A feature on Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan reported in breathless tabloid fashion by correspondent Lara Logan. An essay by filmmaker Morgan Spurlock in which he decried the lack of civil discourse. The first televised pictures of Suri Cruise, child of actors Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
And anchorwoman Katie Couric showing lots of leg during a taped, sit-down interview with New York Times columnist Tom Friedman.
These offerings made up much of the first telecast of CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, which aired last night. Couric's status as the first female solo anchor of an evening newscast -- and the $60 million that last-place CBS is betting on her -- made the program's debut one of the biggest in TV history. Undoubtedly, it will be among the most discussed as well.
The 49-year-old anchorwoman emphatically articulated a new direction for the network's news operation: Gravitas be darned, Couric seemed to be saying. The new CBS Evening News involves interaction with viewers, a touch of whimsy at the anchor desk, and a conversational style and softer tone that is similar in some ways to the touchy-feely approach favored in local news broadcasts -- or morning network shows like Today, her TV home for 15 years. It is also a formula likely to face harsh criticism from news purists.
Although CBS repeatedly tried to link Couric to a gloried past that includes legendary newsmen Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, network Chairman Leslie Moonves has made it clear in interviews that the newscast can no longer afford to play to journalism's purists. The network with the oldest audience for TV news needs to find a way to attract younger viewers.
Forget the buzz about a redesigned set created to exude elegance and power. Couric's new electric blue and gold set is circular rather than flat; it clearly is built to direct viewers' eyes back to the anchorwoman at its center. She seemingly is surrounded by endless surfaces of glass in which her image is reflected. It is a narcissist's dream.
Make no mistake, Couric presides over the newscast in an easygoing manner. As conversational as her predecessor, Bob Schieffer, could be, Couric is even more casual -- nearly over-the-back fence chatty at times, in fact.
Perched on the side of her shiny desk, she ended the telecast by confiding to viewers that she had not been able to craft a trademark sign off over the summer. So she invited viewers to go online and send in their suggestions.
