'Today' is yesterday, CBS is tomorrow for Couric
Couric: 'Today' is yesterday, CBS is tomorrow
April 5, 2006
NEW YORK -- Katie Couric made it official Wednesday, telling viewers during "Today" that she would be leaving the show at the end of May and joining the "CBS Evening News" and "60 Minutes."
That announcement was followed up a few hours later by CBS CEO Leslie Moonves' confirmation that Couric would become anchor and managing editor of "The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric" as well as work on "60 Minutes" and anchor primetime specials. Terms of the multiyear agreement weren't announced but it was believed to be in the neighborhood of $13 million a year.
It represents a victory for Moonves and his new CBS News president, Sean McManus. Moonves, who turned around the fortunes of the entertainment network, has been working on fixing what ails the news division ever since anchor Dan Rather left in March 2005. He transferred McManus, the well-regarded president of CBS Sports, to the news division; since November, McManus has been working behind the scenes to change the culture at CBS News.
While that's been done internally by the work of Bob Schieffer and others, Moonves has always said that he wanted a big name to anchor the evening newscast and be the face of the news division. He's done that in a major way with Couric, who is one of the true big names on TV.
"Seasoned broadcasters who are at once respected, charismatic and known throughout this country and beyond are increasingly important in this fragmented media landscape," Moonves said in a prepared statement. "I'm proud to have a talent like Katie who personifies this rare combination of qualities."
"After listening to my heart and my gut, two things that have served me pretty well in the past, I've decided that I will be leaving 'Today' at the end of May," Couric told "Today" viewers on Wednesday morning. "It was a really difficult decision."
Couric made the announcement at 7:31 a.m. EDT a moment after the show marked her 15th year on the air with the introduction of "Katherine Couric" and a short-haired Couric sitting alongside then-host Bryant Gumbel on April 5, 1991. Co-host Matt Lauer noted she was the longest-serving anchor in "Today" history and then asked, playfully: "So, anything new?"
Couric, who made the decision over the past week to go to become the first solo female anchor in network-news history, said it seemed like the best time to share her plans.
She praised the trust the viewers put in her as well as the "extraordinary" staff at "Today both on the air and behind the scenes. In one of several nods to the headlines that Couric has made over the past 15 years, she joked: "Once in a while we get on each other's nerves ... Well, he gets on my nerves but I could not have asked for a more talented partner or a better friend."
The two showed the rapport and timing that has marked their on-air relationship. Lauer paused for a moment after she finished speaking, then said straightfaced: "Also coming up in this half hour ..." to the laughter of Couric and many off-set.
"It's hard to imagine being here and not having you sit next to us," Lauer said. "We're thrilled for the fact that you are taking on a new challenge." Then, looking down and shuffling her papers, asked: "I'm looking, does it say where in there you were going?"
More laughter, to which Couric said that she was hoping to open a second-hand bookstore in Montana. But Lauer said that if she were a guest on the show, he wouldn't let her get away without saying her plans.
"I know it's the worst-kept secret in America but I'm going to be working on the 'CBS Evening News' and '60 Minutes,'" Couric said.
Couric's announcement on "Today" was the end of a long saga that stretched back to last year, when word leaked out that CBS was actively wooing the "Today" show host. She'll join a third-place evening news broadcast that was seriously wounded in the "Memogate" scandal surrounding Dan Rather, who later quit the anchorship. In the last year, temporary anchor Bob Schieffer and new executive producer Rome Hartman has loosened up the broadcast and made it more competitive.
A formal announcement from CBS is expected later Wednesday. NBC has yet to name a replacement for Couric, although it's likely to happen soon if contract negotiations are finalized. But for its part, NBC Universal made Couric's departure as smooth and classy as Couric's announcement was Wednesday.
In a prepared statement released Wednesday morning, NBC Universal chief executive officer Bob Wright said that Couric has had a positive impact on the company and the public.
"I've been fortunate enough to call Katie a friend and colleague, and I can't thank her enough for what she has brought to NBC," Wright said.
Another friend, NBC Universal Television Group CEO Jeff Zucker and former "Today" executive producer, thanked her as well.
"There comes a time for everyone when new challenges become hard to resist, and I fully understand that," Zucker said. "I couldn't be happier for Katie."
What remains for NBC News is to find a replacement for Couric, who will not be easily replaced. But the broadcast remains in the strongest position it's ever been and Lauer, Couric's co-host since the late 1990s, has had a raised profile lately.
That announcement was followed up a few hours later by CBS CEO Leslie Moonves' confirmation that Couric would become anchor and managing editor of "The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric" as well as work on "60 Minutes" and anchor primetime specials. Terms of the multiyear agreement weren't announced but it was believed to be in the neighborhood of $13 million a year.
It represents a victory for Moonves and his new CBS News president, Sean McManus. Moonves, who turned around the fortunes of the entertainment network, has been working on fixing what ails the news division ever since anchor Dan Rather left in March 2005. He transferred McManus, the well-regarded president of CBS Sports, to the news division; since November, McManus has been working behind the scenes to change the culture at CBS News.
While that's been done internally by the work of Bob Schieffer and others, Moonves has always said that he wanted a big name to anchor the evening newscast and be the face of the news division. He's done that in a major way with Couric, who is one of the true big names on TV.
"Seasoned broadcasters who are at once respected, charismatic and known throughout this country and beyond are increasingly important in this fragmented media landscape," Moonves said in a prepared statement. "I'm proud to have a talent like Katie who personifies this rare combination of qualities."
"After listening to my heart and my gut, two things that have served me pretty well in the past, I've decided that I will be leaving 'Today' at the end of May," Couric told "Today" viewers on Wednesday morning. "It was a really difficult decision."
Couric made the announcement at 7:31 a.m. EDT a moment after the show marked her 15th year on the air with the introduction of "Katherine Couric" and a short-haired Couric sitting alongside then-host Bryant Gumbel on April 5, 1991. Co-host Matt Lauer noted she was the longest-serving anchor in "Today" history and then asked, playfully: "So, anything new?"
Couric, who made the decision over the past week to go to become the first solo female anchor in network-news history, said it seemed like the best time to share her plans.
She praised the trust the viewers put in her as well as the "extraordinary" staff at "Today both on the air and behind the scenes. In one of several nods to the headlines that Couric has made over the past 15 years, she joked: "Once in a while we get on each other's nerves ... Well, he gets on my nerves but I could not have asked for a more talented partner or a better friend."
The two showed the rapport and timing that has marked their on-air relationship. Lauer paused for a moment after she finished speaking, then said straightfaced: "Also coming up in this half hour ..." to the laughter of Couric and many off-set.
"It's hard to imagine being here and not having you sit next to us," Lauer said. "We're thrilled for the fact that you are taking on a new challenge." Then, looking down and shuffling her papers, asked: "I'm looking, does it say where in there you were going?"
More laughter, to which Couric said that she was hoping to open a second-hand bookstore in Montana. But Lauer said that if she were a guest on the show, he wouldn't let her get away without saying her plans.
"I know it's the worst-kept secret in America but I'm going to be working on the 'CBS Evening News' and '60 Minutes,'" Couric said.
Couric's announcement on "Today" was the end of a long saga that stretched back to last year, when word leaked out that CBS was actively wooing the "Today" show host. She'll join a third-place evening news broadcast that was seriously wounded in the "Memogate" scandal surrounding Dan Rather, who later quit the anchorship. In the last year, temporary anchor Bob Schieffer and new executive producer Rome Hartman has loosened up the broadcast and made it more competitive.
A formal announcement from CBS is expected later Wednesday. NBC has yet to name a replacement for Couric, although it's likely to happen soon if contract negotiations are finalized. But for its part, NBC Universal made Couric's departure as smooth and classy as Couric's announcement was Wednesday.
In a prepared statement released Wednesday morning, NBC Universal chief executive officer Bob Wright said that Couric has had a positive impact on the company and the public.
"I've been fortunate enough to call Katie a friend and colleague, and I can't thank her enough for what she has brought to NBC," Wright said.
Another friend, NBC Universal Television Group CEO Jeff Zucker and former "Today" executive producer, thanked her as well.
"There comes a time for everyone when new challenges become hard to resist, and I fully understand that," Zucker said. "I couldn't be happier for Katie."
What remains for NBC News is to find a replacement for Couric, who will not be easily replaced. But the broadcast remains in the strongest position it's ever been and Lauer, Couric's co-host since the late 1990s, has had a raised profile lately.
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