No matter your personal feelings about Katie Couric, she remains America’s sweetheart when it comes to television reporting. You may find her as big a pain in the ass as a colonoscopy, a procedure she underwent on live television in 2000 following the death of her husband from colon cancer at the age of 42. But, if you’re like most people, you find her smart, funny, quirky and well-worthy of her enormous salary to say nothing of letting Sarah Palin effectively hang herself when nominated for vice president on the McCain ticket.
Yahoo hires Katie Couric
Today, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)’s CEO Marissa Mayer confirmed that Katie Couric has been hired as Yahoo’s new “global anchor” via a Tumblr post. While Tumblr may remain a big question mark following Yahoo’s $1.1 billion acquisition, Mayer, continues to break news with the questionable acquisition and blogging site.
Without getting too specific about Katie Couric’s role, Mayer wrote the following:
Today, I am incredibly excited to announce that Katie Couric is joining Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) as our Global Anchor. Starting in early 2014, Katie will lead a growing team of correspondents at Yahoo News who will cover the world’s most interesting stories and newsmakers.
I’ve always respected Katie Couric for her thoughtful, charismatic approach to journalism. From pivotal coverage of natural disasters and historic elections to the Royal Wedding and the Olympic Games, groundbreaking interviews with heads of state and leading tastemakers, her experience is unmatched. Katie is dynamic, savvy and has a way of connecting with viewers that I really admire.
In addition to being the face of Yahoo News and shooting features for our homepage, Katie will continue to host her syndicated daytime talk show, Katie.
At the end of the day, Katie Couric is truly a global host. In the United States, no matter your network preference, she’s probably charmed you at some point as she’s worked for each of the “big three.”
Yahoo places value on celebrity media
When Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) got away from content, Mayer recognized the need to turn this around. Content that Yahoo seemed disinterested in providing even gave America Online a lifeline in this arena. While AOL, Inc. (NYSE:AOL) may be making strides here, try to remember the last time you heard someone’s computer announcing, “You’ve got mail.”
Mayer has made some high-profile media hires this year, but each pales in comparison to landing Couric who has been a part of the site for some time.
Popular tech columnist David Pogue was lured from the New York Times to Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) last month. Yahoo also recently hired former New York Times editor Megan Liberman to become the Yahoo News editor-in-chief, and New York Times Magazine‘s political correspondent Matt Bai as Yahoo News’ national political columnist.
Yahoo may not be fixed but it appears to be in good hands, even if she can’t keep them off other companies she wishes to acquire, much to the chagrin of analysts and investors alike.
