Couric in CBS' Center Ring

Katie Couric's first CBS Evening News broadcast started off normally enough.

I don't watch CBS so I can't say if the set was revamped much. It looked like a typical set. The desk was there. The background was standard stuff.

Same old, same old.

Couric was wearing a black dress with a short white jacket, buttoned. She looked tanned but not rested.

She didn't seem very relaxed. It's possible that she was nervous (Who wouldn't be?). It's also possible that she was trying to be the 21st Century's Uncle Walter. She may have been going for gravitas.

If that was the case, she didn't pull it off. Aunt Katie is no Uncle Walter.

The first story was a propaganda piece on how the Taliban has regained control in an area of Afghanistan that had been controlled by U.S. troops.

Was that really the lead story of the day?

The big breaking news?

The answer is NO.

A couple other brief stories followed, including Jim Axelrod from the White House lawn, introducing his coverage of President Bush and briefly bantering with Couric.

Next, Couric interviewed Thomas Friedman, New York Times columnist.

They talked about President Bush and the Dems. It was brief and completely pointless. I admit that I was distracted. Instead of being at the desk, Couric and Friedman were seated in chairs, Today show-style. I thought it looked strange. The Evening News is not the Today show.

There was some more run of the mill stuff, then before the next commercial break, Couric teased what was up next.

"Something new for the Evening News, besides me (Couric tilts head, smiles broadly). We call it 'Free Speech.'"

When she returned, Couric said, "We want to encourage more civil discourse."

Since when is it the duty of the Evening News to do that? I thought it was meant to give viewers the news of the day, not be a retreat.

Morgan Spurlock was given the premiere segment. He talked about the divisions in the country, Blue state/Red state. He spoke of "Smackdown hype" with shots of WWE Wrestling footage spliced in. His conclusion: Americans aren't nearly as divided they seem. Most of us are in the middle.

In other words, "Don't be turned off because Couric is a big time lib."

Then, Couric plugged Thursday's upcoming "Free Speech" segment with Rush Limbaugh. That was clearly a calculated move. She didn't mention tomorrow night's guest. Apparently, CBS is trying to draw people in with Limbaugh's star power and appear to be fair and balanced. Sorry, but ninety seconds of conservative opinion doesn't balance thirty minutes of lib slant.

I predict Thursday will deliver the best numbers she'll ever get.

Another new feature--

"Snapshots"

First, came a vintage photo of 19-week-old Prince Charles. (Yawn)

Then, the baby picture that the world has been anxiously waiting to see -- a photo of Suri Cruise, daughter of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise. It was an Annie Leibovitz photo, part of an upcoming issue of Vanity Fair. (Yawn)

What silly fluff!

Quickly, the historic half-hour came to a close.

It was time for Couric to sign-off. She said that in the run up to her first broadcast as CBS anchor, she had been asked repeatedly about what her signature sign-off would be.

Couric said she hadn't come up with anything yet, and introduced a taped bit of past famous anchors signing off, including:

Edward R. Murrow

Chet Huntley and David Brinkley

Walter Cronkite

Dan Rather

Ted Baxter (Fictional)

Ron Burgundy (Fictional)

After the famous anchormen signed-off, she invited viewers to send in their suggestions for her trademark buh-bye. (Good grief, how odd!)

I suppose Couric's fans loved it.

She brought her first broadcast to an end with this:

"I'm Katie Couric. Thank you so much for watching, and I hope to see you tomorrow night."

The final shot was Couric half-sitting, half-leaning against the desk, flaunting the legs that are supposed to be so great. No photo-shop help on live TV.

Overall, the broadcast seemed very forced (the smiles, the leg shots, the segments). It had a frenetic feel to it.

It was a mixture of the serious and the downright dopey.

Tomorrow, Couric interviews President Bush. I can't imagine it being a very long segment. Maybe I'll tune in, and maybe I'll do the same on Thursday to see Limbaugh.

But after that, I'm signing off.