Katie Couric, the co-host of NBC's "Today" morning show for 15 years, announced Wednesday that she has been named the new solo anchor of the CBS Evening News when her contract expires at the end of May. She will be the first woman to solo anchor an evening network news program.
CNN Report.
Speculation has swirled around Couric for months because of the temporary status at CBS of Bob Schieffer, the veteran moved in to replace Dan Rather, who left after a sourcing controversy. Couric will also apparently have a spot on the "60 Minutes" news magazine show.
Couric's departure from NBC opens up a lot for discussion, including her hard-news credentials and the race to be her replacement at "Today." She is known for doing tough interviews on the morning show and also the softer stuff. I wonder if people will immediately see her in the role of evening news anchor at CBS -- enough that they will turn to her instead of Brian Williams at NBC. Even when she did a hard news interview at "Today" or on "Dateline" she approached it with a softer touch. She is no Tim Russert in her questioning -- or even as tough as Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters at ABC. Still, younger viewers may like her approachability and may turn to the network because of her as a known quantity.
The race to replace her at NBC centers around two current "Today" members: weekend host Campbell Brown and news reader Natalie Morales. Brown is by far a tough, hard news person, and I read last week that some people were concerned she would ne too "newsy" for the show. Still, I think she has proven she can do the hard stories and then move right into the cooking segment. I like her. Morales is softer and might be a nice complement to co-host Matt Lauer. She is also far less annoying than Al Roker, who has become so unbearable I can hardly stand his voice. Some reports have also included Meredith Vierra, co-host of ABC's "The View." She has a great TV personality and she was the first woman to have a regular spot on "60 Minutes" -- she has the credentials to slide into that spot, and she would bring a ton of morning experience from "The View." My money is on her if she wants the gig.
The last two years at network news have seen an incredible amount of change starting with the seemingly uneventful departure of Tom Brokaw in December 2004. Who would have known that just 18 months later, Peter Jennings would be dead of lung cancer, Jennings would be replaced by co anchors Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff, and Woodruff would be seriously injured in Iraq and sidelined for months; Dan Rather would be forced out in a semi-scandal and replaced by a Sunday talk veteran, Bob Schieffer, then the queen of morning TV, the "perky" Katie Couric. Brokaw's replacement, Brian Williams, was supposed to be the "new kid on the block" for a while. Instead, he is suddenly the veteran at the evening news desk.
And people wonder why viewers are turning to cable news? Maybe it's for stability.
-- Wenatchee, Wash.
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