Katie Couric - CBS Evening News Anchor: $15 million contract. Is she worth it?

Question

One year after all the hoopla of Katie Couric being drawn away from NBC for one of the most attractive contracts in the industry to be evening news anchor for one of the Big 3 -- do you think CBS got their moneys worth? Is Katie all she was hyped up to be?

I personally can't see what the big deal was. She doesn't impress me as the heavy hitter they paid for. Will CBS try to buy out her contract and cut their losses? Or will she muddle along and keep us still wondering what's really there behind all that fuss and money?

Chime in and let us know if you think Katie is top shelf in the industry or just one of the pack but nothing to get excited about.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

I have nothing against Katie Couric but here is my opinion on the whole issue of an individual making that kind of money. In a world we live in full of people who are homeless, out of work, both parents working and not being able to provide all the necessities of life and all the millions of people who struggle each and every day just to be able to have a warm place to stay, food on the table and clothes on their backs and to be able to pay for their must have medications in order to stay alive; is any one person really that much better than the rest of the population that they should be paid that kind of money? I personally do not think anyone is worth that much money. They should be paid a reasonable pay for their expertise but not an outrageous amount that so many are sucking in; in times like these when so many are struggling and going without.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

I agree that some people's salaries are out of control with reality. They also drive up the price of everything for the rest of us eventually. I don't mind Katie Couric, I just don't get what all the fuss was about and now I just grimace and yawn when she's on the tube. CBS had better choices.

Answer 2

Katie has given us the best in news reporting and she deserves nothing but the best ! GOO KATIE!

Answer 3

I really loved her as she was on the Today Show, but I don't really care to watch her now. Sorry to say ~ but she just isn't as good an interviewer as Barbara Walters.
She seems too fake (or maybe too serious?). Whereas she was fun and interesting to watch because she could be more herself in the AM show.

Answer 4

"Is she worth it?" No. Nobody really has an intrinsic worth of $15 million. You get paid according to your value in the marketplace, proportionate to the size of the marketplace --meaning that when measured up against what CBS pulls in every year in ad revenues, $15 million's a lot, but not astronomical.

"All she was hyped up to be?" By who? CBS's advertising? How often does anything live up to its ad hype? Aside from the advertising, there was some press coverage over Couric's contract, which, given its remarkable dollar amount, wasn't so much hype as it was reportage.

I personally did not think Couric was the right individual to inherit the mantle of Walter Chronkite and Dan Rather, but then, who could have anyway? These days, choosing a nightly news anchor involves dozens of variables: credentials, marquee value, appeal to the target demo, appeal to the non-target (but more desirable) demo, contractual flexibility with new technology, etc.

No, I don't think CBS will attempt to buy out her contract, as it won't be any more viable to drop her and then also cover the contract of her replacement (who'll need to have some serious chops to justify the switch.)