ross’ performance. “Since September, ‘The Early Show’ has already begun to improve its demos,” the rep said, meaning the younger, affluent viewers advertisers want to reach. Asked about the eight reported staff departures, she said, “I know three have left.”