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COURIC, KATIE.

Examines the life and career of the TV journalist. Her rise to fame. Influences on her life, including role models. Her professional capability. Her personality & physical appearance. Her awareness of the power of the mass media. Her private life, marriage and husband's death. Her public service work.

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This research examines the life and career of Katie Couric as a woman of prominence who is at the peak of her career. The plan of the research will be to set forth the course of her rise to the pinnacle of her life's work, and then to discuss evidence of her being socialized to succeed, as against evidence of exploitation or compromise of her ambitions. Influences on her life, including role models, will also be discussed.
Although as a cohost of the Today Show Katie Couric has one of the most recognized faces in the United States, her celebrity status was not the result of a protracted and difficult rise to fame. According to published reports, Couric was born Katherine Anne Couric in 1957 and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1979; her degree was in American Studies. After graduation, her father, a journalist and public relations worke

At least as important to Couric's success at Today, however, wasthe fact that with Couric in an anchor position ratings for the programimproved dramatically, literally overnight; they had fallen to a low ebb atthe period Norville in that position (Marin, Chang, & Angell, 1998). 15-16). Katie factor.Newsweek, 132, 53. As Ford, LaTour, and Lundstrom (1991) note, there isdisagreement about the content of inappropriate stereotypes. A generally sharp and negative critique of the televisioncoverage of a mass-murder spree at Columbine High School in Littleton,Colo., included mention of an "authentically spontaneous moment" duringCouric's "memorable" interview of a grieving parent and a grieving student:"Couric still has sense enough to know that human testimony is moreimportant than ego or commercial breaks. Welcomed back by her co-host, Matt Lauer, she proceeded to thank the thousands of viewers who had sent condolences and then extended her sympathies to those who were struggling with terminal illnesses "and are wondering how the world keeps going." That's all there was to it. "I want them to see that I'm assertive and I can defend myself. This whole matter bespeaks professionalism and empathy of the kindthat points in the direction of positive role models. What you don't know about Katie Couric.Good Housekeeping, 223, 72-6. Apparently stymied during an on-camera interview with actor JerrySeinfeld, she "crumpled her question sheet in frustration and threw it onthe floor. Influenceson her life, including role models, will also be discussed. (1991, Winter). (1999, May 29). For her part, she is characterized asbeing "acutely aware" of her own status as role model: "A lot of little girls see me and say, 'I can do that,'" she says. TheQuarterly Journal of Speech, 58, 255-63. Cooper, G. (2 , May-June). In herown public statements, Couric conveys an awareness of the power of themedium to influence viewers. Although as a cohost of the Today Show Katie Couric has one of themost recognized faces in the United States, her celebrity status was notthe result of a protracted and difficult rise to fame. In April 1991, she debuted as Today'scoanchor, beginning as a substitute for coanchor Deborah Norville, who wason maternity leave (Bumiller, 1996). Goldman, R. . Flander, J. . While Couric cites this designation as havinga "sexist, patronizing undercurrent" that would not accompany descriptionsof males in her position (Marin, Chang, & Angell, 1998, p. . 256). . . (1996, August). Brand new kid. Couric's work as a journalist, in particular as an interviewer, hasreceived praise, even in the context of an increasingly problematizedmedium. Family Practice News, 3 , 18. Rhetoric, reality, and mass media. It would be inaccurate to say that Couric's tenure on Today owes muchto a power struggle at the network. In addition to, and partly in conjunction with, her television career,Couric has become a published author of one children's book abouttolerance, a gift book of photographs celebrating motherhood, and a book onparenting toddlers, cowritten with a physician and based on a Today series.As a coanchor of a national daily program, Couric is well positioned tofunction as an advocate. Couric, K. It is thisimage, which has been characterized as being in the nature of viewerperceptions that they have a "relationship" with on-camera personalities(Media, 1999), that accounts in larger part for her apparent ability tohave maintained her position as Today coanchor for some 1 years. Colorectal cancerawareness. (1998, April 27). In the most recent version of a nationally known Cambridge Documentaries film, Still Killing Us Softly, the advertising industry is accused of serious misconduct, including the glorification of violence against women, the unrealistic inferiority of anything less than "ideal beauty," women's inferiority to men, and an increased emphasis on women as sex objects. andafter only a few weeks on the job she was thrust before the camera to readthe 6: a.m. news when a news anchor failed to show up for work. "They come at him through the television screen" (1966, p. It is a commonplace of popular culture that stereotypical portrayalsof women remain in some vogue on television. 16).In that connection, television has been described as the agency ofconnection between modern man and the very experience of history, or as itwere the principal mediator between the individual and the global village."The people and events of electronic communication are presented," saysSnyder. I have principles I adhere to that anyone who watches carefully can understand" (Flander, 1992b). & Papson, S. Rimm, S.B., & Couric, K. American Demographics. That I don't have to be a 'yes woman.' I am definitely a feminist. But the true Couric touch was to blurt, 'But I need thosequestions!' and climb down off her director's chair to retrieve them"(Marin, Chang, & Angell, 1998, p. believed in saving money [and] . (1998, July 6). Feminist womenare more likely to be critical of traditional role portrayals and to favorrole portrayals of professional career women. Raising preschoolers: Parenting fortoday. It is interesting to note that while research findings in the 197 s indicated some perceived improvements in advertising's treatment of female roles, the use of traditional female stereotypes (e.g., women as primarily domestic types, sex objects, subservient to men) continued in the 198 s (Ford, LaTour, & Lundstrom, 1991, pp. I try not to be strident; I set my own agenda. Littleton the video. . A generally shared perception of Couric's on-camera persona,however, is that it is honest and straightforward, an elaboration ofhonestly held social and personal values. Darts and laurels: Cause for concern.Columbia Journalism Review. (2 , May 15). (2 , August 3 ). Patient Care, 34, 6. (1972, October). What made the incident impressive as well as affecting was, in part, that it was so out of step with the modern way of handling personal difficulty. Couric's high-profile status appears to have encouraged her to lendher name and the credibility of her media celebrity to the support ofprojects that have a public-service aspect to them. Traditional women are morelikely to be critical of feminist-attitude portrayals and to find lessfault with traditional-role portrayals. In the aftermath of herhusband's death, she underwent a colonoscopy, a screening test for thedisease, as a patient, on the air on Today in 2 . Couric reportedlyconsidered her own professional role models to be beat reporters instead ofanchors. As Ford, Latour, and Lundstrom(1991, p. (2 , July 1). Contemporarywomen's evaluation of female role portrayals in advertising. Rosenblatt, R. The plan of the researchwill be to set forth the course of her rise to the pinnacle of her life'swork, and then to discuss evidence of her being socialized to succeed, asagainst evidence of exploitation or compromise of her ambitions. She also anchored a Today series onthe disease (Cooper, 2 ) and funded a pilot study in which the total costof the screenings cost $5 (Bates, 2 ; Saunders & Krohn, 2 ). Marin, R., Chang, Y., & Angell, E. Advertising in the age ofhypersignification. (1997). . Kavanaugh, J. Saunders, C.S., & Krohn, T.S. She extended the encounter, a raremoment of truth in the world of stage management" (Kavanaugh, 1999, p. . Katie Couric's series prompts morecolonoscopies. In any of a variety of popular publications, Couric has beendesignated "perky," chiefly on account of her physical appearance and on-camera comportment on Today. After graduation, her father, a journalist and publicrelations worker, advised her to seek employment in the television industry(Marin, Chang, & Angell, 1998). Thus advertisers in particular seek toreinforce their preferences, making their products symbols or "signs" ofsuch preferences; Goldman and Papson call this manipulation a crisis ofmeaning. (2 ). Bumiller, E. 53). However,professional capability appears to have been a factor of an almostuninterrupted career rise; she has been called an accomplished reporter(Flander, 1992). Rather, an admiring critique of her work refers to her as"wholesome" (Rosenblatt, 1998), and another as "the kind of girl you'd likeyour daughter to grow up to be just like" (Flander, 1992). Katie Couric Biography. Ford, J.B., LaTour, M.S., & Lundstrom, W.J. Retrieved from the World Wide Web 15 April2 1, at http://www.cjr.org/year/ /2/juneindex.asp. According topublished reports, Couric was born Katherine Anne Couric in 1957 andgraduated from the University of Virginia in 1979; her degree was inAmerican Studies. Berg, D.M. In a subsequent addressto the American Gastroenterological Association, a professionalorganization for physicians, Couric cited an 8 percent surge in the numberof requests for the usually elective screening test after the program andsuggested that specialists might treat more colonoscopy patients if theprocedure cost $4 instead of $1,5 . The initial on-camera debacle did not prevent Couric from beingtransferred to CNN in Atlanta as an associate producer and then as producerof a two-hour news and information program, finally returning to on-camerareporting as a political correspondent (MSNBC, 2 ). This research examines the life and career of Katie Couric as a womanof prominence who is at the peak of her career. On the day of her return Couric wore his wedding ring on a chain around her neck. (1992b, September/October). In 198 , she obtained a position as an assistant on thenews-assignment desk of the newly formed Cable News Network (CNN). Decent exposure. . Couric's parents, whom she describes as "children of theDepression . 324).Couric appears to be aware of the power of mass media to achieve, asGoldman and Papson (1994) have it, broad-based social influence and indeedto control sanctioned social behavior by, as it were, making meanings inthe service of normative culture. . New York: Random House. . workaholic" (Marin,Chang, & Angell, 1998). Criticizing the prurient and unending "search for truth"regarding public exposure of private lives, Rosenblatt (1998) praisedCouric's handling of such exposure as "so fleeting (and tasteful) one couldeasily have missed it." Rosenblat continues: Couric returned to her position as host after a period of mourning following the death of her husband Jay Monahan, an attorney and legal analyst for NBC. "Media-produced reality" has long been held to have a fundamental"defect-ridden quality," which is that it conveys a heightened sense ofurgency and importance to whatever the media are transmitting. gave me money to dothings they approved of". Thisdoes not necessarily mean that Couric was solely responsible for theimprovement in ratings, but it does indicate the comfort level of NBC withher performance. In an age that makes the most--and generally the worst--of any disappointment, much less grief, in which people weep lavishly at the drop of a stock market, and the tendency of television is to devote a special to the heartbreak of psoriasis, here was decent, neoclassical, proper restraint (Rosenblatt, 1998, p. She worked as a so-called desk assistant atABC News in Washington, obtaining the job partly on the strength of what iswidely reported to be a winning personality (Bumiller, 1996). Retrieved from the World Wide Web 15 April2 1, at http://www.cjr.org/year/92/5/. . They also appear to have been influential inshaping her character and her values. 53), physicalappearance has long been regarded as a feature of television success.Stereotyping of women in television has historically been accomplishedthrough the deliberate portrayal of women as sex objects, as ditsy, interms of physical attractiveness, and in other ways not typical of maleportrayals. 18), observe, "the use of some stereotypical female portrayalsmay have actually increased; for example, while somewhat dated, the 1984data did indicate an increase in overtness of sex object portrayals."Couric's on-camera persona is not perceived to conform to a sex-objectstereotype. America, 18 , 16. Media channels; media marketplace: In the eye of the beholder. Talking money: Interview. New York: Doubleday. Money, 6 -62. Theory, Culture & Society, 11, 23-53. MSNBC. 86). Time, 151, 86. (1999,December). (1992, September-October). The workplace reputation Courichas is of strong professional skills combined with self-effacing goodhumor. Theimpromptu debut is widely regarded as having been a disaster; ReeseSchonfeld, a cofounder of CNN, was watching the broadcast and insisted thatCouric never be allowed in front of the camera (Bumiller, 1996). . Retrieved from the World Wide Web15 April 2 1, at http://www.msnbc.com/onair/bios/k_couric.asp. She is quoted as praising her upbringing andcharacterizing her work habits as "driven but not . (1994, August). Indeed,"media do more than merely reflect events; they also create them" (Berg,1972, p. Catching up with Katie Couric.Saturday Evening Post, 264, 38-44. However, a striking feature of her life and workis the relative reticence with which she has exploited that position, aswell as the record of prudent judgment that appears to have governed herpersonal and professional life. . Insider: NBC's Tim Russert.Columbia Journalism Review. References Bates, B. This was brought to the fore in 1998 when her 42-year-old husband,Jay Monahan, died from colorectal cancer. From 1984 to 1986,Couric worked as an on-camera reporter for WTVJ in Miami, moving toWashington, DC, in 1987 as a reporter for WRC-TV, an NBC affiliate station.It was from here, in 1989, that she was made a deputy Pentagoncorrespondent for the network, and in 199 , in the wake of winning an Emmyand an Associated Press award for her reporting (MSNBC, 2 ), she became acorrespondent for the Today Show. As a celebrity associated with one of the most highly rated televisionprograms, Couric's private life has been under public scrutiny for someyears. Journal ofConsumer Marketing, 8, 15-28. That is partly because success ontelevision is measurable, specifically measurable in the form of viewerratings, and partly because Couric was reportedly mentored at NBC in herPentagon-reporting period by Washington bureau chief Tim Russert (Flander,1992b). She permanently replaced Norville andhas remained as coanchor ever since. Flander , J. Inferences of the nature ofCouric's personality may be drawn from accounts of her public comportmentat the time. (2 ). . Retrieved from the World Wide Web 15April 2 1, at http://www.demographics.com/.

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