Posted on 09/06/2006 5:00:16 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
(CBS News) NEW YORK In one of the most highly anticipated developments in the recent history of network news, Katie Couric stepped into the spotlight Tuesday night as the anchor of the CBS Evening News.
"Hi, everyone. I'm very happy to be with you tonight," Couric said simply before introducing the broadcast's lead story, a piece on the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Her introduction normally would have been read by an announcer, but in this case, viewers heard the voice of CBS News legend Walter Cronkite make the introduction.
The 30-minute broadcast ran smoothly and ended with an appeal from Couric for suggestions from viewers on how she might sign off at the end of each show. For now, Couric chose this ending: I'm Katie Couric. Thank you so much for watching. I hope to see you tomorrow night."
Couric had ended the broadcast -- or so she thought. A round of applause erupted in the studio, and Couric stood up, throwing her script into the air. She was beaming.
But a second later, she realized the camera would be trained back on her momentarily. She sat back down, everyone hushed, and the closing music rolled with Couric on screen smiling, her notes on the floor.
When the music ended, champagne corks popped in the studio. When Couric made her way out from behind the desk to greet the Evening News staff, a martini was thrust into her hand. She downed half of it before speaking.
"I have to interview the president tomorrow, so I can't have too much," Couric joked.
Evening News Executive producer Rome Hartman praised Couric's performance and then tossed a verbal bouquet to the news staff for a smooth production.
"We've all looked forward to this day, but this is really day one," Hartman said. "Imagine in six months what ass we will be kicking."
CBS is betting a chunk of the ranch that the 49-year-old newswoman can boost ratings, lure additional advertising dollars and re-energize a news division demoralized by a flawed story on President Bush's National Guard service that prompted the departure of four CBS News employees.
The first woman to solo as anchor of a network evening news show is also being asked to fill some big shoes: CBS has been home to many of the giants of broadcast journalism, including Edward R. Murrow and Cronkite.
The weeks leading up to Couric's debut have been among the most intense in the memory of CBS News veterans. Interview shoots for an hour-long September 11 special as well as screenings and production meetings for her first 60 Minutes piece had to be scheduled around daily studio rehearsals for the evening news program. (The weekend news staff has produced the show over past two weeks while the weekday staff practiced with Couric.)
There have also been wardrobe fittings, promotional spots and a crash course on the Internet. Her online blog, "Couric & Co.," will appear on CBSNews.com.
"Sometimes I feel like human chum," Couric told one interviewer.
Couric went into battle with a new set, a rebuilt newsroom and fresh theme music written by an Oscar-winning composer (James Horner of "Titanic" fame).
The 15-year veteran of NBC's "Today" show will need all the help she can get.
The evening terrain has shifted mightily in the past two years. The three veteran network anchors who dominated the evening news since the early 1980s -- Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather -- all have departed.
Couric will go head-to-head with NBC's Brian Williams and ABC's Charles Gibson. CBS trails NBC and ABC in the evening ratings, but drew closer to the competition during the 18 months Bob Schieffer headed the show. Schieffer served as interim anchor while CBS sought a permanent replacement for Rather, who stepped down after 24 years in the anchor chair.
Couric is also battling some disconcerting long-terms trends that have discouraged many advertisers. The three network evening news shows have lost about half of their viewers over the past 20 years, and the median age of viewers hovers near 60.
If that isn't enough, there's Couric's gender. She was repeatedly asked about her wardrobe for the first show.
"You're kidding, right?" she told one reporter.
"Sadly, I'm not," the reporter replied.
Her long stint on NBC's morning show has raised the "fluff" factor, something that didn't happen when Gibson, a morning news veteran, took over as anchor of ABC's evening news program.
"I think there is some residual sexism, and I think women are sort of judged by different standards," Couric said. "But I try not to get too preoccupied by that. I think that I feel very confident in who I am as a person and as a professional. "
The impact of Couric's presence on the show may not be known for many months. Shifts in viewer preference tend to unfold at a glacial pace, and ratings are influenced by many other factors besides the performance and personality of the anchor.
"And of course, having been the "victim" of the MSM through "residual sexism", she just doensn't understand the irony of it."
Good gosh, I wish I could experience the kind of sexism poor Katie has had to endure. I think for $10 million a year, I could deal with it.
As Wally Cleaver would say; "Creepy!"
I watched her de-but last evening. There was no news. It was all like a grocery store magazine cover. Just snippets of info, nothing in depth and all gloss...............
CBS has an evening news show?
Really?
LIBERAL FEMALE INTEREST stories seemed to clock more air time than news......
She didn't have time to change before her other job serving cocktails in the cBS commissary.
The ONLY positive thing I can say about Couric's debut - and I will forever keep my silence hereafter:
Some elocution coach has finally made inroads on her colloquial, nasal delivery which may be homey to some but irritating to the rest of the nation who aren't familiar with affected "Katie style"....CBS must still employ "old broadcasting" people who are hoping to get some class out of her speech patterns.
Missing were her usual: "gonna, do-een", and all the other catchy phrases which make middle America feel comfy while spooning breakfast cereal or starting the first wash of the day, reinforcing the mid 90s IQ crowd comfort zone.
The bar apparently is still high, perhaps not with ethics, but with delivery in the style of her predecessors, remains alive and well.
Good night Edward, Chet, David, Walter, Dan.
Goodbye Katie.
I did not watch Couric's debut. She has already convinced me that she lacks integrity. Do not want to waste my time; I'd rather scrape green scum off the side of my aquarium. She is just another leftist socialist revolutionary who pretends to be objective.
Well, he can't really deny that baby, can he?
I think CBS recognizes that news junkies have seen or heard the news from cable and radio by 6:30 pm and that they need to produce more of a "magazine" show than a "hard news" show. I tend to agree with them. This may be a smart competitive move.
Caught throwing her script while the camera's were still on? What are they on over there... booze... pills or both?!!
Not that the segment is news, but there seems to a lack of real news anyway.
Rush is on Thursday or tonight?
Imagine, if you will, that this one newscast, 30 minutes of pap, was THE ONLY news source that you have (and for many, it is) for national and international news. What would your opinion of the zeitgeist be, then?.......
I could only sit through 9 minutes of the show. Typical liberal bull. She should appeal to liberal women, but few others. I don't know why Rush chose to go on her show, but I won't be watching.
Tom Cruise's hair from the movie Risky Business and Katie's face.
Thursday night. President Bush is on tonight.
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