Friday, April 07, 2006

Today show, Schmoday show

I had a dream last night where I was in high school (but still at my current age) and Katie Couric was a lunch lady. She leaned over the food line to gossip with me, which of my friends are married and where I got my cute outfit.

I guess I had Couric on the brain with the news of her leaving the Today show and heading over to CBS. Here are my thoughts on the topic, pretty much in chronological order.

1. Really? The bubbly anchor - who before 8 a.m. plays pretend anchor but as the morning progresses get more and more giggley as the segments get more ridiculous - is going back to news?

2. This woman, who let it be known I do like, but not for her newshound edge, is going to be taking over the anchor chair at the network of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite?

3. That annoying bitch from the view and Who Wants to be a Millionaire is taking her spot? (One blog questioned if people would be able to take her seriously as a news anchor if she keeps her Millionaire post too. Once again, people, the Today show is hardly a news program.)

4. Hmmm... maybe Couric's got it in her. When she's not talking about herself or digressing or interrupting guests, she does seem to have a sharp interview style. Before the Today show, she had strong news experience and when she does do real interviews, they aren't so bad. And as this NPR commentary points out, having a woman in the anchor spot - particularly one as warm and real as Couric - might not be such a bad thing. Do we really need an old man with a deep voice to feel like we are getting authoritative news?

5. The Today show is total crap (though in the interest of full disclosure I watch it while I eat my cereal and particularly enjoy the fitness and fashion segments), I don't watch network TV news, Couric is and will continue to get paid mindblowing amounts of money, and in the end who really cares?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

True, in the end, who really cares?

But...I will say the following things:

a) I. Can't. Stand. Katie. Couric. She is a bubbly faux journo. Was she maybe a journo back in the day when she bumped into the president and asked him about Iran-Contra? Hmm, maybe. But let's not forget that ANY real, self-respecting journo would have done that, not just someone who was friggin' taking a tour of the WH with the First Lady.

b-ly) What disturbs me more is this forever ongoing question of what the Today Show really friggin is. Is it news? Is it entertainment? NBC (and CBS) I'm sure would call it "news." But an annual, worldwide "where's waldo" with one of its "anchors?" Yeah, nothing screams hard-hitting like that.

c) Anyone else agree this means that Meredith needs to chuck her endorsement deals? Doesn't she push some aspirin, or something? Get out of the pill and 'got milk' ads, beyotch, you're supposedly hitting the as-yet-defined-as-news big leagues.

Sara said...

Funny that we claim to not care but then both expound lengthy diatribtes on the Today show and it's "anchors."

I agree with everything you just said, CK, and I second the call for that View bitch to dump her endorsements. She's all kind of wrong.