Veteran journalist Katie Couric has described her former employer CBS News as a "total embarrassment," while also offering praise for conservative media figures Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly. Couric, 69, made these remarks when asked about independent media operations that she believes are sustainable.
Couric, who has worked for NBC, CBS, and ABC, stated that both Carlson and Kelly have built "successful" and "entrepreneurial" independent media careers. She suggested that they feel "liberated" by their ability to make quick decisions and avoid bureaucracy, contrasting this with the challenges at legacy networks.
She characterized current network news as "less relevant" and "slow to adapt." Couric attributed this partly to corporate ownership, noting that "corporate ownership and journalistic integrity don’t always align." She specifically criticized "60 Minutes," where she previously worked, citing reports of attempts to steer storytelling away from being "offensive to the administration" or to "fudge the truth." Couric suggested this could be a form of "anticipatory obedience."
While clarifying that she does not believe this obedience extends everywhere and that good reporting still occurs, Couric stated that when corporate interests seek to align with an administration, it becomes difficult for news organizations to remain fully independent and pursue the truth. She mentioned that Paramount's CEO, David Ellison, whose father is conservative billionaire Larry Ellison, is now involved in CBS News' operations. This follows a settlement by CBS of a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump and Couric expressed concern about the potential consolidation of media outlets, including Paramount's potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN.
CBS News, however, pushed back on Couric's assessment. A CBS source pointed out that under Bari Weiss, who was appointed editor-in-chief in October, "60 Minutes" aired segments critical of the Trump administration. These included pieces on the impact of SNAP cuts, threats to the federal judiciary, and the effects of tariffs on family farms.
Couric, who anchored the "Today" show in the 1990s and early 2000s and later the "CBS Evening News," launched her own media company, Katie Couric Media, in 2017. She now hosts a podcast. Recent months have seen several departures from "60 Minutes," including Scott Pelley, Cecilia Vega, Sharilyn Alfonsi, and Anderson Cooper, with Cooper reportedly leaving partly due to not wanting to work under Weiss.