Katie's Popularity Nosedive

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

06 May 2007 07:38 AM

I hate when critics turn out to be right. Hordes of them lined up to voice their negativity when Katie Couric decided to leave her cushy job at NBC's "Today" show to take the quantum leap of becoming the first female solo anchor of a nightly news program. That was nearly 10 months ago... and now it seems their taunts may becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

According to a new Gallup Poll survey, one-third of Americans say they have a negative view of Katie Couric. What's more, those same people say Couric's personal popularity lags behind rivals Charles Gibson and Brian Williams just as much as her evening news program does in the ratings.

The poll shows that Gibson who recently left "Good Morning America" to permanently anchor ABC's "World News" is viewed positively by 62% of TV viewers and NBC's Williams by 59%. Meanwhile, Couric got positive remarks from just over 50% of TV viewers.

The survey results (and CBS's dip in ratings) haven't been lost on network executives. Recently CBS hired former CNN and MSNBC president Rick Kaplan as "CBS Evening News" executive producer in an attempt to help Couric gain viewers.

According to the Gallup Poll survey, most people explained their negative opinion of Couric by saying they simply "don't like her." (Ouch!) You'll recall at one point in her career Couric was one of the most popular personalities in TV news (though her negative ratings crept up during her final years at "Today").

As a die-hard Katie Couric fan I have to look at the bright side here. First of all, at least people know who she is. According to the survey, only 13% of respondents said they had never heard of Couric, compared to 19% each for Gibson and Williams. And, even more telling is the fact that the Gallup survey was based on telephone interviews with 1,007 adults conducted last month. One thousand people? That's it? The Gallup Company makes it seem as though they surveyed the entire television viewing public. One thousand... that number doesn't even represent a fraction of the millions of people who watch television news on a nightly basis.

I get the feeling the results of this latest survey haven't affected Couric's life at all... and rightfully so.

Related Articles:

What Will Katie Wear?

Katie Couric Looking For Love

Celebrity News: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger