FIRST OFF . . .

CBS’s Dallas-based correspondent Harry Smith Monday was named co-anchor of the newly named “CBS This Morning.” The appointment and the new name came just two weeks before the debut of the latest incarnation of the network’s long-suffering morning show. Smith, a reporter-anchor for CBS’ Denver affiliate before joining CBS News in 1986, will join Kathleen Sullivan in a team that the network hopes will reverse its morning rating woes. Smith hosted a public-television talk show in Denver before joining the city’s CBS affiliate in 1982. The new CBS morning show premieres Nov. 30.