Couric Approval Rating Down To 29%

It used to make me upset when I'd read a biased poll rating suggesting that a politician that I liked had hit an all-time low in terms of the magical "approval rating." However now I say, if you can't beat 'em join 'em. Here is my effort at reshaping an AP article on Couric's move to CBS News that make the story read to match my biases. Note that this is an admission you will never find in the Minneapolis StarTribune, although it's a technique that is prevalent there. Note my rewrites in bold. Like the Strib my omissions are not noted - if only I had room to provide a balanced story. Drat!

Now that Katie Couric is making the move from dawn to dusk, her legacy and the future of CBS News depends on an audience that, according to a new poll, prefers not to see her there.

Asked if they would like to see Couric as the first woman to anchor a network weekday evening newscast on her own, a mere 29 percent responded favorably, according to a poll conducted this week by The Associated Press and TV Guide.

The woman who dressed in Marilyn Monroe and SpongeBob SquarePants outfits on Halloween and gave viewers a tour of her colon will take the position once held by the iconic Walter Cronkite and the ousted Dan Rather.

Couric's morning job required her to interview everyone from . . . preening celebrities to a runaway bride. Some critics have questioned whether those skills translate well to a job that primarily involves reading news headlines and presiding when big news strikes.

"If we have another (terrorist) attack or hurricane and need life-saving information, I think her image is that of more fluff than fact and that's going to have an impact," said Jeff Alan, author of "Anchoring America: The Changing Face of Network News."

She seemed far from her hard news roots last November while serving as host for NBC's Thanksgiving Day parade coverage and missing the story of a spectator hurt by a falling street lamp — a development CBS aggressively pursued.

It hasn't helped that the morning show balance has tipped to the less serious, said Charlotte Grimes, a journalism professor at Syracuse University. She said the new anchor needs to ditch the fashion consultants and crafters of the 172 hairstyles that Couric joked about on Wednesday's "Today" show.

As her "Today" tenure lengthened, Couric also gained detractors whose view was most infamously stated by Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times last year: "America's girl next door has morphed into the mercurial diva down the hall. At the first sound of her peremptory voice and clickety stiletto heels, people dart behind doors and douse the lights."

Couric is expected to stay at "Today" until the end of May.