Cute Katie

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

(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 »

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