Katie Couric and 'CBS Evening News.' Is it time for them to part ways?
| Los Angeles
The news that Katie Couric may leave her anchor post at 鈥�CBS Evening News鈥� when her contract expires in June 鈥� only five years after becoming the first woman to solo helm a network TV evening newscast 鈥� is generating heated speculation over where she would head and who would replace her.
It is also fueling a dialogue about what her exit would say 鈥� and not say 鈥� about the changing environment of broadcast news, journalism itself, fractured audiences and about Ms. Couric鈥檚 abilities.
Ms. Couric took over at CBS in April, 2006, amid the unique confluence of exits for the three main, longtime network anchors: CBS鈥檚 Dan Rather, NBC鈥檚 Tom Brokaw, and through death, ABC鈥檚 Peter Jennings.
Amid the explosive growth of Internet, cable, and the blogosphere, speculation was widespread that perhaps the age-old model of a single, day鈥檚-end newscast, led by an authority figure, might be a thing of the past.
One big question that endures for all three newscasts is how to attract and hold younger viewers who are growing up with jazzier options, from chat-happy bloggers to the wry news commentary of Comedy Central.
A prized skill set
Couric came to CBS after 15 successful and highly-rated years on NBC鈥檚 鈥�Today Show.鈥� Her skill set, which stretched from interviewing chefs to book authors to heads of state 鈥� not to mention her relative youth, famous smile, and gender 鈥� was considered possibly the perfect lure.
Now, however, some observers are saying that breadth may be better suited to a daytime, talk-show format, and there is widespread speculation that Oprah Winfrey鈥檚 exit from the daytime syndication schedule has opened a door for Couric.
When she took over, the 鈥淐BS Evening News鈥� was in third place. It has stayed there for five years but earned, in this past quarter, its lowest ratings since 1992, reaching only some 6.4 million viewers.
鈥淧eople wonder why Couric could have been so successful in the morning at the 鈥楾oday Show鈥� but couldn't generate ratings in the evening. The main reason is that different audiences are involved,鈥� says Jeffrey McCall, media studies professor at DePauw University in Indiana.
鈥淗er chattiness in the morning worked fine with that audience, but evening news viewers want a solid news agenda from somebody who is credible and perceived as a solid journalist. It was hard for Couric to make that transition after years of morning features and dressing up in Halloween costumes, and so forth.鈥�
Prof. McCall says a lesson for the journalistic community to learn here is that you can鈥檛 make network news shows personality-driven. 鈥淭hat can work well on cable television prime time, as evidenced by shows like 鈥�The O'Reilly Factor,鈥� 鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut network flagship newscasts need seasoned reporters and a seriousness that Couric couldn't deliver.鈥�
Affection for network newscast
Robert Thompson, founder of the Bleier Center of Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, says the Couric episode has confirmed the affection for and stability of the network evening newscast. No matter who would take over for her 鈥� Scott Pelley, Harry Smith, and John Roberts have been mentioned as possibilities 鈥� the classic format has survived.
鈥淚n an odd sort of way, the old-fashionedness of the evening news is coming around again and might be looked on as avante garde,鈥� says Thompson. 鈥淲hen all the smoke clears, the evening news will look pretty much like is it has looked since the mid-'50s. The fact remains that even though numbers are way down for all three broadcasts, they are down for just about everything else as well.鈥�
But don鈥檛 call Katie Couric鈥檚 stint in the anchor chair a 鈥渇ailure,鈥� says Leonard Shyles, professor of communications at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
鈥淭his is not a reflection of her inabilities, but rather the marketplace,鈥� he says. He notes that a lot of other important indicators are down as well, citing the low ratings of Irish journalist Piers Morgan, who took over the popular 鈥�Larry King Live鈥� on CNN in October.
It鈥檚 time to stop using an old media model in a new media world, says Paul Levinson, author of 鈥淣ew New Media.鈥� 鈥淭he time is no longer right for her or any news anchor鈥檚 huge success,鈥� he says, adding that the era of the iconic, Walter Cronkite-style news anchor is over.
