Monday, December 25, 2006
TV Critic: "CBS chose to make Katie Couric "anchormom," and that was a bad decision."
One of the topics on Sunday's edition of Reliabe Sources was the evolution of network newscasts. Joining Howard Kurtz was Gail Shister, television columnist for "The Philadelphia Inquirer," Eric Deggans, media critic for "The St. Petersburg Times," and David Zurawik, television critic for "The Baltimore Sun." Below is an excerpt from the program in which Katie Couric was the topic:KURTZ: But I can't help but be struck, Gail Shister, by all of the flak that Katie Couric gets -- far more than the other anchors. And she recently told Esquire that the critics are after her and some people are rooting for her to fail. What do you make of that?
SHISTER: I think some people are rooting for her to fail, and I don't think it's because she's a woman; it's because -- part of it is the money that she's making -- estimated $15 million a year -- and there's a lot of resentment about that.
KURTZ: The jealousy factor.
SHISTER: Yes, jealousy factor. Part of it, I think, is because she's gotten so much publicity and it's so clear that CBS is making her the center of their solar system, that I think there's some envy there. And she's under the microscope partly because CBS put her there, with this extraordinary promotional campaign. And some of the shots, I think, are fair, some are unfair. Her ratings are not strong; her ratings in November, during the sweeps, were actually lower than what Bob Schieffer had gotten a year before. So CBS has got to be concerned. The party line there has always been, This is a marathon, not a sprint, but they have to be worried.
I should bring something up that David just said -- he referred to Katie as "an unhappy mom," and that was very interesting, what you said, David, because she has been positioned as "the mom," when in fact, Brian Williams is a dad, and Charlie Gibson is a dad and a grandfather. So --
ZURAWIK: I agree. That's one of the mistakes they made. That's what I meant when I said, they made a few mistakes.
KURTZ: Wait a minute! Wait a minute! She IS a mom, she talks about her family, she shares more of herself, I think, than we're used to at night. Why is that a bad thing?
ZURAWIK: That's an artificial persona that they've crafted. They don't have to emphasize --
KURTZ: But why do you say it's a bad thing?
ZURAWIK: -- she doesn't have to emphasize --
KURTZ: Why do you say it's artificial?
ZURAWIK: I'm saying, they could emphasize other aspects of her. CBS chose to make her "anchormom," and that was a bad decision.
# posted by ATN @ 12:28 PM 
