Morale Soars Under New 'Early Show' Boss

I admit it: I was a little skeptical that Shelley Ross -- the Early Show executive producer who left the program earlier this month under the imminent threat of an all-out staff mutiny -- could really have been as bad as press reports fueled by her disgruntled underlings made her out to be. (The Los Angeles Times describes her as "the TV news version of Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.")

But whether it was perception or reality, a CBS News insider insists that the atmosphere at the show has totally changed since Shelley disappeared and was replaced, on an interim basis, with Evening News EP Rick Kaplan.

"Morale is so much better already," says the insider. "You can feel it. People are alive again. It's really remarkable."

So much so that there's talk of some of the many staffers who quit under Ross -- the New York Post says it was 21 in all -- returning to the show or withdrawing their resignations. A CBS News spokeswoman declined to comment on whether any have done so already.