December 2021

Years ago, I thought being a host of a morning show would be a great career for me. Then I realized that I would be heading to work around 3:45am to do that job, and since I am not a morning person, I decided that never was going to happen. That said, I have been intrigued by network television, both for what goes into making a broadcast behind the scenes and how it has changed since its early days.

So I read Katie Couric’s GOING THERE with interest in not just her story, but how the programming has evolved and its challenges for women. Couric writes with unflinching honesty about what happened to her through the years --- from her start at a small station to moving to Washington, DC and then heading to New York. She discusses the highs as well as the lows, like missing her first daughter’s birthday to cover the Olympics and the housekeeper/nanny who betrayed her confidences. And of course, she talks about her biggest personal challenge: losing her husband, Jay, in his early 40s when she had two small children. While she knew he was gravely ill, the speed of his death still shocked her. I dare people to read those pages without a lump in their throats.

The drama of morning television and the mind games on and off the set make for a page-turner. Who gets what air time and what interview. Who sits where. Scoping out the big interviews and landing the right to do the interview is something I have heard of for years, but Couric lays out what a network will do to get a story for themselves. The booking producers are constantly one-upping each other. And yes, she talks about Matt Lauer, both for what she saw in him and what she missed. There was one young woman who she wishes had come to her after he preyed on her, and it troubles her that she did not.

In talking about her pivot to network news at CBS, Couric holds back nothing about her experience there with both the CBS News and “60 Minutes” teams. She certainly never felt at home with either broadcast group. There are moments when I think she takes things too far, especially in her assessments of others. And I can see why many in news have been hurt by things that were said here. She clearly was “going there” in this storytelling.

Couric reinvents herself again and again, and readers are there with her for all of it. For those who only know news from what they see on the screen, here’s a deep dive behind the curtain.