The Media Drop

Now I won’t be the first person to comment on this whole Katie Couric-to-CBS News situation, nor will I be the last. I’ve been a bit crazed the last two weeks as this has finally taken a turn for the worse (yes, I said worse). Not that I didn’t expect this to turn out to be the way things worked out, but I’ve got to say that I’m feeling worse about it now than I did before.

In any case, I can still appreciate the way that the AP’s David Bauder describes the situation in an article this weekend. He states that the selection of Couric by CBS News for the evening anchor post will be a “jolt of energy” for all the networks involved. But if you ask me, I’m with the Don Imus camp, who asked last week “if it were possible that CBS could come in fourth” in the race for the top newscast - in a race that has three horses, ABC, NBC, and CBS. While Bauder is objective in his take on the situation, his seemingly positive attitude towards on how this will all turn out definitely ignores the following point he makes square in the middle:

“Morning news is considered the growth area in television, and Couric was its cover girl. The evening news has been slowly and steadily waning in influence and audience, the victim of cultural changes that make fewer people available to watch a half-hour news summary at the dinner hour.”

So why is it, that with the whole problem of no one being around during dinnertime and the idea that the “growth area” was morning, that Couric’s move to the evenings will swing what is described as “cultural changes” the other direction? Are we all going to start TiVo-ing the evening news just because the fresh happyfakeface from the morning has changed her schedule and isn’t getting up at 3am or whatever anymore? Okay, I probably will the first week in the same way I watched the last week that Rather was in town. But not because I actually am interested in what she’s going to bring to the table, it’s that I just don’t get it and need to try and clue myself in.

All the people talking about how Katie Couric’s serious news background makes her a good choice, but I’m going to say that CBS News isn’t choosing her because she’s able to bring the news to a new light. It’s like when a baseball team in the doldrums brings in a superstar hitter just for the ticket sales. Perhaps it works a little bit, but does it solve the problem that the team has no cash in the first place, is in a crappy market, and has no pitching. It’s the same situation here. The evening news is hurting, and the only thing in the newsy space that’s going to be gaining ground as far as viewership goes is Rocketboom.

Anyone want to take bets that the newscasts being downloaded on iTunes would supersede the viewership watching them at home within five years (I’m being generous)?