Howard Kurtz Can't Figure Out Why Katie Couric Is Struggling In Ratings, Despite The Fact She Just Told Him Exactly Why

It takes a lot of discipline and focus to miss as many stories as Howard Kurtz and his pink fellow-travelers do.

That’s why Couric has spent recent weeks in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and New Brunswick, New Jersey. She is touring what she calls “this great unwashed middle of the country” in an effort to divine the mood of the midterms.

Therein lies a key reason why Couric has sometimes struggled in her current job. She’s always seemed constrained by the rigid, 22-minute format, a far cry from her freewheeling Today performances over a decade and a half. So she has devised ways to slip out of her $15 million-a-year prison—launching a Web show, engaging on Twitter, and getting out in the field.

OMG. Where to begin?

Perhaps Katie Couric is struggling because she holds 90% of her potential audience in disdain, calling them "the great unwashed middle of the country."

And her idea of "the great unwashed middle of the country" consists of: liberal blue city metropolis Chicago, liberal blue city Philadelphia, liberal blue city Boston and very liberal blue college town New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Now, in fairness, I think she means "middle of the country" to mean maybe moderate voters. Strange, though, she seeks such voters only in bright blue Democratic bastions.

Still -- "unwashed"? Liberal voters who vote straight-ticket Democrat are, what? Washed and elegant?

Finally, Katie Couric is being booted out of a $15 million a year gig to work on the internet. Or they'll sign her to continue on at a much-reduced rate of pay (as the article speculates later).

Look how Kurtz spins that:

she has devised ways to slip out of her $15 million-a-year prison—launching a Web show, engaging on Twitter, and getting out in the field.

Yeah, I too devised a way to slip out of a high-paid, regular-gig prison. Look upon me and envy, bitches.

She's being promoted, Yo! To Twitter.

Thanks to Slublog.

posted by Ace at 12:45 PM

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