http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/ae/tv/2968555 The day after Dan Rather announced he was retiring from the CBS Evening News, NBC's Katie Couric made telling remarks during a Today interview. "Whoever anchors those newscasts is really the face of the entire network news division," Couric said. "Why is it always white guys we're talking about?" She has a point: It's high time for a woman to fly solo as anchor on a network evening newscast. And Couric would be the logical choice. The latest Rather-replacement speculation, promoted by Broadcasting & Cable magazine, is that Viacom Co. president Les Moonves, who oversees CBS, will court Couric. Neither CBS nor NBC is commenting. Couric is the newest candidate to be floated in the press after ABC's Diane Sawyer, NBC's Tim Russert and Couric's Today colleague Matt Lauer. CBS' John Roberts and Scott Pelley also have been mentioned in a guessing game that could continue for months. As for Couric, it seems unlikely that she would leave her cozy perch at top-rated Today and part with supportive boss Jeff Zucker, president of the NBC Universal Television Group. And yet if Couric wants a challenge, she couldn't find a bigger one than trying to turn around the No. 3 CBS Evening News. The new anchor will follow in Walter Cronkite's footsteps, help guide coverage and land choice prime-time assignments. Couric could appear on 60 Minutes or produce specials of her choosing. Above all, she would make broadcasting history by going it alone. The two previous female anchors, ABC's Barbara Walters and CBS' Connie Chung, shared the anchor desk with Harry Reasoner and Rather, respectively. Networks need to get over a reluctance to appoint female anchors because Walters and Chung didn't succeed, says Joe Angotti, chairman of the broadcast program at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. "Women anchors are now so common on cable shows that I think the whole perception of viewers has changed," Angotti says. He describes the old view as "it's serious business and I want to hear it from a serious male father figure." By moving to CBS, Couric could smash that patriarchal setup, bring new attention to evening news and appeal to somewhat younger viewers. She turns 48 next month and would represent a generational shift after Rather, who is 73, steps down in March. "If she wanted to do it, she's got the clout to get the deal she wants," says analyst Andrew Tyndall. "But she's going from highly paid anchor in the No. 1 news division to No. 3 -- I don't know if that's a promotion. I don't know if it's a step up professionally." But it would be a chance for Couric to reinvent herself into a more serious journalist. Women in morning news programs, such as Couric and Sawyer, have been cast in softer roles, says Jill Geisler, head of the management program at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg. "Dan Rather hasn't been part of a live wedding on the CBS Evening News; Dan Rather doesn't dress up in costumes on Halloween," Geisler says. But she adds that viewers might accept Couric as an evening anchor because they could see her as less biased and more human. "Whoever is put in that position, male or female, will need to work very hard to build a constituency," Geisler says. "The person replacing Rather has to be credible, trustworthy and likable."
So who watched 60 Minutes last night? That hot reporter Lara Logan did a story where she was imbeded with Navy Seals hunting Taliban and Al Queda in Afghanistan. It was cool to see how they work.
I would also like to add, I think the old anchors and new achors completely dropped the ball on the Tsunami. It seemed like on sunday nobody cared or covered the event in the United States. On Monday, they did, but Sunday was realtively noiseless in my opinion.
She seems to have a lot of journalistic integrity. I wonder if Andy Rooney also has a page like this: http://www.motmodel.com/details.asp?model_id=2590
I don't think Katy will get the job because her political leanings are already on the table. That's one reason that Rather got in trouble (or at least it seems to be one of the reasons). It's important for a news agency to have an anchor that people feel they can trust with the facts. They don't want someone who spins the news through their own personal political ideals. I realize that EVERYENE has bios one way or another, however, it is important that a news anchor's bios not be totally evident. I think people of both parties (and in between and to either side) would appreciate an anchor who they felt was telling the truth as best they can without regard to the anchors own political leanings.
and people think Dan Rather is liberal. I can't take any women seriously that wears that much mascara.
