Not all news insiders believe Katie Couric's disastrous stint as anchor for the CBS Evening News has anything to do with sexism or people having a thing against Couric. Steve Adubato of MSNBC simply believes Couric was the wrong person for the job. He tries to sweeten the criticism by making sure he compliments Couric on her strengths:
While I respect Katie Couric tremendously as a broadcaster who has had an impressive career doing personal profiles and engaging interviews, this CBS experiment was a really long shot right from the beginning. Simply put, Katie Couric is not a great news anchor or an even particularly good news anchor, at least not a network evening news anchor. That's not a crime. A lot of great football players can't play baseball or basketball, but they are still great athletes. That's how different Katie Couric's job on "The Today Show” was from what she was expected to do for CBS News.
Adubato goes on to list some of the bad ideas incorporated into the newscast: the "Free Speech" segment and asking viewers to send their ideas as to how the newscast should be closed each night.
According to Adubato, it's not about a "We Hate Katie Couric" thing, it's about Couric simply not fitting in.
I just never saw Katie in this role, and obviously I am not alone. The job never fit her skill set.
He ends by suggesting she stop dragging out the inevitable and just accept that this isn't working out. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for Couric and her bosses at CBS to take his timely advice.
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"Simply put, Katie Couri
July 12, 2007 - 10:53 ET by Rackie"Simply put, Katie Couric is not a great news anchor..." Duh? What was your first clue Steve?
Is Katie Couric brought to us
July 12, 2007 - 13:43 ET by Hero SquadIs Katie Couric brought to us by the people who thought Chevy Chase would make a good talk show host?
*****
"I'm sorry, you must have mistaken me for a clown that gives a damn!" - Sticky the Clown
Good point, Hero Squad.
July 13, 2007 - 12:24 ET by GalvanicGood point, Hero Squad.
Oh, but it is sexist and &quo
July 12, 2007 - 10:58 ET by BeowulfOh, but it is sexist and "having a thing" against little Katie - SHE SUCKS! She is an uninformed, race-baiting, biased, elitist, hypocrite who has tried to deflect her own incompetance with blaming it all on gender.
The Closed Mind Erects Strong Barriers
WTF!? Katie is still on? C
July 12, 2007 - 11:03 ET by MightyMouthWTF!? Katie is still on? CBS has WAY too much money to waste!
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
I don't see how anyone can sa
July 12, 2007 - 11:36 ET by BruzillaI don't see how anyone can say Couric is not a good news anchor. I'm not trying to be insultive, but honestly... being a news anchor is not exactly a very challenging position. You sit in a chair, read from a teleprompter, and announce pauses for commercials. You don't have to blow glass, shoot three-pointers, deal with rude customers, be on your feet all day, etc. The skills required are pretty few... look good on camera and read. Talk about something so easy a caveman could do... provided he can read English. What is a bad news anchor? Someone who can't read? Falls asleep or picks their nose in front of the camera? Storms off the set when they get mad? I don't see Couric doing any of these, so I think she has to be a good news anchor.
Where Couric gets into trouble is in addition to reporting the news, she also wants to select what stories get covered and the angle the coverage takes. She puts her bias into every newscast, and viewers pick it up from her just like they picked it up from Rather... why is why both of them are/were dead-assed last in the ratings.
Good points. Calling her a
July 12, 2007 - 12:42 ET by mattmGood points. Calling her a bad news anchor is just an excuse for dwindling ratings, which are the result of other factors...bias is one of them...
Change the name
July 12, 2007 - 12:45 ET by dagdaShe is a "news reader" nothing more nothing less
Our real problem, then, is not our strength today; it is rather the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow. Dwight Eisenhower
Yep. It was Dan Rather who
July 13, 2007 - 12:26 ET by GalvanicYep. It was Dan Rather who drove CBS News' ratings from #1 to #3, but he got out in time and Couric will be credtied with the defeat of CBS News.
I think tone also plays a rol
July 12, 2007 - 13:50 ET by Hero SquadI think tone also plays a role in her demise. Successful news anchors have a serious air about them so that when they cover the hard news of the day, it is given the proper gravity. Katie has a fluff factor that she simply can't shake because that's who she is. If she tries to play off serious it doesn't come across as genuine -- sort of like Weird Al trying to perform a straight cover of a song instead of what he is best known for, a parody. Sure he can do it, but who would care?
*****
"I'm sorry, you must have mistaken me for a clown that gives a damn!" - Sticky the Clown
I wouldn't say you're wrong a
July 12, 2007 - 14:46 ET by BruzillaI wouldn't say you're wrong about that, but compare Peter Jennings to Dan Rather. Rather always looked and sounded as serious and brusque as possible, while Jennings always seemed to have a much lighter tone and tenor, both in his voice and in the way he led into stories. Rather would start a story with "Big trouble for Republicans tonight as such and such happened on the Hill today. Joe Reporter has more", where Jennings would say "tonight, we look at events on the Hill that have some Republicans concerned. For more on this we go to Joe Reporter who's been talking to Republicans all day. Joe what's happening out there?"
Rather was all business, Jennings wasn't, yet Jennings slaughtered Rather in the ratings.
Well...the Perky One is stayi
July 12, 2007 - 15:58 ET by bigtimerWell...the Perky One is staying put according to her boss...and contract.
I find that funnier than all get out myself...decisions.... decision...decisions.