The North Carolina Democrats blame scheduling problems for axing the Big Show. They also expressed concern about “what another debate would do to party unity.” The Dems can’t afford a repeat of the April 16 debacle moderated by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson. Obama limped out of that session portrayed as an America hater, terrorist lover and card-carrying member of the Weather Underground.
[You remember the grief suffered by Iron Mike Dukakis when he was framed by Republicans as a card-carrying member of the ACLU. Imagine the fun that John McCain and his crew will have with Barack buddying around with Bill Ayers, a former WU member.]
The Democrats feared that Katie would wander into such trivial subject matters as Barack’s bowling scores or Hillary’s bourbon preferences. They worried that Couric might stage a heart-to-heart with Barack about his "bitterness" or counsel Hillary about her absent-mindedness when it comes to dodging bullets in Bosnia. The Democrats just didn't want to risk those chances.
Katie took hits earlier this month when the Wall Street Journal “broke” the non-story that she will not be around much longer at CBS. The April 10 WSJ reported about a February meeting of CBS honchos that discussed Couric’s future. The Journal reported there was “idle talk and musings” that Katie will leave after the election. The rest of the media took up the story about that idle talk and musings, and Katie is now toast.
The TV industry bible, Broadcasting and Cable delivered the final blow, slapping an unattractive close-up of Katie on the April 14 cover with the headline, “A $75M Mistake?”
B&C did hit the nail on the head. It’s not Katie’s fault that Nielsen Media Research says 24M people now watch the nightly news on the three networks, down from found 30M in 1998. Today’s news audience is not exactly the most appealing demographic for advertisers, other than pharmaceutical companies hawking the latest "wonder drug" for creaking bones or high cholesterol.
Katie could appear on the show in the buff, and ratings would hardly budge. It’s not her fault that the early evening time slot is yesterday’s news. Rather than twist in the wind until early ’09, Couric should hold her head high and tell CBS management, "I'm outta here."