"Katie Couric swung for the credibility fences in her "CBS Evening News" debut last night, leading off with super-serious stories on America's War on Terror - before gradually making her pitch to younger viewers.
In her ridiculously hyped debut, superstar Couric, former lead of NBC's No. 1 morning show, "Today," made good on her promise to run longer stories on weighty issues.
Last night's lead story focused on a behind-enemy-lines look at Taliban fighters and lasted four minutes - an eternity by modern TV-news standards.
The heavy dose of tough, international news eventually gave way to a bid for young hipster viewers (the opposite of the stereotypical CBS watcher), with an editorial by fast-food critic Morgan "Super Size Me" Spurlock - where he criticized news broadcasts like the very one on which he was appearing.
And in a cheezy end-of-show gimmick, Couric, who flashed plenty of leg during the broadcast, asked computer-savvy viewers - the very audience fleeing traditional TV network news - to log on and give her suggestions for a signature end-of-show signoff.
The broadcast sampled famous newscaster signoffs from the likes of Edward R. Murrow, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather - but aired fictional TV news anchors Ted Baxter and Will Ferrell's "Ron Burgundy" as well. Couric then challenged viewers to come up with her catchphrase
"I know we'll have a lot of fun reading them and, who knows, maybe one will actually stick," she said. "But for now, all I have to say is, I'm Katie Couric. Thank you so much for watching and I hope to see you tomorrow night."
Couric, reportedly earning $15 million a year at CBS, also rolled out a few new wrinkles to the struggling network news No. 3 show:
* A segment called "freeSpeech," allowing famous and nonfamous Americans to air their opinions. Spurlock ripped modern TV news as a forum for extreme viewpoints. Couric announced that conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh will be tomorrow's guest.
* "Snapshots" will profile still photographs. Last night's show highlighted baby pictures of Prince Charles and new Vanity Fair shots of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' baby, Suri.
In countless interviews leading up to last night, Couric insisted her morning-TV experience shouldn't be used against her.
"It's also important, I think, to point out that Tom Brokaw hosted the 'Today' show, John Chancellor rode in go-karts, Charlie Gibson did 'GMA' for more years, I think, than I did the 'Today' show," Couric said on CBS's "The Early Show" yesterday.
"I think being a multifaceted person and being able to enjoy things and have fun and laugh occasionally and stir-fry vegetables or do something fun doesn't mean you can't also be a very smart, serious person."
Couric said she'll be the same person she was on the "Today" show.
"I think they [viewers] want authenticity and, hopefully, they'll understand that the person I am when the red light goes on is the same person I am when the red light goes off," she said.
CBS executives are banking on Couric to bring their network news show out of the cellar.
Advertisers paid an average of $40,000 for a 30-second commercial on the newscast, including "upfront" ad sales and spot buys on the so-called scatter market, sources said.
But that's less than half the reported $110,000 advertisers paid for a spot on her "Today" show farewell.
After the broadcast, Couric retreated to the Hudson Hotel for a party with 150 friends who had gathered there to watch "The CBS Evening News."
Didn't watch it. Won't ever watch it. Soured on this clueless chick back during the Gulf War when she was the poster child for stupid journalists, asking questions such as "Could you tell us just where and when our forces will attack?" But she'll be a hit with the democratic underground types who love her.
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