‘Impending doom’ is the mood at CBS.

Never in his 24 years at CBS News, says 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft, has there been so little information at a time of such high anxiety and drama. “It’s a company full of reporters, of nosy busybodies, but this is one case in which I don’t think anybody has a handle on what’s going to happen,” he says. “What’s been going on is very closely held. There’s a lot of uncertainty.”

Says Kroft’s boss, Jeff Fager: “People are looking forward to it being finished. It hovers over the organization.”

They are referring, of course, to the mood around CBS News as an independent panel prepares to release its findings on the circumstances surrounding Dan Rather’s controversial “Memogate” piece on the Wednesday edition of 60 Minutes this fall that questioned President Bush’s National Guard service.

The findings, which are due in days, could result in some longtime CBS News veterans such as Rather, his producers and CBS News higher ups being sanctioned or even fired. CBS chief Leslie Moonves said last week that although he has not yet seen the report, he expects Rather to continue reporting for 60 Minutes. But the fate of many others is less certain, and it weighs heavily at CBS News.

“There are so many people involved whom I consider my friends,” says Kroft, who with Fager works on the Sunday 60 Minutes. “All of them are great journalists, and it’s very hard to see them go through this process. They’re in these jobs because they’re very good.”