I think what would be more productive though would be to have her every word from now on examined and criticized until CBS decides on its own to demote her to the game show hostess position she merits.

After a few months of periodically viewing Katie Couric at the bridge of CBS News, it’s clear to me that the Peter Principle has manifested itself. Couric is now “out of her league”. She clearly lacks confidence in front of evening viewers – my guess is that this is, at least in part, a result of receiving a lot of negative feedback thru the CBS web site and other channels. Of course, the “rules of engagement” make it clear that it’s CBS’s web site and they quite obviously manage all associated content. This is entirely fair. What is unfair, to me, is that we have Katie to view if we choose to tune in to CBS News in the evening, which I elect to do as infrequently as possible.

First, the comments on Couric’s site that referred to her “leftist” leanings are off the mark. She may indeed be of the liberal persuasion, but that’s not the issue here. The issue is that she’s the very definition of a “talking head,” and as one reader commented here, she is paid to read the news from a teleprompter, and that’s where her job should end, as her commentary clearly proves.

Secondly, I’m a member of the print media, and we do make mistakes. Do those errors speak to our credibility? Absolutely. But we’re not all idiots, and unless you’ve felt the pressure of deadline when a story is happening under your very nose, your comments are taken with a grain of salt.

Couric is an artifact of popular culture and really has no place in the world of true journalism. In my opinion, CBS should have ridden Bob Schieffer until he could no longer handle the job because he’s a throwback to the days of journalistic honesty, integrity and, yes, even compassion. He never made such commentary off the cuff; everything he editorialized seemed well-researched and much thought and consideration were obviously undertaken before he dared open his mouth.

I don’t blame Couric for taking the millions and giving it a shot, but I do hold those who hired her accountable, and wonder if we’ll ever return to the principled journalism of the Cronkites and Schieffers of the past, be it delivery of the news or the commentary that follows.

Just my opinion and thoughts.