Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Katie Couric Jumps To CBS
I had planned to post a prediction that Katie Couric would accept CBS's offer to anchor the evening news. Once heir apparent John Roberts moved to CNN, it seemed the writing was on the wall. Couric beat me to the punch by announcing this morning that she is indeed making the move to CBS.
Couric rose to prominence during a tour of the White House at its 200th birthday with Barbara Bush. During the tour, President George H.W. Bush dropped in for what he thought would be a good photo op. Instead, Couric peppered him with questions that caught the him off guard. For her ambush of President Bush, Couric accrued a certain gravitas that seemed undeserved to me.
The CBS anchor seat has been held by Bob Schieffer on an interim basis for over a year now. Schieffer, the last link to the once great CBS news organization, is a serious news man who helped restore the credibility of the anchor spot and network in the wake of Dan Rather's meltdown. During the last 15 months when all three major evening newscasts changed anchors, CBS is the only one to enjoy a ratings increase.
Replacing Schieffer with Couric is a very risky proposition for CBS. Schieffer has righted the CBS ship with his blend of reporting and pragmatism, with a dash of appropriate humor. I am unconvinced that Couric will be credible reporting and delivering hard news, and I suspect CBS will look back at this hire as another blunder for the network.
Couric rose to prominence during a tour of the White House at its 200th birthday with Barbara Bush. During the tour, President George H.W. Bush dropped in for what he thought would be a good photo op. Instead, Couric peppered him with questions that caught the him off guard. For her ambush of President Bush, Couric accrued a certain gravitas that seemed undeserved to me.
The CBS anchor seat has been held by Bob Schieffer on an interim basis for over a year now. Schieffer, the last link to the once great CBS news organization, is a serious news man who helped restore the credibility of the anchor spot and network in the wake of Dan Rather's meltdown. During the last 15 months when all three major evening newscasts changed anchors, CBS is the only one to enjoy a ratings increase.
Replacing Schieffer with Couric is a very risky proposition for CBS. Schieffer has righted the CBS ship with his blend of reporting and pragmatism, with a dash of appropriate humor. I am unconvinced that Couric will be credible reporting and delivering hard news, and I suspect CBS will look back at this hire as another blunder for the network.
