Slim Shady CBS

I don't watch Katie Couric. I prefer straight-up news most of the time, so I've always avoided the national news chat shows, whether on the broadcaster networks, or CNN, or the Fox News Channel. And of course, no Imus simulcast on MSNBC. I'd rather clean my contact lenses with Tilex before viewing that program.

The idea that people like Katie Couric, or Brian Williams, and the like get paid millions of dollars to essentially read off a teleprompter (and be what the Brits call a "newsreader") is entirely ridiculous to me. I suppose that those who are able to invest a combination of authority, sincerity, and empathy in their delivery are the most successful. I never cared for Peter Jennings, or Walter Cronkite, or even Tom Brokaw, but one can't argue that they were successful for decades because the public thought they had gravitas. Time (and the ratings) will tell if Katie Couric is able to do the same.

But I don't think CBS publicists were doing her any favors when they submitted a Photoshopped picture of of a slimmer Couric to a magazine. Didn't they learn anything from the "60 Minutes II" story which was based on fake documents about the President's National Guard service? That little debacle spelled the end for a few people's jobs, including Dan Rather's. Only, it appears now, CBS is the party that is falsifying things!