Katie In Charge Part 1

History was made this evening as Katie Couric became the first woman to solo anchor a major network evening newscast. Along with the new face came a new set, new graphics and new music -- in other words, a total makeover. Her demeanor started off a bit stern (probably the nerves showing), but she noticeably loosened up as the newscast went on. Perhaps more notable than who was delivering the news, despite the history involved, was the content of the newscast. In one sense, it continued the trend away from news that happens today to more in-depth and investigative pieces. Not only that, but the newscast was notably on the "light and fluffy" side, quite a change over the years from the CBS legacy. In the second half, Couric introduced a new feature called "Free Speech," which invites viewers to air their thoughts on...whatever. The first was delivered by filmmaker Morgan Spurlock who spoke on civil discourse. While interesting, I look forward to views from more unheralded private citizens (non-celebrities). The strange segment of the evening came with something called "CBS News Snapshots," which made an analogy between early photos of Prince Charles on the CBS Evening News with Douglas Edwards back in the 1950s and new pictures of the well-hidden child of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. A stretch indeed, and one that doesn't give much of a clue what that segment will be like on an ongoing basis. That was followed by a feature story by Steve Hartman. I often used his stories back in the early 90s when I was an anchor/producer and he was a local reporter in the Twin Cities. Still, this was an unusual amount of soft news for a nightly network newscast. And they weren't done. The final segment was a commentary by Couric on what her "signoff" should be each evening. She even invited suggestions from viewers to the CBS website.

It will take more than one viewing to give any kind of accurate assessment of the changes CBS has made in the Couric Era to come. CBS has a long climb to overtake NBC's first place lead, and there is the across-the-board problem of younger viewers who avoid the nightly newscasts altogether. This reporter thinks it is unlikely that softening the newscasts to this extent will bring those lost viewers home, but then, it is also likely that what we saw this evening is still a work in progress. Katie Couric has made history and deserves credit for traveling a rough road to get there. The bumps have only just begun.