Could Katie Couric Thrive as the New Larry King?

Could this    

Replace This?

That's the buzz in medialand, following a bombshell story in the Wall Street Journal alleging CBS anchor Katie Couric has begun negotiating a not-so-graceful exit from the consistently ratings-challenged CBS Evening News. The Los Angeles Times played up CBS' denial, but their statement that they have no plans to change the broadcast doesn't mean they aren't developing them.

All the cost-cutting at local CBS stations recently has led experts to look at Couric's $15-million annual contract and wonder if she's worth the record-low ratings. The WSJ story suggests Couric might take over for 74-year-old CNN stalwart Larry King -- a scenario Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz downplayed -- or that she might land at 60 Minutes, a job with arguably more prestige but much less visibility for a star like Couric.

But the stay at CBS strategy doesn't make sense to me, because it would force her to stay at CBS News after leadership there were forced to make the tremendously huge admission that hiring her for the evening news was a mistake. And if there's a job she is less suited for than anchoring the evening news, it is being a correspondent at the one network news magazine that tries to be substantive and groundbreaking every night of the week.

On the other hand, Couric heading to CNN also presents problems. Cable TV news in primetime has mostly focused on middle-aged white guys as anchors. Replacing Couric with King would present her with the same problem she has now at CBS -- she would be a famous woman struggling to capture a mostly-male audience that doesn't respect or feel drawn to her. And, once again, she'd be doing it with the world's eyes upon her.

If you ask me, and I've been saying this for months now, she would be much more successful as the host of the Early Show. Kurtz offers the next most appealing transition: Couric's emergence as the new Barbara Walters with a syndicated talk show.

Besides, does anyone really want to relive the nightmarish transition we saw in her move to CBS?    

Comments

[Jackie]

I've always thought Couric is highly over-rated... and I didn't think she was a credible fit for a network evening news anchor. I could definitely see her replacing Larry King except for the negatives Eric stated. That type of format would truly be more her forte.

[joe hillman]

yeah, poor katie. she got paid $15 million to stop waking up at 2 a.m. each day.

[Eric Deggans]

I don't think Harry Smith should get the anchor gig. He has proven in his role as a fill-in anchor there that he's not particularly memorable. And Charlie Gibson already has a lock on viewers who like the grandfatherly authority anchor.

CBS is in a bind. They let Dan Rather keep them from developing a possible successor for years, then when Bob Schieffer gave them an 18 month respite, they squandered it by bringing in Couric to do a show the audience had already told them it didn't want.

So they need two things: a placeholder to keep the anchor seat warm when Couric splits and a young hopeful they can spend several years developing in the way NBC groomed Brian Williams.

[former tampanian]

The Early Show sounds like a logical choice, with Harry Smith going toe to toe to toe with Gibson and Williams at 6:30pm. But The Early Show has had a few too many shake-ups recently. I'm not sure that would be a good move either. CBS would be smart to stick with their current anchor assignments and start grooming heir apparents for Couric and The Early Show.

[Eric Deggans]

The question of whether Seacrest is a good heir to King turns on a single issue:

Doyou want that show to be a better version of what kings is doing now, or something a little more ambitious?

I actually think Couric could provide the right mix of lightweight appeal and surprising savvy that show needs. But cable TV's male viewers in prime time would not dig her and she might view it as too much of drop in status.

I'm still betting she'll either get a syndicated talk show or a morning show gig...

[MarriedToTheMedia]

Yup. Couric failed to heed the warning: "Don't give up your day job."! Ha. Time to reset the alarm, Couric, for 3 a.m. Oh those halcyon days at NBC's Today. Geez. Now she is just awful on an awful news report with awful non-HD broadcasting.

And c'mon, isn't Ryan Seacrest the (rightful) heir apparent to Larry King? At least IMHO.