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Katie Couric Says CBS News Anchor Job Has Been “Pretty Tough”
25-Aug-2008
Written by: E. Van Dril
She was thought to have the power to boost CBS’s Evening News ratings, but has failed.
It will be two years ago next week when Katie Couric made her CBS Evening News debut. At the time, Couric was thought to be able to propel the network's broadcast into contention with both ABC and NBC's newscasts, but that has not been the case.
Couric, in an interview with the Baltimore Sun, says, "It's been, quite candidly, pretty tough some of the time for me in my new job."
Couric even acknowledges the difficulty she has, even bordering on calling her run with CBS a failure. And while she doesn't use those words, she admits that she "can't win for losing."
The first night of Couric on CBS brought in 13 million viewers, which was in large part due to her much publicized news from NBC's Today show.
But almost immediately after, viewers went to other networks or stopped tuning into the news altogether.
In April, Couric's audience was 5.6 million, and there were multiple reports (including on this site) that she wanted out of her $15-million-a-year contract two years before it expired.
But now, Couric seems to want to continue working at CBS, and trying to make a better newscast.
"To see us gaining and making strides in some of these major markets is wonderful news," Couric said. "I've always felt proud of the broadcast even in the early days when it was so criticized for certain elements. I'm one of these people who thinks it's OK to take chances and to try things. . . . I always thought even the things that weren't well-received were noble efforts in trying to evolve the broadcast. So, the fact that we're doing well is very gratifying."
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