Katie Couric

Journalist


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About
About this interview

In her one-hour interview, Katie Couric discusses her path from desk assistant at ABC News to desk anchor at CBS News. She details her love of writing and how she became interested in journalism while in college, and shares the tales of her not-so-glamorous debuts as an on-camera reporter for CNN in Washington, D.C. and as an anchor for the WTVJ local news in Miami. Despite these setbacks, Couric recounts how she persisted and proceeded to anchor the news at WRC in Washington, D.C., to work at the NBC News Washington Bureau, and subsequently, to co-host Today. She speaks of her experience on Today and on transitioning to CBS Evening News, and describes what it means to her to be the first sole, female news anchor. Karen Herman conducted the interview on June 18, 2010 in New York, NY.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"I think every time that someone's tried to push me down it's just made me say, 'you know I'm not going to take that; I'm going to prove them wrong…' It just made me want to improve and get better and in hindsight that was such a gift, because when I was given opportunities, I had worked so hard and gained so much experience that I was actually ready for those positions. So in a weird way, it actually served me very, very well to have people kind of say, 'you're not that good.' It made me want to prove them wrong and in the process I got a lot better." 

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Highlights
Katie Couric on her debut as an anchor at WTVJ Miami
01:08
Katie Couric on getting hired for Today
04:51
Katie Couric on what she learned from Today
02:07
Katie Couric on transitioning from Today to CBS Evening News
04:51
Katie Couric on authenticity
01:02
Full Interview

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Chapter 1

On her childhood and early influences
On wanting to be a journalist; on her college years and working at ABC News after college
On working at CNN and on local reporting at WTVJ in Miami

Chapter 2

On her rise to national prominence
On Today
On moving on to do CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
Shows

CBS Evening News with Katie Couric

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Katie Couric on transitioning from Today to CBS Evening News
04:51
Katie Couric on changes she wanted to make at CBS Evening News
03:56
Katie Couric on being criticized for her role as anchor of CBS Evening News
01:21

Gilligan's Island

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Katie Couric on getting hired for Today - she was more of a "Mary Ann" than a "Ginger"
00:44

Peter Pan

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Katie Couric on television shows she enjoyed during her childhood
01:02

Today

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Katie Couric on getting hired for Today
04:51
Katie Couric on her first day on Today
01:40
Katie Couric on what she learned from Today
02:07
Topics

Criticism of TV

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Katie Couric on being criticized for her role as anchor of CBS Evening News
01:21

Historic Events and Social Change

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Katie Couric on feeling like most of the women at ABC News were in subservient positions
01:37

Representation on Television

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Katie Couric on feeling like most of the women at ABC News were in subservient positions
01:37

Women

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Katie Couric on feeling like most of the women at ABC News were in subservient positions
01:37
Katie Couric on what being a female journalist means to her
02:39
Katie Couric on becoming the first solo female news anchor
01:22
Katie Couric on why a solo female news anchor may not work for some people
01:43
Katie Couric on wanting a solo female anchor to be an accepted norm on television
00:26
Professions

Anchor

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Katie Couric on her first experience as an anchor at WTVJ Miami
01:08
Katie Couric on lessons learned from being an anchor on Today
02:07

Journalists & News Producers

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Katie Couric on lessons learned from being an anchor on Today
02:07
Genres

News and Documentary

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Katie Couric on her first experience as an on-screen reporter and CNN President Reese Schonfeld's reaction
02:04
Katie Couric on her debut as an anchor at WTVJ Miami
01:08
Katie Couric on her rise to working on Today and anchoring CBS Evening News
23:23
People

Carl Bernstein

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Katie Couric on telling ABC Washington Bureau Chief Carl Bernstein that she was leaving for CNN
00:51

Sam Donaldson

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Katie Couric on her first post-college job as a desk assistant at ABC News
02:24

Bryant Gumbel

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Katie Couric on her first day on Today
01:40
Katie Couric on wanting an equal partnership with Bryant Gumbel as anchors of Today
02:01

Deborah Norville

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Katie Couric on getting hired for Today
00:44

Jane Pauley

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Katie Couric on getting hired for Today
00:44
Katie Couric on wanting an equal partnership with Bryant Gumbel as anchors of Today
00:48

Frank Reynolds

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Katie Couric on her first post-college job as a desk assistant at ABC News
00:39

Tim Russert

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Katie Couric on how her political reporting caught the eye of Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert
03:25

Reese Schonfeld

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Katie Couric on her first experience as an on screen reporter and CNN President Reese Schonfeld's reaction
02:04

Garrick Utley

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Katie Couric on covering the release of Nelson Mandela with journalist Garrick Utley
00:48

Jeff Zucker

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Katie Couric on how Jeff Zucker helped her find the right tone for her stories
00:10

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