. The Transom .

Monday, April 17, 2006

Katie Couric gets her own blog. Now someone explain to her what that means...

That's not a cheap shot at Katie Couric. Far from it. That's a reference to her self-described 'low-tech' approach to the Internet. It was revealed today that Katie will have a 'daily presence' on cbsnews.com writing her own blog. She has, of course, contributed to blogs before, such as during the Winter Olympics, but never before has she had the pressure of producing behind the scenes views to her stories.

Why has CBS made the push for Katie Online? Easy... that's where the viewers are.

Report after report shows that more and more people get their news online. CBS thinks they can pull younger viewers into the Evening News fold by getting Katie front and center in the digital world. Will it work? Maybe. Katie had a loyal following of Today Show viewers that I'm not sure will translate to online readers. This is in no doubt a response to daily blogs by Brian Williams and Elizabeth Vargas of NBC and ABC, respectively.

The real test will come when we get to hear Katie the Thinker give us her in-depth analysis of the stories she covers. Unlike reading from a teleprompter or notes, she will have a chance to frame her thoughts and connect with readers on a more personal level. Whether or not she can deliver is yet to be seen.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home