Couric can't cut it on non-news fringe

[CatWoman]

The happiest people watching Katie Couric's debut on the CBS Evening News this week were at NBC and ABC. Brian Williams and Charles Gibson seem secure in their No. 1 and No. 2 ratings.

These latest relative ratings of the three evening network newscasts show the uphill climb Couric faces:

• NBC's Williams, 9.46 million viewers nightly.

• ABC's Gibson, 8.46 million.

• CBS with Bob Schieffer until his retirement last week, 7.57 million.

Remarkably, Schieffer gained about 600,000 daily viewers during the 18 months he served as "interim anchor," replacing Dan Rather after his Memogate miseries.

CBS could have enhanced Couric's chances by pairing her with Schieffer, 69, for a year or so before having her go solo. The affable Schieffer would have been a great coach for Couric.

Despite her brilliance and personality, Couric, 49, can't catch Williams, 47, unless she puts real news in her newscast.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060908/cm_usatoday/couriccantcutitonnonnewsfringe

[Change has come]

1. "brilliance and personality"

Perky :puke:

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

2. Tom Friedman=far left?!?

In what bizarro universe?

Just shows how narrow the accepted range of discussion has become if a rightwing globalization apologist like Friedman is considered to be as far left as is acceptable

[Chimichurri]

9. It's just his right wing marketing. That way when he toughts neocon

economic gobbley gook, like outsourcing is good, they can say - see even a lefty believes.

[Cha]

3. "real news"? couric?

Ha! Matt Lauer showed her up, too!

[Bobbieo]

4. CBS Evening News has become Good Evening America!!!

I'm watching NBC from now on!!!

[Dinger]

5. Who's Couric?

Just asking:evilgrin:

[tech3149]

6. brilliance and personality? Is that like Moxie and Spunk?

The best Katie has to offer is another colonoscopy during prime time.

[VolcanoJen]

7. She wasn't as heinous as I expected, but her broadcast...

... barely resembled news.

I want my shit hard and fast in 30 minutes. I always trusted Jennings and Rather and Brokaw to give me the goddamned news I needed, and fast.

I'm pretty skeptical of the new order in its entirety. Couric, Williams, Gibson (I think often of the poor Bob Woodward that they never talk about anymore).

Couric sucks only as much as the rest of them do.

[CatWoman]

8. kick

:kick: