There appear to be some rumblings around CBS regarding Katie Couric and her contract that pays her around $15 million annualy. The complaints around the CBS Evening News anchor and her eight-figure salary come at a time when CBS is trimming its staff and even closing down bureaus around the world.
In 2006, Couric signed a contract to succeed Dan Rather at CBS. This contract was signed four years ago. This was a time before the Recession and the housing crisis that has brought the economy to the state it is in now.
There are a lot of former CBS employees that are upset and rightfully so. This is a terrible time to be out of work, especially in the journalism business where outlets across the country are looking for ways to cut costs. Couric is taking a lot of the heat for what is going on. It is unfair to blame her for the layoffs that are occuring. Would you turn down $15 million? I don't think so.
Anyone who thinks this type of contract would have been given out if people knew what the economic landscape would have been today is out of their mind. CBS at the time was trailing in the ratings. They wanted someone that would give Brian Williams and the late Peter Jennings a run for their money. NBC's "Today" was the Queen of the ratings when it came to morning programming. Couric was a household name and people were able to relate to her. CBS gambled on the prospect of morning ratings carrying over to the evening broadcasts. This hasn't happened. The result is a perfect storm of low ratings and a bad economy that has forced not only CBS, but other companies to trim their workforce and remain afloat. Couric's contract is a burden on the books that must be lived with for a little while longer. She was offered this deal. She would have been crazy to turn it down and she accepted it just like anyone else who would have been offered $15 million.
