Katie Couric, the perky host of NBC’s “Today” who wildly overrates the sexiness of her legs, has found a better gig.
A wide variety of industry sources are reporting that Couric has been hired away by CBS to anchor their third place “CBS Evening News”, former home of Dan Rather. As part of the $15 million a year deal, she’d also contribute to “60 Minutes’. That makes her the first ever, female, solo, network news anchor in television history. No sidekicks, no Matt Lauer, just Katie Couric muddling her way through serious news.
In the end though, is this really a big deal? Once a prestigious position, network news anchor doesn’t carry the weight it once did. With more and more viewers turning to cable news channels or getting their news on demand from the internet, few younger viewers consider the network nightly news reports appointment television. Katie’s new audience will be composed primarily of elderly folks with one foot in the grave. When they run out of medicare or get Kevorkianed, she’ll be out of audience.
NBC has yet to hire her replacement on “Today”, though Meredith Vieira, the only respectable member of “The View” is rumored to be a leading candidate for the gig. Matt Lauer is still there, so it’s plug and play with whoever they put opposite him.
