CBS tries to lure Couric from NBC's 'Today'-report
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - CBS is trying to change the face of network news by luring Katie Couric, co-host of NBC's top-rated morning show "Today," to the evening news anchor seat vacated by Dan Rather, the Los Angeles Times said on Friday.
Citing senior editorial staffers at both networks, the Times said newly installed CBS News President Sean McManus had determinedly wooed Couric in recent weeks to take over as permanent anchor of the CBS Evening News and that Couric was seriously considering such a move.
CBS and NBC both declined comment on the story. Media reports began circulating in January that CBS executives had made overtures to Couric to lure her away from NBC to the CBS Evening News desk.
Taking Rather's spot would make Couric the first woman named as the sole permanent anchor of a major network evening newscast, unless ABC's Elizabeth Vargas beats her to the punch. Vargas, a "20/20," host, has filled in on a regular basis for the late Peter Jennings at ABC's World News Tonight and is regarded as a candidate to permanently replace him.
Connie Chung co-anchored the CBS Evening News with Rather for about 18 months in the 1990s, and Barbara Walters co-hosted ABC's newscast with Harry Reasoner for two years in the 1970s.
Veteran correspondent Bob Schieffer has served as temporary CBS News anchor since Rather stepped down in March, six months after coming under fire for a botched "60 Minutes II" report on President George W. Bush's military record.
Last month, McManus named "60 Minutes" veteran Rome Hartman as executive producer of the CBS Evening News, which has long trailed NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight in the ratings.
CBS EAGER TO LURE YOUNGER VIEWERS
Leslie Moonves, chairman of CBS and co-president of parent company Viacom Inc., has repeatedly expressed eagerness to revamp the Evening News to lure younger viewers and boost ratings.
Couric, who turns 49 next month, has been co-anchor of "Today" since 1991, including the show's decade-long reign at No. 1 that has made the program one of the most important assets at NBC, a unit of General Electric Co .
"Today" airs three hours a day, Monday through Friday, for a total of 780 hours of programing a year, more than any other show on NBC, and reportedly earns more than $250 million a year for the network.
NBC News President Steve Capus told the Times that speculation about Couric's next step was "premature."
"I don't think she's decided what to do," he was quoted as saying. "We're still sitting here with many months to go before this is going to be in front of us."
One network insider told Reuters that Couric was barred from entering formal negotiations with another network until her NBC contract expires in May.
Keeping Couric in place is widely seen as crucial to efforts by "Today" to hold its own against competition from ABC's "Good Morning America," which narrowed the ratings gap between the two shows earlier this year. ABC is a unit of the Walt Disney Co .
NBC already is struggling to rebuild its prime-time schedule after losing two popular sitcoms, "Friends" and Frasier," last year, falling to third place in ratings for its target audience.
Couric last renewed her contract with NBC in December 2001, signing a 4 1/2-year deal that sources said was worth about $60 million, one of the most lucrative in U.S. television.
Sean Connery OKs New James Bond
LONDON - Sean Connery thinks a blond Bond is just fine.
The former 007 says Daniel Craig is a "terrific choice" as the new British superspy.
Some eyebrows were raised in October when producers cast the sandy-haired, relatively unknown Craig in the next James Bond film, "Casino Royale."
But Connery, 75, told British Broadcasting Corp. television that he approved.
"Craig's a great choice, really interesting — different," Connery said in comments released Friday by the broadcaster. The full interview is due to air Monday.
"He's a good actor. It's a completely new departure," he added.
The respect is mutual. Craig told a news conference in October that Connery was his favorite 007.
Connery was the first actor to play Bond, appearing in six films beginning with "Dr. No" in 1962 and ending in 1971 with "Diamonds Are Forever."
Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan have also starred as the womanizing, gadget-loving spy.
Connery said he'd left the role in part "because I got really fed up with the space stuff and special effects. I just found it getting more and more influential in the movies."
"Casino Royale" is due in theaters next November.
Winfrey Spot Earns Letterman Big Audience
NEW YORK - David Letterman has learned the Power of Oprah: her "Late Show" appearance Thursday earned him his biggest audience in more than a decade.
An estimated 13.5 million people stayed up late to watch Winfrey's first visit to Letterman in 16 years, Nielsen Media Research said on Friday. Only three times has Letterman had a bigger audience on CBS — for his network premiere in 1993 and twice in 1994 in the midst of the Nancy Kerrigan- Tonya Harding ice skating melodrama.
Winfrey's appearance more than tripled Letterman's typical audience of 4.3 million viewers, Nielsen said.
Letterman escorted Winfrey to the nearby Broadway premiere of "The Color Purple" after their chat. Winfrey co-produced the musical, at least partly explaining the timing of her Letterman appearance.
During the interview, Winfrey said she thought Letterman's infamous 1995 joke on the Academy Awards ("Oprah, Uma. Uma, Oprah") was funny — although she did pointedly present him with a signed portrait of herself with Uma Thurman.
"I have never for a moment had a feud with you," she said.
The summit between the talk titans was set up by years of Letterman jokes about Winfrey, mixed in with years of her rejecting offers to appear on the show, and endless promotion promotion since her visit was announced.
The "Late Show" audience was larger than that of most prime-time programs and appeared to consist almost entirely of people who usually don't watch late-night TV. Incredibly, Jay Leno on NBC's "Tonight" show was seen by 6.2 million people on Thursday — more than his season average of 5.8 million — evidence that Leno's usual fans didn't abandon him.
"Late Late Show" host Craig Ferguson basked in Letterman's glow. His show, which directly follows Letterman, had its biggest audience ever early Friday, Nielsen said.