Katie and Meredith Make News

by Nancy Fernandez Mills

There's been so much said and written about Katie Couric's move to the CBS News anchor job, I've been a little reluctant to add anything more. But I do have a few thoughts, so here goes.

First thought: It's good that a woman will be the solo anchor on a major nightly newscast. It's about time.

Second thought: Is Katie really expected to save the day and increase the audience for the CBS newscast? Or is a woman getting this great job now because it isn't as great as it used to be?

The nightly newscasts on ABC, NBC and CBS are quickly losing their place as "must see TV," if they haven't lost it already. I know that millions still tune in. But millions more have lost that 6:30 pm habit and are getting their news elsewhere. I'm one of them. For a long time now, I've been an NPR junkie. I read New York Times articles, Wall Street Journal clips and Yahoo! news online. I also read the actual Boston Globe (I still enjoy sitting down with a newspaper). From the media trend reports that I've seen, I'm pretty typical. Maybe Katie's joining a slowly sinking ship.

Third thought: This one is happier! NBC has decided to replace a 49 year old woman on the Today Show with a 54 year old woman. Meredith Viera has been named to take Katie's place in the morning. That's a more encouraging sign of the times. I think Jane Paulie was about 24 when she started on Today and although Katie was a more seasoned journalist when she joined the show, she was still pretty young. I'm happy to see that you can be a woman in your fifties and be first choice. The media gets some things right.