COURIC'S FALL

by Andrea Peyser

"April 11, 2008 -- WHEN will someone admit the truth about Katie Couric?

Katie was trotted out to the public less than two years ago as no less than the savior of modern American communications - a woman combining Joan of Arc's zeal and Madonna's legs.

She had the gumption to smash through the glass ceiling to make the world safe for gals. Well, at least for those who rake in $15 million a year, plus a free ride to work.

But now that her career has crashed and burned into a wicked-witch-size puddle, it's time to say it: Katie screwed up on behalf of more than just one woman who had trouble reading the TelePrompTer with conviction.

She did it for all of us.

Which network is going to take a chance on an overpaid fluff ball now?

Sure, it isn't fair. Neither is it fair that Katie was paid like a queen while rival networks wiped the floor with her. And lest you think it was not her fault, the proof is in the numbers - her ratings dipped significantly from the period in which her interim predecessor, Bob Schieffer, sat in the anchor chair.

To pay Katie her king's ransom, CBS reportedly cut the salaries of network stalwarts such as Lesley Stahl, a female veteran with far better news chops.

One wonders why, in its giddiness to lure in Katie as its news babe, the network threw away all common sense.

Since the dawn of television, men have dominated network news for obvious reasons. Their voices are lower and they rarely display middle-aged gams. This amalgam of testosterone and primness has helped even an outright buffoon like Dan Rather to do a convincing imitation of gravitas.

Even the network's trick of sending Katie to Iraq failed to rope in a single viewer.

It's time to admit failure and move on. But much has been lost beyond the handsome salary.

Now, putting another female into Katie's position will look like a stunt. And a stunt that failed miserably the first time around.

Talent, not affirmative action, will save CBS News.

At least soon, there'll be more money floating around to pay worthy women and men."

Most of US saw this as a losing proposition from the get-go. Thats because WE know the nation better than the executives at CBS.

Think on that for a moment.

Nobody Bloggers saw Katie as a fluff-headed failure-in-waiting, while the mighty braintrust of the Tiffany Network whiffed miserably.

Is it any wonder they despise blogs and diss them at every opportunity.