TELEVISION FEATURE: Newswoman Couric moves on to talk show
Veteran TV personality and newswoman Katie Couric already has numerous accomplishments under her belt: “Today” show star, network news anchor, author, interviewer of celebrities and national figures, Sarah Palin thorn-in-side.
But in her appearance Thursday at the TCA summer press tour in Beverly Hills to promote her upcoming syndicated talk show, “Katie,” Couric ticked off a few more things she’d like to do ---- sing in a Broadway musical, jump out of an airplane. “And I’d like to go out with George Clooney, if you could arrange that,” she joked.
Still, Couric was mostly serious as she tackled a number of questions about her new venture, her stint at “The CBS Evening News,” and her thoughts about the recent ouster of Ann Curry from “Today.”
“My heart was breaking for her that morning,” Couric said when asked about Curry’s awkward on-air departure recently. She said it must have been horrible “to have that played out on the public stage. ... It was very hard to watch.”
She praised Curry highly for her reporting. But in terms of the chemistry on the NBC morning news program, “for whatever reason, it wasn’t clicking,” she said.
Mostly, Couric was upbeat about her afternoon talk show, though she said it was still “a work in progress.” The show premieres Sept. 19, and Couric will take on a high-profile role within the ABC News division while also producing and owning the talk show along with her onetime “Today” show producer, former NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker.
“Katie” will broadcast live from New York with a studio audience.
As for her days as anchor of “The CBS Evening News,” Couric said she was taken aback at the ferocity of the criticism of her early days.
“The criticism seemed so shallow,” she said, ranging from the way she held her hands on the desk to wearing a white jacket post-Labor Day. “It was Armani, people,” she quipped.
A memorable moment from her CBS News days was when Couric asked then-vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin to list what newspapers or magazines she read and got an indirect response. Couric said she has invited Palin to be a guest on her new show. So far, “no response,” she said.
Later in ABC’s press day, much of the “General Hospital” cast took the stage. The soap opera, the last on ABC, is poised to celebrate its 50th anniversary this season.
“I think everyone seems to enjoy cutting-edge things these days,” said Nancy Lee Grahn, who has played Alexis Davis on the sudser since 1996. “But there’s something to really be valued about tradition and something that is familiar and makes people feel comfortable and is generational and inclusive.”
Executive producer Frank Valentini said of fan dedication, “I think it’s about storytelling. (Soap operas) address the fantasy of family, the fantasy of love, the fantasy of friendship. People look to these shows as touchstones.”