Katie Couric’s role as global news anchor at Yahoo is under scrutiny by the Internet company’s honchos — including CEO Marissa Mayer — who are wondering why the peppy former talk-show host isn’t bringing in big-name interviews.
“Her bosses are unhappy,” says our source. “They thought Katie was a huge get and that huge stars would follow, with major interviews. Instead she’s had two that are memorable, and one was a book tour.”
In Couric’s debut interview for the site, she did a 52-minute sit-down with former Defense Secretary Robert Gates in January. He was promoting his book, “Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War,” about his roles in the Bush and Obama administrations.
In March, Couric interviewed former mayor Michael Bloomberg, discussing charter schools in his first major interview since leaving office last December. The taped interview premiered during Yahoo’s 8 a.m. news digest.
Couric also sat down with “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston, Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia and former President Lyndon Johnson’s daughters, Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Bird Johnson Robb.
Another source tells us it’s likely Couric will bring more big names to the Web interviews after her canceled talk show, “Katie,” finishes its run in June.
In April, Couric said as much herself, telling the crowd at the Yahoo NewFront event in New York City that she’ll be hosting two original interview and video series.
In “World 3.0,” Couric will talk to tech honchos, health-care innovators, scientists and others. In “Now I Get It,” she’ll explain complex news topics via video segments.
“For me to do these long, hopefully insightful interviews; to have these really substantive conversations with newsmakers, and present them to consumers in either bite-sized portions or where they can enjoy the whole enchilada, is incredibly exciting,” Couric told the NewFront crowd that day.
It was announced last November that Couric took the job at Yahoo for $6 million a year. The seed was planted in April 2013, when she was invited to a Yahoo retreat in the Turks and Caicos.
Couric’s rep declined to comment. However, a Yahoo employee insists: “Katie is exceeding expectations for the amount of time she has to dedicate to Yahoo, with provocative newsmaking interviews, while also doing her TV show.”
Source: NY Daily News
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