To answer the question… it’s highly unlikely. Despite record low ratings and an onslaught of personal attacks from colleagues she thought she could trust, it seems that CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric will honor her 5-year contract with the network. Of course, that doesn’t mean that all that has transpired since she left her cushy job at NBC has not taken a toll on her confidence and composure. In a lengthy interview with New York magazine Couric (for the first time) publicly admits she has second-guessed her move from the Today show to the Evening News.
Couric tells the magazine that her transition has been “far from smooth,” but she remains determined to not sink as low as those who continually take pot shots at her in the press.
“It’s damaging, and it’s really tacky,” Couric says. “And I would be so embarrassed to be one of these petty, behind-the-scenes operators who get some kind of charge out of trashing someone. I’m not perfect; I’m sure I’ve said unkind things about people in my career and life, but people getting their jollies from seeing it in print is so creepy and weird to me. And if you’re so unhappy, get another job!”
Regular readers of this blog know that I have been following Couric’s historic move since it all began last May. The perky (yes, I know she hates being described that way) morning show anchor was used to be on top at the Today show, which consistently won its time slot (beating out her competitors at Good Morning America and CBS’ The Early Show. In September 2006 Couric had a landmark opening night as CBS’ new evening anchor. But since then the show’s ratings have slipped… dramatically. Needless to say, being last in the ratings is unfamiliar territory for Couric who admits she occasionally wonders why she took the new anchor gig.
“I have days when I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what did I do?’ But for some weird reason, they don’t happen that often,” she says.
Occasional regrets aside, Couric says she will continue as anchor of the evening news program. However, she is not ruling out other possibilities such as an expanded role on 60 Minutes.
“If it turns out [the news] wasn’t a perfect fit,” she says, “then, you know, I’ll do something else that’s really exciting and fulfilling for me.”
Do you watch Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News?