Fire the Idiots Who Hired Her

Didn't take a genius to see that Katie Couric wouldn't last long as the anchor for CBS Evening News. Forget the fact she's a third-rate talent and not very bright, but she was taking over the helm of the journalistic Titanic that was well on its way to the ocean floor after Dan Rather's perfidious attempt at swinging the 2004 presidential election.

After two years of record-low ratings, both CBS News executives and people close to Katie Couric say that the "CBS Evening News" anchor is likely to leave the network well before her contract expires in 2011 -- possibly soon after the presidential inauguration early next year.

Ms. Couric isn't even halfway through her five-year contract with CBS, which began in June 2006 and pays an annual salary of around $15 million. But CBS executives are under pressure to cut costs and improve ratings for the broadcast, which trails rival newscasts on ABC and NBC by wide margins.

Of course, today they're saying no decision has been made.

What should happen is most of the news division should be cleaned out and they should start fresh. Or just give it up entirely.

Maybe they should see if Roger Ailes would be interested.

Andrea Peyser piles on.

WHEN will someone admit the truth about Katie Couric?

Katie was trotted out to the public less than two years ago as no less than the savior of modern American communications - a woman combining Joan of Arc's zeal and Madonna's legs.

She had the gumption to smash through the glass ceiling to make the world safe for gals. Well, at least for those who rake in $15 million a year, plus a free ride to work.

But now that her career has crashed and burned into a wicked-witch-size puddle, it's time to say it: Katie screwed up on behalf of more than just one woman who had trouble reading the TelePrompTer with conviction.

She did it for all of us.

Which network is going to take a chance on an overpaid fluff ball now?

Sure, it isn't fair. Neither is it fair that Katie was paid like a queen while rival networks wiped the floor with her. And lest you think it was not her fault, the proof is in the numbers - her ratings dipped significantly from the period in which her interim predecessor, Bob Schieffer, sat in the anchor chair.

To pay Katie her king's ransom, CBS reportedly cut the salaries of network stalwarts such as Lesley Stahl, a female veteran with far better news chops.

Couric's hiring was a disaster from day one. CBS execs figured she'd bring along the same dolts who watched her on the Today Show all those years. Problem is, they were interested in fluff and makeup tips, not real news. Same thing essentially applies to Couric.

It's the idiots who hired this empty head who should follow her out the door.