18 Hours To Katie… “Bit Of Apprehension” About CBS Evening News Changes

“When she starts tonight, [Katie] Couric will introduce new features, including longer analytical pieces about the top story of the day and a ‘free speech’ segment of opinion and commentary — moves she admits will mean fewer overall stories in the 22-minute broadcast,” the LAT’s Matea Gold writes.

“The changes have provoked a bit of apprehension internally, especially among the correspondent corps, some of whom are worried that the lower story count will make it a lot harder to get on the air, network sources said. Compounding their anxiety is a sense of a cultural shift in the newsroom, which had grown accustomed to anchor Bob Schieffer’s low-key style. When they hired Couric, CBS officials also brought on about half a dozen of the staff that had worked with her at NBC, including an editor who now serves as the newscast’s creative director. And eyebrows were raised when Couric’s new office began filling with dozens of outfits and accessories that had accumulated in her old office at NBC…”