CRONKITE TO CROWN COURIC QUEEN OF CBS NEWS

Walter Cronkite will introduce Katic Couric on the new CBS EVENING NEWS
next week, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. Cronkite is just one of many
superstars, and broadcast legends, that will help the former TODAY host
splash onto the nightly news scene.

iwantthisname...

I watch now, wont watch with Katie on, cant stand her and cant imagine
she would be anyone I could TRUST.
They sure are grasping at straws though if you ask me. I bet CBS wish
they didnt hire Ole Katie haha, I love it

"It's going to be a who's who of Americana," a top CBS source said on
Sunday.

Cronkite will do the introduction of Couric on opening night only, the
source said.

CBS brass dismiss the suggestion that adding Cronkite is an
attention-grabbing stunt.

"This is a bold statement of continuity and 'trust,' a commitment to the
quality of the CBS EVENING NEWS," a top insider explained.

But there are signs mainline print media are prepared to pounce on the
all-star nature of Couric's rollout.

VARIETY editor Peter Bart in a column on Monday warned: "I realize media
companies need to overhype everything, whether it's a new 'Pirates'
movie or another faux 'American Idol'... but all this may be doing a
disservice both to Couric's credibility and to network news... Will
Couric actually tell us what's happening in the world or will she
preside over a sort of mini-'Today' show, complete with its well-worn
couch?"

Kurt Andersen in NEW YORK will applaud the coming Era Of Couric:

"Making Couric the anchor and de facto face of CBS NEWS is a very smart,
potentially even visionary choice... the real brilliance is that she's
the first network anchor to have a quick, smart, mischievous sense of
humor as a major part of her personal persona," Andersen explains.

"If it's possible to rejuvenate TV news, Couric is among the last best
hopes."

shoof...

Yet more proof that network news is really entertainment.

stonej...

I understand they want to give a sense of passing the torch to a new
generation of
newsreaders/journalists and all of that but I think this is overdoing
it.