More Katie....

A recent gallup poll surveyed Americans about network nightly news anchors Charles Gibson, Brian Williams and Katie Couric. Overall, all three were evaluated more negatively by Republicans than Democrats. This seems to make sense since the media has a reputation of being more liberal, especially among conservatives. The more interesting aspect of the survey was that Couric had the most negative ratings and she did not fare better in the eyes of women.

With 24-hour news like CNN and the like, it seems like hardly anyone tunes into these evening newscasts anymore, but interestingly enough, that isn't exactly the case. The survey showed that 35 percent of Americans watch these nightly news casts everyday. That number seemed pretty high to me since I'm not sure who can make it home to work by 5:30- for those of us in the central time zone. I'm jealous of those people! It also makes me think this viewing audience must include people who don't work, whether they're stay-at-home moms or retired people, etc. Too bad the study didn't exactly break the viewing audience down in that way, so I can't say for sure.

It's quite strange to me that Couric is not faring better among female viewers. But as a female viewer, I actually tend to agree. I can't actually relate to her as a fellow woman. Her personality and way of delivering the news is not really my style. I'm thinking many other women feel the same way I do. I relate to her Today Show replacement, Meredith Vieira, much better than I do Couric. Vieria is much more down-to-earth and not trying to act ditzy just for attention. She does have her moments but overall I feel much more comfortable getting the news from her.

It's strange that I would actually prefer to get the evening news from a male, but according to this survey, so would many other women. I just don't think Katie Couric is the best representation of the average American woman and definitely not the finest female news personality. I feel her journalism is slightly lacking but also her delivery is not really up to par with the seasoned hosts on the other networks. It just shocks me that you can become the host of the CBS Evening News and really not even be very good. This goes to prove that it's very hard to tell who's going to make it in this business and who's not. It seems to have more to do with luck than talent, which is a scary thought as I begin my career.