Cute Katie

Stories

19 Stories

January 2009
- Tough Times Are Boon for Couric's Ratings
  
  Washington Post | Jan 29, 09 12:38 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Katie Couric’s comforting style is perfect for tough times, or so a 5% uptick in the ratings for CBS’ Evening News suggests. In Couric’s hands, economic catastrophe, Mideast violence and terrorism become “news you can warm up to,” Tom Shales writes in the Washington Post . After the election cycle’s most-hyped Sarah Palin interview, America’s first solo female anchor finally has ammo to hush critics. More »
- Palin: Media Gives Kennedy Free Pass
  
  Politico | Jan 8, 09 3:00 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Sarah Palin says the media is lobbing softballs at Caroline Kennedy because of the would-be New York senator’s class status, Politico reports. The Republican governor of Alaska speculates that “there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy,” which hasn’t arisen during the Kennedy scion’s efforts at appointment. More »
December 2008
- Old Boys' Networks No More: TV's New Female Stars
  
  Vogue | Dec 17, 08 12:14 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The world of television news can be a journalistic proving ground during tumultuous times, and three women have bubbled to the top of the white-guy-dominated realm. Vogue takes a look at one veteran and two up-and-comers who have caught the mag's eye: Katie Couric—After months of ridicule and low ratings as the new CBS Evening News anchor, she's basking in a post-election glow. "I feel relieved and happy that I was in charge of a presidential election for a major network and actually did a good job," she says. "That's sort of a feather in my cap." More »
October 2008
- Mired in 3rd Place, Couric Rallies
  
  Associated Press | Oct 1, 08 5:53 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - After 2 years of stories about bad ratings and an uncertain future, Katie Couric is in the news for a positive reason, the AP reports—her work. Her CBS Evening News interviews with Sarah Palin, Joe Biden, and John McCain have brought the broadcast unprecedented buzz even though, as the New York Times reports, the ratings payoff has been modest at best. More »
July 2008
- Want to Oust Couric? Show Her the Money
  
  New York Post | Jul 28, 08 2:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Katie Couric is keeping her CBS Evening News gig because it would be too expensive to fire her, sources tell the New York Post. Couric has a “pay or play” clause that would force the network to fork over $40 million if it replaces her. “The contract is airtight,” says one source. Les Moonves has “tried to get her to move on, and she was like, ‘Fine. I’ll leave—where’s my money?’” More »
May 2008
- So Long Katie; Don't Let the Door Hit You
  
  New Yorker | May 20, 08 12:41 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Katie Couric’s unhappy tenure as CBS Evening News anchor will soon end, and not a moment too soon for Nancy Franklin of the New Yorker. Couric seemed likely to succeed at the start, but she wound up ditching the qualities people liked in her and becoming a teleprompter-reading automaton. But above all, she lacked what declining network news shows need: passion. More »
April 2008
- Katie May Wear Larry King's Suspenders
  
  Newsday | Apr 24, 08 11:10 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - When word broke that CBS and Katie Couric were poised to part ways, CNN swiftly re-signed Larry King. That was widely expected. But the contract conspicuously avoids promising King the 9pm hour he’s so long held, sources tell Verne Gay of Newsday . That leaves the door swinging invitingly for Couric, and sources say she wants the job. More »
- Couric's CBS Numbers Hit New Low
  
  New York Times | Apr 22, 08 5:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The CBS Evening News hit a new low for viewership, with an average of 5.39 million last week. The previous record was set last September when anchor Katie Couric visited Iraq, the New York Times reports. The latest showing is another piece of bad news for Couric after reports broke two weeks ago she could be on her way out. More »
- Couric Gets Vote of Confidence
  
  Mediabistro | Apr 18, 08 2:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Katie Couric will anchor the CBS Evening News for a long time to come, the network's CEO told staffers today, TVNewser reports. Les Moonves dropped in on the daily news meeting to dispel recent rumors that Couric is not long for the newscast, which sits at the bottom of the ratings heap. At the meeting, Couric said the show is "very much family." More »
- Couric's Not Only Thing Networks Should Toss
  
  BusinessWeek | Apr 15, 08 9:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Evening network news, with or without Katie Couric aboard, is going nowhere, Ron Grover writes in BusinessWeek —then offers suggestions on what the TV giants should do to hook viewers: Make the news available on the viewers' time: Get big-name anchors on tape earlier, and put those newscasts online. More »
- Trouble at CBS Runs Wide and Deep
  
  New York Times | Apr 14, 08 11:09 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With trouble plaguing most divisions of CBS, last week's flap over Katie Couric's contract was just one of the countless items on Les Moonves' to-do list, the New York Times reports. Ad sales are down industry-wide, Fox is on the tail of the prime-time division and gaining fast, and the radio division and online presence lag competitors. More »
- CBS May Dump Couric Early
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 9, 08 7:25 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - CBS may part ways with "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric as soon as the January 2009 inauguration, and long before her contract expires in 2011, reports the Wall Street Journal , citing anonymous sources from both camps. Network executives are tired of all-time low ratings that began with the switch from Dan Rather to Couric in 2006—after an interim with Bob Schieffer, whose ratings Couric still hasn't bested, the Journal notes. More »
December 2007
- Things That Won't Shake The Media World in 2008
  
  BusinessWeek | Dec 28, 07 7:36 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Overloaded with prediction lists, Business Week polishes the crystal ball and looks ahead to see what won't happen in the media world in 2008. The writers won't win the current strike DreamWorks isn't going to leave Paramount after all Apple won't reinvent TV viewing "Juno" won't win an Oscar Google won't buy a major media company More »
September 2007
- Couric in Iraq: Lousy Ratings, Good Journalism
  
  Associated Press | Sep 12, 07 6:04 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Katie Couric's trip to Iraq and Syria was a failure as a ratings gimmick but pretty good journalism, say critics. The "CBS Evening News" tied a record low of 5.5 million viewers last week, which the network blames on US Open coverage. And Harvard journalism prof Marvin Kalb says the broadcasts were well-done and informative, the AP reports. More »
- CBS Has No Plans to Boot Couric Off News
  
  Hollywood Reporter | Sep 5, 07 10:05 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In signing Katie Couric to anchor "CBS Evening News" last year, the network probably didn’t expect ratings to hit historic lows. But CBS is sticking with the underperforming star, according to a network executive, who said it was “the second inning at the latest” in the long game of gaining ground on ABC and NBC, according to the Hollywood Reporter . More »
August 2007
- A Woman's Place Is in ... Charge
  
  Forbes | Aug 31, 07 2:21 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Forbes names the 100 most powerful women in the world, putting Oprah one spot south of Ruth Bader Ginsburg—and placing Meredith Vieira ahead of Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer. The top 10: German chancellor Angela Merkel Chinese vice premier Wu Yi Temasek Holdings chief executive Ho Ching Condoleezza Rice Pepsico president and CEO Indra K. Nooyi More »
- Couric Will Report From Iraq, Syria
  
  Hollywood Reporter | Aug 29, 07 8:24 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Katie Couric leaves today for a 10-day trip to Iraq and Syria, where she will cover the war and the turbulent Middle East as the Pentagon's September 15 deadline for a report on Iraq looms. Couric will spend six days in Iraq, twice anchoring "CBS Evening News" live from Baghdad, before heading to Damascus. More »
June 2007
- Rather's 'Tart' Comment makes CBS Chief Sour
  
  Breitbart | Jun 12, 07 10:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - CBS chief Leslie Moonves returned fire on Dan Rather today, calling his criticism of Katie Couric "sexist." In a telephone interview with MSNBC Monday, Rather had accused his unsuccessful successor of taking the nightly news and "dumbing it down, tarting it up." Rather cited Couric for playing up celebrities at the cost of war coverage. More »
May 2007
- Katie's Ratings Flatline
  
  New York Times | May 14, 07 8:19 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Katie Couric, as always, is upbeat, but her ratings are undeniably dismal: “CBS Evening News” numbers have dropped lower than they've been since the Nielsens began measuring audiences with “people meters” 20 years ago, the New York Times reports. The 8-month-old show is an even-more-distant third than its predecessor. More »