海角大神

As Sarah Palin prepares to go head-to-head with Katie Couric聽in guest appearances on the NBC and ABC morning news shows Tuesday,聽a few words are raising eyebrows among news watchers, namely聽the聽moniker 鈥渃o-host鈥� for Ms. Palin.聽

NBC, promoting the appearance of the former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate on its website, said: 鈥淪arah Palin will co-host Tuesday. She鈥檒l reveal a different side of her than you've seen before.鈥�

As a ratings ploy, the gambit has already succeeded,聽garnering buzz about whether the twin appearances will evoke memories of the infamous Couric/Palin interview on CBS during the 2008 presidential campaign, which many saw as the key turning point in which the McCain/Palin ticket began to slide.

But does this move to slot聽an openly partisan political figure in the host seat聽cross some sort of important line for聽a morning聽show produced by the聽network news division?

鈥淎 host has the opportunity to steer the conversation,鈥� Ed Arke, associate professor of communications at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., says via e-mail.

Palin is being billed as a co-host and her openly partisan views could聽be problematic, he says. But, the聽larger issue is whether聽a news magazine like the 鈥淭oday鈥� show聽will聽begin聽to mimic or mirror the personality-driven discussion shows of the 24/7 news networks, he adds.

The major networks聽such as NBC, CBS, and ABC, he says, 鈥渉ave managed to maintain a somewhat issues- or story-driven focus,鈥� rather than hyping the personalities hosting the show. 鈥淭his move by NBC could be the start of efforts to try and grab more attention for who is talking, rather than what the programs are discussing."

NBC spokeswoman Megan Kopf points out via e-mail that Palin will be a guest in the first hour, interviewed by the hosts.聽Palin will only move into the co-host chair during the second hour, where she will 鈥減articipate in segments like 鈥淭ODAY鈥檚 Professionals.鈥� 鈥�

Ms. Kopf is quick to note that Palin will not be paid either for her appearance as a guest in the first hour or for her co-hosting stint in the second.

Nonetheless, says Jeff McCall, a professor of media studies at DePauw University in Indiana, NBC is making a big mistake by inviting Sarah Palin on the show as a co-host.

鈥淚t will likely give the show some ratings hype, but hosts are not supposed to be considered so partisan,鈥� he says via e-mail. Bringing Palin on as an analyst or commentator and labeling her as such is fine,聽he adds, 鈥渂ut co-hosts of a news organization's morning show should be journalists.鈥�

But Palin is already known as a partisan, says Len Shyles, a communications professor at Villanova University in Philadelphia. She has been a well-known public figure for at least five years since her national run for federal office, he points out, adding via e-mail, 鈥渄oes that make her聽arguably more honest than reporters who keep their political biases secret?鈥�

The question, says Professor Shyles,聽then comes back to asking why a solid news organization聽such as NBC, which has been in the news business for nearly a century聽would put its reputation at risk 鈥渂y making such a poor choice in Palin?鈥�

The answer, he says,聽is to challenge 鈥淕ood Morning America鈥� and former "Today" anchor Couric, who is filling in all week for "GMA" host Robin Roberts. 鈥淣BC wants to take the wind out of the competition's sails,鈥� he points out. And since it's only a one-day event, any justified聽public criticism will quickly subside.

鈥淭his story has virtually nothing to do with news,鈥� he聽says, adding, 鈥渞ather, it has everything to do with business.鈥澛燤edia watchers will be looking to compare the ratings of the two programs for the match-up between Couric and Palin, he says.

Veteran news producers have little problem with Palin鈥檚 appearance. " 'Today', 聽'Good Morning America' and 'CBS This Morning' all do news and entertainment without any fallout,鈥� says former ABC and CBS producer John Goodman, via e-mail. 鈥淚f George Stephanopoulos, with his Democratic Party and Bill Clinton history, can host 'Good Morning America' daily, Sarah Palin can certainly temp co-host 'Today,' 鈥� he adds.聽

Former聽NBC London news bureau chief Karen Curry, who is now a professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, says she is not worried about this segment doing anything to embarrass NBC.

鈥淭hese morning shows do all sorts of things that are not strictly news,鈥� she says. 鈥淣ow if they replace Brian Williams with Sarah Palin, then I might start to panic.鈥澛�