Katie Couric is a Ratings Disaster - I knew this was going to happen

[leftyladyfrommo]

Does anyone even care? I do because I am still really mad about Dan Rather.

New York: NBC: 7.1
ABC: 5.3
CBS: 3.7

Los Angeles: NBC: 5.9
ABC: 3.1
CBS: 1.5

Washington DC: NBC: 9.3
ABC: 7.8
CBS: 2.5

The big winner is Brian Williams

[soothsayer]

1. Even tho she's still last, the ratings are up compared to before

she got there (believe it or not)

[cally]

19. Is that compared to Rather's ratings?

I know I've seen this argument, but they are comparing Couric's ratings to a year ago. Rather left before that.

[liberaldemocrat7]

36. I watch NBC because Brian Williams worked for President Carter.

He's a Democrat and worked as an intern in the Carter administration.

In the age when journalists either tow the right wing line or proclaim their neutrality at least Brian Williams worked for a Democratic President.

[wtmusic]

40. You'd never know it

with the asslicking he's been giving the President.

[WI_DEM]

38. Actually Bob Schieffer increased Rather's ratings in the year or so

he helmed the CBS Evening News.

[tanyev]

2. Oh dear. She's going to have to hike up her skirts a little shorter

and sit on top of the desk for the entire newscast.

[Beelzebud]

17. Or become a professional journalist.

[leftyladyfrommo]

20. What a concept!

[tanyev]

21. Pfffptht! Like that's going to happen

:P

[BlooInBloo]

31. Then the choice is obvious: hike those skirts!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

22. Perhaps she need a few props?

A pole? A blanket on the floor? Some flashing lights? Some Motley Crue? ;-)

Upon reflection: Yes, I do deserve the spanking I will soon get. Is there a smiley for contrite?

[leftyladyfrommo]

23. She just needs to stick to the hard news. No props. n/t

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

25. I actually don't think...

That the idealogical bent of those "Voices from America"(sic) pieces are lost on the more intelligent of the viewing public. And that they cause people to not come back. People know when they are getting hosed.

[Jack from Charlotte]

68. Anyone here familiar with The French news reader.... Melissa Theuriau...?

She reads the news very well........

[bluestateguy]

3. Her newscast is too warm and cuddly; too "Today Showish".

This is the evening news, hardball, major league stuff, not a cup of coco around a warm fireplace.

Couric is a nice lady, intelligent and attractive (Tri Delts always are), but she is not the evening news type.

[underpants]

9. I completely agree

Like it or not people want the main news (basically the front page of that day's NYT) quick and fast THEN gear down and give a longer explanation of certain issues. Unfortuneately the only issues that seem to get any long drawn out attention is anything to do with the elderly and medicine (often the same issue) because they are supposedly the only ones watching.

Couric tried to make it too soft and too informal. People still like the first 8-10 minutes to be the major stuff they need to know-it doesn't allow for a full reporting often but that is how the format works.

[wtmusic]

33. Agree -- Tri Delts are attractive

but not noted for their gravitas.

[leftchick]

44. her chicklet teeth bug me

always have that and her RW bias. I have not tuned in to CBS since she started.

[saltpoint]

4. I still miss Jane Pauley. I saw nothing wrong with her at all.

And she had a lot more depth than many other folks on NBC at the time.

[Gabi Hayes]

5. why didn't rather stand up for himself as he was being forced out?

not to mention his producer, who couldn't get her story told, despite having written a book on the subject

[Dick Diver]

6. On one hand,

CBS Evening News has traditionally been in third place, throughout most of the Rather years; on the other hand, sweet Katie got a big bag of money to help correct that. It appears to have been a bad investment.

[SpiralHawk]

7. America does not need another republicon boot-licking news reader

It needs some honest journalist who actually want to serve the citizens of the USA.

Get a clue you corporate weenies at CBS. Serve the people, not the republicon cronies.

[peekaloo]

8. Her delivery is flat. She sounds like she's talking down to the audience.

"Here, let me say this slowly and without any big words so we can all understand it".

[leftyladyfrommo]

14. I know - I think that too. It sounds so unnatural to me - so forced.

I don't even watch at all anymore. I just watch ABC and then flip over to Lehrer. I can't get NBC.

[bmbmd]

64. She is too whiney.

nt

[bdamomma]

10. well Katie back to the drawing board again

[tinfoilinfor2005]

11. I knew I wouldn't watch her, but I thought she would do better.

And it doesn't have anything to do with politics. I have seen her be both fair and tough on both sides of the aisle. But I have always watched NBC news and there wasn't any reason to switch. And then when I heard that she was having Rush on for that looney tunes segment of the show, and especially the first week, fishing for the ding dong segment of the right wing...well, that was the end of that.

[sinkingfeeling]

12. I stopped watching CBS News the night she came on. Watched them

for about 45 years.

[hedgehog]

13. I've almost stopped watching any network news.

Right now I'll hang in for 15 minutes of NBC. I can't be bothered to hang around for most of the fluff stories.

[kstewart33]

15. Expectations were way too high.

The bottom line is that the anchor is a news reader. How could anyone bring CBS ratings up just by reading the news?

If CBS wants to improve their ratings, they are going to have to spend big bucks on better reporting and on getting big stories first. When they do that (which will take some time), then their ratings will improve. A news reader alone won't do it.

[gWbush is Mabus]

16. CBS should hire David Gregory or Terry Moran

unfortunately - they will contiue to appease the GOP so that they can still have their 40%+ ownership in some states.

it's not about ratings for CBS, it's about media conglomeration (is that a word?)

[oc2002]

18. CBS should get a hooker to spew the corporate talking points topless.

that would work. I might even watch it.

[bmbmd]

63. Try "The Naked News"

on the Playboy channel....

[npincus]

24. problem: she is news-host

I tried to watch her program again last week: I caught part of a "panel discussion"- oh boy. You mean the same shit I can watch on every cable network ad nauseum?

I'm not going back.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

26. I See A Lot Of Sexism In This Thread...

Isn't it ironic that no woman has had high ratings doing the nightly news...


I see no big difference between the three of them and I'd bet my bottom dollar Katie Couric has a higher IQ and a firmer grasp of world issues than Brian Williams or the guy on ABC whose name escapes me...

[Pastiche423]

45. Couric could be a man

and she would still not be right for a top news spot.

I began watching CBS news during the Walter Cronkite era. I stopped watching CBS news when Couric took over.

She is simply not qualified for the job.

[tanyev]

48. Walter Cronkite never sat on top of the news desk in a short skirt.

On the air.

[Poiuyt]

54. Now there's an image for you!

[Blasphemer]

57. It's a question of style, not sex

As a woman, I find her version of the news completely lacking. I don't think that Charlie Gibson is much better but at least they didn't totally revamp ABC news for him. The new version of the CBS evening news was crafted in Katie's image and it is not a good fit for the nightly news in my opinion. Now, if Diane Sawyer had wanted the ABC job, I would have loved to see that. I'd even argue that Connie Chung got shafted because she was never given a solo shot and got sole blame when the dual anchor deal didn't work out. I can't cut Couric any slack - she was given a ton of money and a ton of control over CBS news's reinvention. It's failing and it's all on her. I've loved many women who have anchored the news but Couric isn't one of them. NBC got the better end of the deal when they got Meredith Veira who would have been a much better choice for the evening news.

[farmbo]

27. Duh? "Hi I'm Katie Couric....Here's my friend Rush Limbaugh."

CBS couldn't have come up with a better plan to piss off 75% of the American Public.

Rush Limbaugh on opening week?

What were they smoking?

:smoke:

[DemocratSinceBirth]

28. I Thought It Showed What A Fool Rush Is To His Non-Listeners

He is the most cliched thinker I have ever seen.

[4_TN_TITANS]

37. "what were they smoking?"

good point. What - Rush doesn't get enough exposure in SYNDICATION. Practically anyone in the country who WANTS to listen to his garbage can tune it in on the radio.

Seeing his ass on there was the final straw for me.

[solara]

29. I quit watching the Today Show because of Couric

nor will I watch CBS News. She sickens me.

[flyarm]

56. me too ..i could not stomach her on the today show ..period..to me

she was an insult to intelligent women!..she spewed the stepford slop..

no thanks!!

i would rather read news online..

i can not stomach even looking at her..she represents what i do not like in my own genre..

she is not in my taste of what working women are about..

if i wanted to watch oprah..i will watch the real oprah..( which i do not watch)

who needs that crap for nightly news!!

wow i so miss Canadian news!!

real news!!

fly

[SammyWinstonJack]

67. So did I. Well her and Matt "I'm too sexy for myself" Lauer.

:puke:

[Efilroft Sul]

30. CBS has a female who can do hard news and get the ratings.

Lara Logan. Hands-down one of the gutsiest journalists out there covering the Middle East, and quite the looker, too. She wouldn't shy away from asking the hard questions to newsmakers. Plus, I think she'd dispense with rot like "freeSpeech" (a privilege, says Couric) and report on location, which I don't believe Katie's done yet. Lara does news, not fluff.

That's the face of CBS for the next generation. Too bad she's not at the anchor desk.

[BlooInBloo]

32. I said that 6 months ago... No one here cared...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=848695#848835


And she's soooooo DREAMY.... mmmmm.....

[annabanana]

42. I like Lara Logan too. . but we need her in the field.

I wish her stories were showcased more often. She gets stuff that no one else seems to have the intestinal fortitude for. She would be wasted at the anchor desk.

[rurallib]

34. If they hired Keith or maybe even (not likely) Amy Goodman)

I would bet their ratings would soar as long as K.O. or AMy had control of the content. I think keepingthe public stupid is more important than ratings to CBS.
Give Katie time though. I am sure the ratings will go lower yet.

[LibertyLover]

35. We watched her the first night

and then switched over to NBC news for the time period. Luckily we also get BBC News at 7 pm, which is where we get the best news - even the American news that they cover is better done than US stations.

[shadowknows69]

39. Other than 60 minutes

CBS has ceased to be the grand news organization it once was. Its reputation is permanently in tatters IMO.

[Norquist Nemesis]

47. Agreed. But they're even injecting Couric into 60 minutes these days

and in a big way, too. CBS is over-marketing Couric, IMHO. Getting her out there on every possible news show, talk show, etc., is just too much for me.

[flyarm]

59. they are trying desperately to build her an audience..to cover for

the exec's failed decisions!

fuck em!!

may they rot in their pitiful * asskissing, and propaganda and lousey ratings!!

seems it won't sell any longer!!

fly

[Clark2008]

41. What bothers me is that, if she's yanked, the networks

will assume it's because she's a woman and never consider the real truth is that it's because she's NOT a journalist.

People see how it's done in other countries and are beginning to wonder why our news is so entertainment-based and bland over here by comparison.

I mean, a good political scandal - like Watergate - is MUCH more interesting than a weird white guy confessing to a murder he didn't committ. But, Americans aren't given the chance to get enthralled in, oh, Iraq War Liegate or Using the Fundiesgate because the networks don't invest in investigative journalism anymore.

[Stephanie]

43. when they perched her on the desk so she cd show her legs while reading

when they perched her on the desk so she cd show her legs while reading the news I turned it off for good. it's just embarrassing.

[stevietheman]

46. Why didn't they lure Diane Sawyer? She would have been great. n/t

n/t

[951-Riverside]

50. I prefer Carol Simpson or Ann Curry to take her place n/t

n/t!!!!!!!

[Blasphemer]

58. I've heard that ABC gave her the choice and she said no. n/t

[AngryAmish]

49. She is not attractive enough for the job

She reads the news. Only very attractive people should read the news. The job is not hard. Correct pronounciation. However I would much rather look at attractive people reading the news. On that level she fails.

[951-Riverside]

51. Oh right Dan Rather and Bob Schiffer were total hunks

:eyes:

I think CBS made a HUGE mistake over-hyping Katie coming over. The closed town hall meetings, ads, etc were not necessary after all for the most part shes just reading the news.

[AngryAmish]

62. Rather and Schaffer should not have had the jobs either

Not attractive enough.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

52. We should lobby for them to bring Dan Rather back...

n/t

[leftyladyfrommo]

69. His new show should be starting 10-24, I think.

I wish he would come back, too.

[Nikki Stone 1]

53. Was CBS going for the FAUX audience?

I'm beginning to think they were going for the neocon male viewer who slobbers all over Anne Coulter.

CBS did not pick someone with a journalism background. This would have been a problem despite gender. Imagine Al Roker or Matt Lauer trying to do CBS news. They are all seen as morning show lightweights, no matter how pissy Matty boy gets in interviews.

On FAUX, being a lightweight doesn't matter. The whole cable station is essentially talk radio with pictures. Network news, however, has a pedigree and needed a real journalist in that position to preserve credibility. Choosing Katie meant that CBS was putting itself in the same market as FAUX, despite losing credibility. The choice of Rush Limbaugh for the first week "free speech" segment reinforces the idea that the neocon FAUX crowd was the focus. Even the new CBS slogan that "lets you decide" is ridiculously condescending for the serious viewer. And it sure as hell doesn't appeal to the internet crowd who decides what news to view to begin with. It can only make sense to the FAUX viewer who believes he is watching "fair and balanced" news.

[flyarm]

55. i refuse to watch her..haven't watched her once!! and won't

she was a gift to this white house by cbs..and a slap in the face to those of us who own the airwaves!..the American people..

she and cbs can go fuck themselves as far as i am concerned..she has no business in a news anchor job..period the end..she is an entertainment face..not a legit news journalist/anchor

i hope she continues to tank..we have one fox already who needs another!!

fly

[Cha]

60. I stopped watching today because of

the little puffy rottweiler(only when it came to intelligent Dems)..why would I see what puff she was up to in Dan Rather's spot?

"Look at me, America!" "I'm the answer to a 21st Century news anchor! I rock!"

[Jack Rabbit]

61. If anyone wants to watch FoxNews

. . . then they don't watch it on CBS.

[earth mom]

65. Karma's a bitch ain't it Katie?

That is what you get for spewing right wing propaganda! :puke:

[OzarkDem]

66. Right wingers aren't a very big market

They make a lot of noise and are backed by people with lots of money, but, unless someone from the GOP is underwriting CBS news, they aren't going to get good ratings.

All of the right wing talk shows on radio and cable tv are heavily underwritten by conservatives. None of them could succeed on their own. The crowd they appeal to is far too small.