Couric ratings at historic low

TB patient infects networks

By MICHAEL LEARMONTH

NEW YORK -- CBS' Katie Couric continued her slog through spring, registering a historic ratings low the week TB patient Andrew Speaker dominated headlines.

ABC's Charles Gibson won the week of May 28 in total viewers with 7.86 million, compared to NBC's 7.38 million, a smaller margin than the previous week. The two newscasts tied in the 25-54 demographic.

CBS' Couric registered 5.5 million total viewers, its lowest total viewer delivery since at least 1987.

All three newscasts were compared on a four-day average excluding Memorial Day.

ABC's Diane Sawyer scored an exclusive interview with Speaker, who caused an international scandal when he managed to board several international flights after having been diagnosed with drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Sawyer gave "World News" a teaser of her Speaker interview without a soundbite, saving the story for "Good Morning America" the following morning.

The Speaker drama became the year's biggest medical story, and the network newscasts devoted 47 minutes to it, compared to 23 minutes to the Iraq troop surge, according to the Tyndall Report.

Nevertheless, ABC's perf allowed Gibson to spend his sixth straight week in first place, the first time "World News" has done so since October 1996, the network said.

Season-to-date, NBC's Brian Williams has lost 7% of his audience, while ABC's Gibson has gained 3%, which allowed him to pull ahead over the past few months.

Couric has dropped 6% of her audience compared to last year with Bob Schieffer at the helm. Last week CBS management met with local affiliates and asked them to consider skipping the commercial break between their local newscasts and the "CBS Evening News," to help boost its lead-in.

Overall evening news ratings have been hurt this spring by the early start to daylight-saving time, which started three weeks earlier than last year.

Not surprising, especially because Katie is all wrong for the CBS Evening News. I felt like Russ Mitchell did an outstanding, upstaging job when he filled in for Couric the week of Gerald Ford's death. It was like having Schieffer back. Less glamour, less unintentional smiling, more news. I was hoping that b!tch would be on vacation for the rest of the week.

The main reason why Katie can't connect with viewers is because no one buys her as a serious journalist. And the face-lifts and botox that give her half-smiles when she's reporting serious topics make her look terrible on-camera.

If CBS wanted a woman and wanted a "name" anchor, they should have just went with Diane Sawyer. At least she's not an aging sorority girl wanting to recapture her youth on the air.

I am really hoping they buy out her contract and replace her with either Russ Mitchell or hell, pay Schieffer whatever he wants to get his old ass back in NY. That's my boy!

I am surprised the her show has taken a ratings dive. I wonder how CBS feels knowing they paid her all that money. ABC beating NBC for 6 weeks, wow. I guess NBC ratings are really taking a nose dives all across the board

Rather, Moonves in combat mode

CBS CEO defends Couric hire

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

CBS Corp. chief exec Leslie Moonves continues to find himself on the defensive for hiring megabucks anchor Katie Couric. But his response has been consistent: Give it time.

"She's been on the air for nine months," he said Tuesday during a New York event sponsored by the Newhouse School of Communication. "Let's give her a break."

Still, as Couric's ratings have plummeted, critics have criticized the network for relying too much on features and gimmicks early in her tenure. These days, most of those elements are gone, and "CBS Evening News" acts more like its competitors.

But that hasn't silenced the attacks -- now most notably, from the man who sat more than 20 years in that chair, and had a prickly relationship with the network chieftain.

Dan Rather, who departed "CBS Evening News" in 2005 and the Eye all together a year later, has stepped up his criticism of his former employer this week, first on MSNBC and then Tuesday on Fox News Channel.

The latest skirmish began on Monday when Rather told MSNBC host Joe Scarborough that CBS had hurt the "Evening News" by "dumbing it down and tarting it up." Moonves shot back at the Newhouse forum, arguing that Rather's "tart" line was a "sexist quote."

By Tuesday afternoon, Rather, speaking to Fox News Channel's "Your World," saved most of his barbs for Moonves, accusing him of trying to "change the subject." The real issue, he said, is not with Couric, but with "the leadership at the very top of CBS."

"Les Moonves knows about entertainment," said Rather, who now produces news programming for HDNet. "But he doesn't know about news."

That was stupid of Rather to speak to FOX NEWS, one of the same media outlets that wanted his head for the 60 MINUTES II story he did that got him fired.

I wouldn't say the Evening News is tart! My God, I wish it were. Maybe it would make the show that much more exciting.

And Moonves wants us to give it time?! By then, they'll all be watching Charles Gibson, who's numbers are climbing.

What should have been a chance for history to be made has turned into a disaster. Katie's low ratings imply that women can't do the job of a news anchor. It all rests on you Hillary to shatter sexist misconceptions.

Dan Rather can shut the hell up!

Edited June 13, 200718 yr by Q Steph

What should have been a chance for histoety to be made has turned into a disaster. Katie's low ratings imply that women can't do the job of a news anchor. It all rests on you Hillary to shatter sexist misconceptions.

Dan Rather can shut the hell up!

ICAM! I feel really bad for Katie and in fact women everywhere because this situation is deteriorating RAPIDLY and if it doesn't improve anytime soon she's definitely going to be fired I think. And that would be tragic. I don't find her to be "fake" or anything. I just don't watch ABC, NBC, OR CBS for news at that time. I'm more of a CNN type of guy.

But I don't understand why her ratings are so low. Thats the biggest mystery of all to me. There was so much hype and potential surrounding her. Where did it all go?

As Bellcurve mentioned, it's not the fact that she's a woman - she is the wrong woman for CBS.

What should have been a chance for histoety to be made has turned into a disaster. Katie's low ratings imply that women can't do the job of a news anchor. It all rests on you Hillary to shatter sexist misconceptions.

Dan Rather can shut the hell up!

I hope you don't think that I'm sexist or that I have misconceptions. I think there are several women that would have done GREAT in the Evening News(Meredith Vieira would have been a dream!). Katie just doesn't have it and I honestly don't think she ever did.

It's a combination of her lack of hard news experience and the extensive plastic surgery that gives her this smiling thing when she's trying to be serious. It's really sad.

I say Russ Mitchell or Bob Schieffer!

But I don't understand why her ratings are so low. Thats the biggest mystery of all to me. There was so much hype and potential surrounding her. Where did it all go?

Because she's not that good! In fact, she's not good at all! I only watch the CBS Evening News because most of the daytime/late evening programming I watch happens to air on my CBS Affiliate.

Shieffer should have just stayed. CBS should have offered the man whatever he wanted to keep him. Shieffer's broadcasts brought an energy and charm to them that I don't think we've seen in years. No pretensions about him, he just delivered the news to you. He had a charm that made him easy to relate to not just the on-assignment anchors he handed the stories over to(like Lara Logan I think her name is) but the audience who watched him.

Any woman that replaced Shieffer needed to have these qualities. Katie just doesn't have those. So it is no shock to me that she has not only managed to undo Shieffer's work(yes, the ratings rose with him in charge, not by much, but a rather significant gain) but has sunk the CBS Evening News to lows that haven't been seen since the 1980's. That's pathetic.

I started watching the Evening News again after Shieffer took over CBS. He's greatly missed by me.

Oh, I don't think any of you are sexist. I firmly agree that Katie is the wrong choice as anchor. Her bubbly persona is off putting when delivering serious news. Her biggest error was on the first day. She wanted viewers to give her a sign off. The telecast is not a call in particpation program.

My earlier comment was meant to infer that her inability to be a comptent host might lead others to reject the notion that a woman can do the job as well or good as a man.

Katie should save face and go to 60 Minutes. She seems more in her element, buttressed by others and fluff pieces.

^She already does stories for 60 Minutes, I believe.

Yeah, she should just anchor herself there permanently.

Jane Pauley or Diane Sawyer should replace her on CBS Evening News.

I firmly agree that Katie is the wrong choice as anchor. Her bubbly persona is off putting when delivering serious news. Her biggest error was on the first day. She wanted viewers to give her a sign off. The telecast is not a call in particpation program.

LOL. LOVE IT!

My earlier comment was meant to infer that her inability to be a comptent host might lead others to reject the notion that a woman can do the job as well or good as a man.

I agree with this as well, although I think a lot of people in the industry realize it's Couric and NOT the fact that she's a woman. I do think they'll wait another five-to-ten years before they try anything else groundbreaking, even hiring someone African-American, like Russ Mitchell(whom I adore...he's so handsome and the kind of anchor/personality Bryant Gumbel should have been).

Edited June 13, 200718 yr by bellcurve

I feel bad for Katie Couric! She never should've left Today....!

I hope she doesnt get fired, would she come crawling back to NBC??? they would fire Anne Cury in a heart beat and Katie could do the morning news lol.