Katie Couric: In the News Again, And She Isn't Happy

I have been writing about the decline and demise of Katie Couric since she began her gig as anchor of CBS Evening News. Couric, who arrived at the network with much fanfare and a salary that is twice as high as her counterpart at ABC News (Charles Gibson) and three times more than Brian Williams of NBC. She has maintained a solid hold on third place virtually through out her short tenure.

Some are crying "sexism" and I actually projected that would play a role back in September when she started. The average viewer of a nightly news program is 60 years old and predominantly male. Such individuals may not be interested in getting their news from a relatively young lady like Couric. I argued back then that the viewer would be interested in hearing from someone more like them or the one who is like that smart older son.

Furthermore, the same demographic (male and 60) tends to be very conservative and Couric has made a career of showing her liberal preferences. I'll never forget her interview with Senator John Kerry (D-MA) when he ran for President in 2004. She was in awe of his "intelligence" and "charisma." I honestly expected her to jump in his lap! Much of the decline of Dan Rather was due to his obvious political agenda, such an approach wouldn't work with Couric either, regardless of how attractive audiences may find her.

In the end, there is little that can be done to save evening news, not even Williams or Gibson. It will likely always attract this shrinking demographic, because younger Accumulators (people in the prime of the career and taking care of children and parents) are getting their news online. Before long, relative "nobodies" will be doing the TV version and the "rock stars" of the industry will be exclusively on the Internet.