Miami Beach (USA TODAY) - She led the Today show to great success, but her five-year stint as CBS Evening News anchor was a ratings bust. Now Katie Couric, once known as "America's sweetheart," will try to conquer the treacherous world of daytime talk shows, where she and others are vying to fill the void left by Oprah Winfrey.
Come September, Katie- produced by her old Today boss (and former NBC Universal chief) Jeff Zucker- will premiere, mostly on ABC-affiliated stations and usually at 3 p.m. Couric, 55, promoted the project at this week's syndicated TV programmers' convention here.
She envisions a single-topic show that will humanize current events for daytime's largely female audience, from the Penn State scandal to dating violence.
"There's a big appetite for smart conversation, with some kind of depth and perspective and intelligence," Couric says. "I would love to leave people feeling they have a greater understanding of a particular issue and how it impacts their lives. (But) we can have fun without being too base or silly."
Celebrities are invited, but only "if George Clooney wanted to come on and talk about his work in Darfur," or Lady Gaga addresses her efforts to fight bullying. "Actors or musicians often are treated as one-dimensional, but a lot of them are smart and engaged. And I would like to talk with them about things other than their latest movie."
Couric has no regrets about the CBS job, though she seems frustrated that despite promised change, it ended up "a fairly traditional evening newscast, which wasn't exactly what I signed up for. I wanted to get back to a place where I could really interact with people, really hear their stories, be spontaneous, fly by the seat of my pants in a live format, and just explore issues in a more natural environment, which I think suits my skill set."
She says her task would be "much tougher" had Oprah not left. "She occupied this space in the country and in the culture for so long." But Zucker says Couric is the best-positioned challenger: "Ellen is a fantastic entertainer, Phil is a great therapist, Oz is a great doctor, (but) there's no one best friend in daytime. Hopefully Katie can fill that void."
USA TODAY