Logic Lifeline miscalculates Couric crash

I went back to an April post I wrote just after Katie Couric accepted the position at CBS to see what I said. I remembered predicting an initial spike where she would be on top for awhile and then crash. Unfortunately for Katie, I had given her up to a year on top before the decline. First, when I wrote the post I misunderstood when she would actually start thinking it would be months sooner. Then I thought the decline would come after America saw her coverage of the '06 elections. Here was my prediction:

I again predict that Katie will have an initial fanfare at CBS that could last up to a year. Her coverage of the upcoming election could really sink her if she is as vacuously partisan as she has been on the Today show. She is both an intellectual and political lightweight and it shows easily once she leaves the "green zone" of broadcasting. The alternate media will take her apart if she tries. Once that starts to happen, it is over. Due to her status as first female solo anchor it will be extremely difficult for CBS to remove her once she is in. Being embroiled in controversy and tanked ratings will not be enough to swiftly end the pain.

My comments are not to be mistaken for my hoping for her or CBS' downfall. I am merely connecting the dots of her past performance with her new position and seeing an inevitable catastrophe. Well CBS, you are now saddled with her. You were warned.

Apparently, the decline has begun just days after her debut. According to an article in Variety:

Katie Couric's "Evening News" fell to third place Monday night, just six nights after she stormed into first in her debut week at CBS.

Couric's debut as anchor of the "Evening News" brought well over 13 million total viewers last week and while her audience dwindled from there, she finished the week with a comfortable 3 million-viewer lead over NBC's "Nightly News" and ABC's "World News."

But on Monday, the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Couric resumed a ratings position only slightly better than the one Bob Schieffer left her with. Her 7.49 million total viewers were slightly behind ABC's 7.87 million and NBC's 8.27 million

The article does point out that there is a very slim margin between the three networks, so this is not yet a crash and burn for Kouric. I do think that her coverage of the election season will still be her undoing. For now, it looks like the honeymoon is over. As I said in the original post, I am not wishing for her failure. I point this out to call into question the decision making abilities of CBS. They blew it and they will be finding that out soon.