COURIC IS A LIGHTWEIGHT

From frumpy to FABulous!

To use an astronomical analogy, CBS determined that its new star Katie Couric was a "red giant."

Fearing the red giant would burst in a supernova explosion, the powers that be decided it would be in the network's best interests to present Couric as slimmer and trimmer and brighter.
From Don Kaplan, in The New York Post:

Talk about a miracle diet - Katie Couric has become the Incredible Shrinking Anchorwoman.

Thanks to a computer "slight" of hand, the Tiffany network has made the new face of "CBS Evening News" instantly drop about 20 pounds.

It looks more like a 25-30 pound drop to me.

In a picture widely distributed to the media last month, a normal-looking Couric wore a frumpy light gray suit and her trademark smile.

But thanks to Photoshop, the popular editing software, the same photo, printed in a CBS magazine, shows her looking much, much thinner - and her suit has become a few shades darker.

Couric, who was made aware of the picture's alteration yesterday, joked that she liked the original better.

"There's more of me to love," she quipped.

See, those are the kind of quips that turned me away from Couric and Today years ago.

I've never looked back.

The picture was taken in May when Couric, 49, appeared at the CBS "Upfront" presentation at Carnegie Hall.

It was later widely distributed by CBS as an official photo of its new $15 million-a-year anchor- woman.

Then the computer generated version appeared in the latest quarterly edition of Watch!

It's produced and edited by the CBS press department and distributed to network employees, news-media outlets, affiliates, network gift shops and Paramount-owned theme parks.

Network officials say the magazine has a circulation of around 400,000.

"The picture was retouched without the knowledge of Ms. Couric or CBS News management," a CBS spokesman said.

As far as the magazine goes, an insider insisted the publication was just following normal industry practice when it shrunk Couric.

I think it's worth noting that "normal industry practice" has had a part in creating generations of girls and young women with eating disorders and body image issues.

He claimed that just about all magazines tinker with photos - even though some top photographers and photo editors at news organizations have lost their jobs in recent times for doing just that.

Most media experts say that whenever a photo is altered in any way, the public should be alerted, although it's more of a problem if it occurs at newsmagazines rather than a magazine a company publishes about itself.

Retouching a celebrity's photo cannot be compared with the alteration of news photos.

I assume that everything about the people we see on TV and in movies is carefully packaged and primped and fake. They're vain. Illusion is what they sell. So what else is new?

News photos, on the other hand, cannot be transformed. Tampering with them is tampering with the truth.

Because Couric is CBS' new anchor for its evening news, there are some issues that come into play in this photoshop makeover that distinguishes it from the typical celebrity redo.

Is Couric part of CBS' entertainment division or the news division? Is there a difference? Is CBS News infotainment?

CBS appears to be focusing more on Couric's weight physically than her intellectual weight in terms of credibility as a journalist.

Doesn't Couric need to lend gravitas to the CBS Evening News???

Like Uncle Walter before her, shouldn't viewers be turning to Aunt Katie?

Would CBS have given a man the same extreme makeover?

Do you think so? I don't.

CBS allowed Dan Rather to go with that creepy buzzcut. The network obviously didn't care what he looked like. Not surprising considering that it didn't care what he said.

And what about Bob Schieffer? He's not exactly prime beefcake.

And what about Mike Wallace or Morley Safer?

Do you think CBS would let a woman pushing 90-years-old stick around? I don't.

It's hard not to conclude that CBS gave Couric the photoshop treatment because she's a woman.

So much has been made of Couric making history as the first solo female anchor of a network news broadcast. By altering her image, the message is sent that a woman's worth is dependent on the physical attractiveness of her body rather than the quality of her mind.

CBS claims to be a pioneer, taking a step forward in the empowerment of women, when in reality, the network has just taken women on a giant leap backward.

I think the altered image of Couric is the clearest indication yet that CBS is changing the way it presents news.

CBS has abandoned the Edward R. Murrow, hard-boiled tough guy heavyweights for a lightweight Couric.

The Couric photoshop job is a metaphor for what's happening to CBS News.

Of course, we've known for years that CBS is a propaganda arm for the Left. Now, the network has dropped the pretense that its news division is a serious, credible outlet. The charade is over.

CBS News has been Oprahfied.