Take that Matt Lauer!
Less than a month after her former “Today” show co-anchor was scheduled to do a live interview with Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the pilot who guided U.S. Airways Flight 1549 to that safe Hudson River landing, Katie Couric has swooped in and scored a huge coup.
Score one for CBS.
According to network execs, Couric plans to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina tomorrow to interview Sullenberger and his crew, who by the way, just appeared live at the Super Bowl in Tampa. Sullenberger, his co-pilot and two female flight attendants stood on the field at Raymond James Stadium as Jennifer Hudson sang the National Anthem. All four got a standing ovation when they were introduced to football fans, but their appearance was brief.
A week from tonight viewers will get to see a lot more of Sullenberger and his crew when Couric’s interview with them airs on “60 Minutes” right before the Grammy Awards.
According to insiders at NBC, the network thought it had a commitment from the pilot’s family for “Today.”
Guess not.
Though, I wholly expect that Sullenberger and/or his crew will likely make the rounds on Oprah, Ellen, “The View” and various other talk shows following Couric’s “exclusive” with them.
The interview is a major “get” for Couric, who has taken a beating in the press since taking over the anchor gig at the “CBS Evening News.”
As for snagging Sullenberger before he went live with Lauer, Couric told reporters that winning the interview over her former colleague gave it no special meaning.
Not for nothing, but I would put money on the “Today” show getting Sullenberger to do that interview with Lauer (belated as it may be) and producers billing it as the captain’s “first LIVE interview” since he glided the stricken jet into the Hudson.
Regardless of who does the interview, I will be watching. I still can’t believe that every single person on that plane survived. Will you be watching?