Connor Simpson
3,225 Views
10:27 AM ET
All of Katie Couric's best friends left for CNN, so it would make sense if she followed them to cable's problem child. And, according to a new report in the New York Post, she might be joining the poop cruise crew of news fairly soon.
Page Six reports Couric may join her old pal Jeff Zucker at CNN, the network he ditched her to run in November 2012, after her ABC daytime talk show Katie wraps up its second season. Things have been in disarray since Zuck, also Couric's former Today producer, left the show.
The once unimpeachable Katie Couric is struggling on and off screen. The show's been a mess behind the scenes, according to Page Six. "Jeff’s departure left a void," a source told the Post. "Then they had four co-executive producers and the staffing decisions being made were poor. Katie was left vulnerable." Things didn't get any better when Michael Bass, another Today veteran, left Katie to join longtime partner-in-crime Zucker over at CNN. At the time, The New York Times gave us a glimpse of what was happening behind closed doors:
But people at “Katie” and its distributor, the Walt Disney Company, say they expect a shake-up after the first season ends and before the second season begins. The executive who replaced Mr. Zucker just three months ago, Michael Morrison, has been marginalized, according to several staff members there, so much so that rumors are running rampant that he is about to be replaced.
So the show needed a shakeup after its first season and the guy in charge couldn't run the ship. That's a classic recipe for success in television. With all of that inside baseball business setting the table for the show's eventual demise, it was also losing in the ratings. Katie Couric was losing total viewers and the coveted-by-daytime-advertisers women 25-to-54 demographic to Steve Harvey.
So let's operate under the assumption Couric will leave ABC, even though she's signed long term and network reps decline she's on the move, and join Zucker at CNN. Where does Couric fit in? She could bounce Kate Bouldan from CNN's new morning show that had a long, arduous search to find its 'Katie Couric' role. Katie Couric would probably qualify. Sorry, Kate.
Or, more likely, Couric could move into the (admittedly crowded) primetime lineup. There have been rumors swirling for months about what Zucker will do to makeover CNN in primetime, from landing Leno to reviving Crossfire, but a classic Zucker move would be to replace the apparently vulnerable Piers Morgan. The move has been speculated about before.
Or, who knows, maybe she could be the new Wolf Blitzer.
Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at connorbsimpson@gmail.com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
3,225 Views
10:27 AM ET
All of Katie Couric's best friends left for CNN, so it would make sense if she followed them to cable's problem child. And, according to a new report in the New York Post, she might be joining the poop cruise crew of news fairly soon.
Page Six reports Couric may join her old pal Jeff Zucker at CNN, the network he ditched her to run in November 2012, after her ABC daytime talk show Katie wraps up its second season. Things have been in disarray since Zuck, also Couric's former Today producer, left the show.
The once unimpeachable Katie Couric is struggling on and off screen. The show's been a mess behind the scenes, according to Page Six. "Jeff’s departure left a void," a source told the Post. "Then they had four co-executive producers and the staffing decisions being made were poor. Katie was left vulnerable." Things didn't get any better when Michael Bass, another Today veteran, left Katie to join longtime partner-in-crime Zucker over at CNN. At the time, The New York Times gave us a glimpse of what was happening behind closed doors:
But people at “Katie” and its distributor, the Walt Disney Company, say they expect a shake-up after the first season ends and before the second season begins. The executive who replaced Mr. Zucker just three months ago, Michael Morrison, has been marginalized, according to several staff members there, so much so that rumors are running rampant that he is about to be replaced.
So the show needed a shakeup after its first season and the guy in charge couldn't run the ship. That's a classic recipe for success in television. With all of that inside baseball business setting the table for the show's eventual demise, it was also losing in the ratings. Katie Couric was losing total viewers and the coveted-by-daytime-advertisers women 25-to-54 demographic to Steve Harvey.
So let's operate under the assumption Couric will leave ABC, even though she's signed long term and network reps decline she's on the move, and join Zucker at CNN. Where does Couric fit in? She could bounce Kate Bouldan from CNN's new morning show that had a long, arduous search to find its 'Katie Couric' role. Katie Couric would probably qualify. Sorry, Kate.
Or, more likely, Couric could move into the (admittedly crowded) primetime lineup. There have been rumors swirling for months about what Zucker will do to makeover CNN in primetime, from landing Leno to reviving Crossfire, but a classic Zucker move would be to replace the apparently vulnerable Piers Morgan. The move has been speculated about before.
Or, who knows, maybe she could be the new Wolf Blitzer.
Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at connorbsimpson@gmail.com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
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