CBS' Battle of the Races

Is this what the Tiffany Network has come to?

I think the self-proclaimed compassionate, tolerant, sophisticated, elite liberals at CBS, the ones willing to lie to get John Kerry elected, have truly lost it.

What does CBS have to offer viewers this fall?

Some pretty weird stuff.

The network is allowing Katie Couric to use Oprah's show as a model to revamp the CBS Evening News.

That's not really that much of a stretch. CBS News, with Dan Rather at the helm, had some very strange moments. For years, CBS has been the oddest newscast, thanks to Rather's eccentricities.

Will Couric be able to top Rather's bizarre sign-off line, "Courage"?

Obviously, the network is desperate for ratings. The Couric news era proves that.

But anything that she does will be nothing compared to the latest hook for the new season of Survivor. It really, REALLY pushes the envelope.

The competitors will be placed into tribes based on race.

NEW YORK (AP) -- As CBS prepares to launch a new season of the hit reality show "Survivor," this time featuring teams divided by race, enraged city officials are saying it promotes divisiveness and are calling for the network to reconsider.

"The idea of having a battle of the races is preposterous," City Councilman John Liu said Thursday. "How could anybody be so desperate for ratings?"

For the first portion of the 13th season of "Survivor," which premieres Sept. 14, the contestants competing for the $1 million prize while stranded on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific will be divided into four teams - blacks, Asians, Latinos and whites.

Liu, who is Asian-American, said he was launching a campaign urging CBS to pull the show because it could encourage racial division and promote negative typecasts. He and a coalition of officials, including the council's black, Latino and Asian caucus, planned to rally at City Hall on Friday.

I completely agree with Liu. Teams based on race is preposterous.

In a statement, CBS Entertainment, which is part of New York-based CBS Corp. (CBS), defended the ethnic twist, saying it follows the show's tradition of introducing new creative elements and casting structures that reflect cultural and social issues.

"CBS fully recognizes the controversial nature of this format but has full confidence in the producers and their ability to produce the program in a responsible manner," the statement said. "'Survivor' is a program that is no stranger to controversy and has always answered its critics on the screen."

Last season, the show divided contestants into groups of older men, younger men, older women and younger women.

The show's host, Jeff Probst, said the network was aware this season's race ploy might offend viewers.

"It's very risky because you're bringing up a topic that is a hot button," he told asap, The Associated Press service for younger readers. "There's a history of segregation you can't ignore. It is part of our history.

So Survivor is supposed to remind us that segregation was a part of our history?

How lame!

If CBS was interested in being true to history, then why not have teams where the whites have black slaves?

That would be shockingly offensive. It would be unthinkable.

Survivors' producers are seeking controversy to get ratings, to add interest to a stale show. Obviously, CBS lacks standards of decency. Money is the bottom line.

The Survivor battle of the races is a disgusting step backwards.

So many have suffered and fought to eliminate racial divisions and now this reality show is recreating them.

Did Jackie Robinson break the color barrier nearly 60 years ago so teams could be racially segregated in 2006?

In effect, CBS is establishing black, Asian, Latino, and white leagues to go head to head in a competition. It's outrageous.

How did CBS determine which racial/ethnic groups would be eligible?

Why exclude Native Americans or Arabs?

The whole thing is insane.

Next season (if there is a next season), will CBS put together teams based on religion?

The Catholics v. the Muslims v. the Jews v. the Buddhists -- Would that be a ratings winner?

"For that, it's much safer to say, 'No, let's just stick with things the way they are. Let's don't be the network to rock the boat. Let's not have "Survivor" try something new,'" he said. "But the biases from home can't affect you. This is an equal opportunity game."

This isn't about rocking the boat or trying something new.

It's about regressing to an ugly time in our history.

"An equal opportunity game" wouldn't need to exploit categories like race and ethnicity.

The content is totally inappropriate and really disgraceful.

I wish I could say that I'm refusing to watch the show this season because I think the racially divided teams angle is a cheap stunt. That factor won't affect my viewing habits because I don't watch Survivor anyway.

But if I had planned to watch the new season, I wouldn't.

I hope one of Couric's first stories is on how divisive her new network home is. Again, I won't be watching.