Couric: Viewers want news to be an hour

[Kadie]

Couric: Viewers want news to be an hour
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer
7 minutes ago


NEW YORK - During nearly every stop of her six-city "listening tour" this summer, Katie Couric said viewers told her they wanted the network evening news to be an hour instead of just 30 minutes.

Couric, who becomes anchor of the "CBS Evening News" on Sept. 5, told The Associated Press on Monday that the request speaks to a hunger for news and information.

She traveled to six cities for off-the-record conversations with CBS News viewers about things they would like to see in the evening news. For the most part, Couric said the public input validated changes that she and executive producer Rome Hartman were already considering, such as a regular segment for people to give their opinions.

An hourlong newscast is considered very unlikely. Network affiliates would be loathe to give up that extra half-hour, which is often used to air profitable syndicated programs like "Jeopardy" or "Entertainment Tonight."

"I told them to call Pat O'Brien," Couric joked about "The Insider" host.

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060814/ap_en_tv/tv_cbs_couric_2

[MichiganVote]

1. I'm old enought to remember when it was an hour

But commercials will eat up any time and besides, today's news is hardly in depth or unbiased.

[Drum]

2. THE news already is!

The News Hour, on PBS.
1 hour, commercial-free too...no bullshit.

[Cooley Hurd]

3. So do I, but not hosted by Katie Couric...

;)

[midnight]

4. Katie's is on to something.

Viewers are hungry for more news. She must have interpreted to mean more minutes, when it should of been interpreted as viewers are tired of crap,and want to be told the truth.

[madokie]

6. you're on to something

[goclark]

14. They won't get TRUTH news from Katie

I think viewers want TRUTH News not Corporate NEWS from Katie.

[goclark]

15. They won't get TRUTH news from Katie

I think viewers want TRUTH News not Corporate NEWS from Katie.

[WI_DEM]

5. No they don't not if it's going to be 80% fluff and 20% news

[aquart]

7. NOT from her.

[cornermouse]

8. If we had someone serious like Bob Schieffer, yes.

But not with Katie steering the boat we don't.

[Subdivisions]

9. I think that once her head began

to deflate after getting the job, she realized she'd only have 30 minutes per day of face time instead of the hours she got on Today.

[FormerDittoHead]

10. ...and they want Katie to make more money too!

Those town meetings can get all kinds of "information"!

People would suffer through twice as many senior citizen prescription commercials in the false hope of getting some actual truth and information from their news!

Maybe if they omitted the crap, stopped parroting press releases and talking points, and actually told us the truth, we'd be satisfied with 30 minutes.

[Rosemary2205]

11. The idiocy they give us could be covered in 12 minutes.

If Couric is really going to give out ACTUAL news instead of just launching the propaganda then I'd say an hour is good.

[KansDem]

12. Hey, Katie! Have you "gotten back to us, yet?"

COURIC: Hey, wait a second. Democrats took money -- Democrats took money from Jack Abramoff, too, Mr. Dean.

DEAN: That is absolutely false. That did not happen. Not one dime of money from Jack Abramoff went to any Repub -- Democrat at any time.

COURIC: According -- let me just tell you. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Abramoff and his associates gave $3 million to Republican and one -- Republicans -- and $1.5 million to Democrats including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid . So, this --

DEAN: Katie, not one -- not one dime. Not one dime of Jack Abramoff money ever went to any Democrat. We can show you the FEC reports, we'd be very happy to do it. There is a lot of stuff in the press that the Republican National Committee has been spinning that this is a bipartisan scandal. It is a Republican-financed scandal. Not one dime of money from Jack Abramoff ever went to any Democrat. Not one dime.

COURIC: Well, we will obviously have to look into that and clarify that for our viewers at a -- at a later date.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200601260003

It's been 7 months now...Do you have a "clarification" or are you sticking to that tired old lie?

[Warpy]

13. She also wants to INTERPRET the news, not simply report it

LOOK OUT BELOW! CBS is going to rush tothe bottom of the barrel to reside with the rest of the right wing editorializing foamers who pretend to be journalists.

[Raine]

16. I would like to have an hour

of World and National news.:thumbsup: I wish the locals would give up some of their "news". Here in Los Angeles the local "news" is 2-3 hours in the afternoon and then 35 minutes at 11:00. Just about all they cover is celebrity goings on and any other kind of freakish story they can find. :puke:

[Dinger]

17. SIX, Count 'Em SIX Cities! Wow ! Which Ones Were They?

She ought to do a REAL tour (like she ever would) and stop in each state, and take about 20 years for her "listening tour," then maybe I'll see what she has to say, MAYBE.

[SoCalDem]

18. Gee .....wonder why that would be?? Could it possibly be

that in order to GET 15 minutes of real news, a broadcast HAS to be an hour?? "Countdown" is a prime example... 20 minutes of commercials...15 minutes of "fluff"...10 minutes of celebrity junk & internet crap we all saw LAST YEAR...and that leaves about 15 minutes ofr news of the day..

[TheFarseer]

19. It already is

one half-hour national news and one half hour local news

[Rene]

20. I think it's safe to say katie's tour and interviews only involved

rich, white twits. I get my news from the multiple sites I check on the internet. Bob Sheiffer did a fairly good job. but I don't trust corportate news/slanted agendas....or dishonest fluff news. katie is not big on actual F A C T S. she bounces to her talking points/and reads a script.

[partylessinOhio]

21. This POS will never be on my TV, ever! I stopped watching Today

because of her and the other three clowns. Rather was just fine and there was no need to kick him out for a midget that believes she is hot stuff.

This home will be a Couric-Free-Zone.

I know where to find news 24/7. It's any place that she isn't.

[Habibi]

22. Katie "Navy Seals Rock!" Couric?

And her opinion matters why?

[Ilsa]

23. Hey, it's called THE NEWS HOUR with Jim Lehrer on PBS!

In-depth interviews, not much soft-feel-good-junk to fill the last three minutes. And they actually pay tribute to fallen soldiers on Fridays. There is no Hardball-style of pundits arguing back and forth, just people who are experts in their fields and the actual political players discussing the news and issues.