CBS, Katie Couric Seek New Direction
When CBS President Les Moonves hired Katie Couric away from NBC’s Good Morning America to anchor the CBS Evening News, some saw it as a daring experiment in gender equality, others as a foolish attempt to transform a morning personality into a serious journalist.
With CBS trailing ABC and NBC in the critical evening news ratings, Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz believes that Couric will be out of the anchor chair within the year. Couric’s broadcast has been attracting around six million viewers (and falling) compared to a steady or growing eight to nine million for ABC’s Charles Gibson and NBC’s Brian Williams.
The television industry grapevine is trembling with rumors about Couric’s future and her potential successor.
Couric is signalling that she’d prefer a return to the kind of interview-oriented, personality-driven programming that made her a morning news superstar at NBC. “It’s really hard to show that side of my personality on the evening news, and that’s a frustration for me,” she told Kurtz.
With a $75 million dollar contract that began in September of 2006 at stake, CBS is unlikely to let Couric go despite conjecture that she could move to CNN to replace Larry King. The most likely scenarios: Couric moving to 60 Minutes, returning to morning news on CBS’s Early Show, or starting over with a syndicated talk show.
Wherever Couric is headed, the flurry of news about her departure from the CBS Evening News is probably a self-fulfilling prophecy. She’s unlikely to last beyond the November election and may be out as early as this June.
April 14, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I feel that people just arent giving Katie Couric as great of a chance as the other male anchors. “some saw it as a daring experiment in gender equality, others as a foolish attempt to transform a morning personality into a serious journalist.” I believe gender has NOTHING to do with the ratings of a show, but yes Katie isnt known as the serious anchor to deliver news. She is signalling that she’d prefer a return to the kind of interview-oriented, personality-driven programming that made her a morning news superstar at NBC. As she stated above, “It’s really hard to show that side of my personality on the evening news, and that’s a frustration for me”. This is understandable…She is going from one enviroment to a completely different one. Going from a fun, bubbly, personality driven programing to a serious news anchor is a big jump. I would like to know why she was switched to that job in the first place…?
April 14, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I personally do not think that Katie Couric is right for the evening news. She is a woman that is full of life and energy and the evening news does not show that. When she said she was frustrated about the viewers not being able to see her fun side I seconded that opinion. I think that people need to be themselves and Katie Couric feels like the evening news is not allowing her to be who she is. This is nothing against CBS Evening News at all. I think Katie needs to go right back to the TV personality she once was on Good Morning America. The morning shows are more directed towards women and those shows help wake people up. Katie wakes, cheers, and brightens people up. Therefore, she would be much better on Good Morning America.
April 14, 2008 at 5:17 pm
I thought Katie Couric was awesome on The Today Show. I would watch her every morning before going to school. Her personality really shined and she could be herself. She made people want to get up in the morning to watch her. I feel for her when she says she cant show her personality on the evening news. Money doesn’t make people happy… doing what you love and showing how much you love it makes someone happy. She went from one extreme to the other. As far as the gender part of it… i don’t think the ratings have anything to do with her being female. THere could me a male journalist who feels just the same way as Couric does. I agree with Carly when she says Couric would be much better off with a morning show. She makes everyone smile… at least she did for me!
April 14, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Katie Couric, in my opinion, made a huge mistake when she went to CBS’s Evening News because her personality fits more with one-on-one, personal stuff that we got when she was with NBC’s Good Morning America. She is the type of person that would do really well with a talk show (but lord knows that we don’t need another one). I agree with MVanDrunen when they said that Katie was more alive on the Today Show. Her personality just doesn’t fit with the position that she currently has now.
April 15, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Katie Couric shouldn’t have ever left the Today Show. Her personality and high energy always brightened my morning and I am sure many others. She doesn’t fit in well with the evening news because she isn’t the serious type. She needs to be doing something fun and entertaining. I am not surprised that her ratings aren’t as high as the men in the nightly news because most of the viewers are probably men. Just as most of the Today show viewers were probably women. I wouldn’t want to see Charles Gibson or Brian Williams on the Today show just like they dont want to see her on the evening news… it just doesn’t work.