Has CBS already given up on Katie Couric?
Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer has a lengthy article, written by TV reporter Gail Shister, about the speculation flowing around CBS that the network has already given up on Katie Couric, and will shift her off the CBS Evening News after the 2008 presidential election.Apparently, according to Shister, there's a "growing feeling" around the Eye Network that it was a mistake to insert Couric in the anchor role and that the news division would be better served having her in a different role than anchor of their signature program. "It's a disaster. Everybody knows it's not working. CBS may not cut her loose, but I guarantee you, somebody's thinking about it. We're all hunkered down, waiting for the other shoe to drop," says one of the many anonymous correspondents and staffers that talked to Shister for the article.
Shister also spoke to sources that felt that Couric demanded star treatment from the network, bringing in her own staff and rolling over everyone else's decisions. "She sees herself as a star and thinks the whole news department is here to serve her," said one correspondent, who contrasted her behavior to that of Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather, who acted more like the leaders of a news team than the stars of the show.
Couric's ratings have been in the toilet for most of her run as the Evening News anchor. Industry experts Shister talked to cited the network's decision to soften their approach to the news, inserting more interviews and features like the already defunct "FreeSpeech," at the same moment they introduced Couric. But even the experts thought Couric shouldered most of the blame; they feel her friendly demeanor and informal tone just don't work for the evening news format.
Shister does a good job of getting other views, though; all the CBS executives who went on record seemed adamantly behind their anchor. And Connie Chung, who disastrously anchored with Dan Rather for two years in the mid-'90s, felt that Katie will do a good job once she has time to settle into the role.
What do you think? Is it time for CBS to cut bait already and ship Katie to the morning news? Maybe give her a more prominent role on 60 Minutes? Or should she stay in the anchor job? Let me know in the comments.

376 Comments