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Katie, the Rose Bowl and more …
Katie Couric made her press debut as anchor-to-be of the “CBS Evening News” in grand fashion — and fashionably late. More than 15 minutes past showtime, Couric arrived with Sean McManus, president of CBS news and sports, and perched before more than 100 antsy reporters.
My full interview with Couric will be in Tuesday’s TV column in the American-Statesman’s Life & Arts section (and posted on Austin360 and statesman.com).
But here’s a bit of fluff that didn’t fit into the print piece: Our Katie is thrilled to be sleeping past 4 a.m. and is thrilled with her cushy new work hours. When she begins anchoring on Sept. 5, the First Female Anchor of a Network Evening Newscast will be on the job from 10 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.
Very civilized … or very cushy, depending on how your own work day usually goes. Those hours, of course, will blow out the window in breaking news periods.
When Couric decided to end her 15-year tenure on “Today,” she consulted her two daughters, ages 10 and 14, about the changes the family was about to undergo. Apparently, neither girl (whose father, Jay Monahan, died of cancer in 1998) was terribly impressed with their mom’s history-making venture.
“They pretty much said, ‘OK, that’s cool,’ ” Couric said. “I told them we’d be eating dinner later … no more early bird specials.”
In response to a superficial male reporter’s superficial question about what she’ll wear when she ascends the anchor desk, Couric replied with a strained smile, “I’m going to (ABC anchor) Charlie Gibson’s stylist.”
Rose Bowl madness …
CBS held its big star party at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, where our very own Vince Young led the mighty Longhorns to a national championship not too many months ago. I swear you can still hear folks screaming “Hook ‘em” in the stadium.
The field was covered, not with confetti and Longhorns, but with supporting stars of dozens of CBS’s new and returning series. Without name tags, nobody ever knows who the new stars are, so that makes celebrity reporting difficult. Gary Sinise, star of “CSI: New York,” was there for about five minutes, and many members of the cast of “How I Met Your Mother” attended. Big whup.
There was some sort of punt, pass and kick contest designed to make worn-out reporters feel even crankier. Didn’t stay long, though. There’s a geniune heat wave in Southern California.
Usually when SoCal folks talk about a heat wave, they’re whining about 80 degrees. But this is real heat. The temp has been soaring around 100 for the past few days, and, I’m assured, the temp on the field at the Rose Bowl is a good 10 degrees hotter. … Gotta go hydrate.
Today’s word of the day is “Runaway.” Click here to enter the TV Blog contest.
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