What To Know
- Katie Couric called efforts to make news coverage less critical of the Trump administration a “total embarrassment.”
- Couric expressed concern over Bari Weiss’s leadership, including the firing of several 60 Minutes staff.
- She also shared her thoughts on the ratings struggles of CBS Evening News.
Katie Couric has seen many changes throughout her career, having served as a host across all three major networks, including stints as a Today co-host, anchor of the CBS Evening News, and 60 Minutes correspondent.
The veteran journalist recently spoke to Status about the changing tides across network news, including the upheaval at CBS News and the behind-the-scenes drama at 60 Minutes. When asked to grade the broadcast networks’ handling of pressure from the Trump administration, Couric gave them a “D.”
“It’s not an F,” she added. “But unfortunately, the stories coming out of 60 Minutes about trying to direct the storytelling in a way that is less offensive to the administration or that fudges the truth is a total embarrassment. It’s hard to measure, but there is probably some anticipatory obedience, if you will.”
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who was appointed by Paramount CEO David Ellison last October, has faced criticism for attempting to transform the network into a more MAGA-friendly one, including killing stories critical of the Trump administration.
In May, Weiss fired 60 Minutes producers Draggan Mihailovich and Tanya Simon and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi. After longtime correspondent Scott Pelley spoke out against Weiss and the firings during a heated staff meeting, he, too, was dismissed.
Couric said she doesn’t think this obedience to Trump is “everywhere,” but noted, “Brendan Carr [Chairman of the FCC] has had a chilling effect on some media out there.”
“There’s still very good reporting being done—I don’t want to paint everyone with a broad brush,” she added. “But when corporate interests are trying to achieve something with the administration’s blessing, it’s hard for the news organizations to be completely independent and liberated to report and to seek out the truth.”
As for the changes at 60 Minutes, Couric said she is waiting before passing judgment. “It will be interesting to see how the program coalesces around new hires,” she stated. “We’ll see if the quality of the reporting and the quality of the pieces are still there.”
“There are a lot of people who are still really concerned about the changes that were made, whether they agreed with Scott Pelley’s actions, and when and where he expressed his displeasure,” she continued. “From everything I’ve read about the reporters who were fired, some of the stories behind the scenes were very troubling.”
She was also asked about Tony Dokoupil’s performance as anchor of CBS Evening News, the show Couric hosted from 2006 to 2011, and whether its struggle to regularly draw more than 4 million viewers is due to Weiss’ changes or to general apathy towards evening news.
“I think it’s more of a trend line of network evening newscasts,” she explained. “I know they still command a decent-sized audience, but it’s a much older audience, and that’s been the case for quite a while.”
However, she added, “I don’t think the publicity around Bari’s leadership and the chaos that seems to be pervasive within the halls of CBS News are helping. I’m not sure if it’s the primary driver of declining ratings. The [Stephen] Colbert firing might not have helped either. I think that probably has hurt the morning show, because TV viewers leave the channel on overnight.”
You can read the full interview with Couric in the Status newsletter.