Editorial: Katie Couric finds a new home

Saturday, April 8, 2006 | 7:29 a.m.

Among the big three television networks, a woman has never been the sole anchor of an evening newscast. Women have sat alongside men as co-anchors, such as Barbara Walters and Connie Chung, but they didn't have complete control.

That will all change this September, however, when Katie Couric, the popular co-host of NBC's morning "Today" show, becomes the anchor and managing editor of "CBS Evening News."

CBS once was the most venerated television network when it came to its news shows, but its downward slide in viewership for its evening news has been embarrassing.

While the ratings have improved since the veteran newsman Bob Schieffer took over for Dan Rather as the "CBS Evening News" anchor more than a year ago, the fact remains that CBS still is mired in third place behind ABC and NBC.

It remains to be seen whether Couric will be able to make CBS more competitive in terms of ratings. Sadly, what has been overlooked in much of the media coverage is what CBS' hiring of Couric will mean journalistically for the network.

Will some of the staples of morning news shows, such as a focus on celebrities, become more prevalent?

Or will more in-depth, explanatory, investigative stories make a comeback?

We would like to see the latter, and our hunch is that there is an appetite out there among television viewers for quality broadcast journalism, too.