Katie Couric will anchor CBS News from Baghdad, travel throughout Iraq

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT/AP: Katie Couric to Report From Iraq, Syria
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 29, 2007

NEW YORK (AP) -- Katie Couric plans to leave Wednesday for an ambitious reporting trip to Iraq and Syria -- the CBS anchor's first time in the war zone -- in anticipation of a crucial military report on progress of the American effort. Couric will anchor the ''CBS Evening News'' from Baghdad next Tuesday and Wednesday, then from Damascus on Thursday and Friday.

Couric will travel throughout Iraq to talk to military and civilian leaders, soldiers and average Iraqis, spending most of her time outside of Baghdad. CBS News would not reveal many specifics of her plans in advance because of competitive and safety concerns. The trip, in the works for six weeks, anticipates the surge progress report by Gen. David Petraeus that is expected the second week of September.

''You can't help but get a very detached perspective when you're not there and you're not witnessing things firsthand,'' Couric told The Associated Press on Tuesday. ''I'm curious about very basic questions regarding living conditions, about how much fear there is in the street, about how the soldiers really are doing.'' Couric and her traveling partner, evening news executive producer Rick Kaplan, were fitted with 30-pound body armor vests in Kaplan's office on Tuesday. Both needed to send theirs back to add extra protection to the sides....

***

''Obviously, it's a concern,'' said Couric, 50, who had suggested last year that being a widowed mother of two might make her think twice about such trips. ''I'm not being cavalier about it. I think I feel comfortable with the measures that are being taken.''...

***

Done well, a series of reports from the war zone could serve as a second launch for Couric's ''CBS Evening News.'' The broadcast has taken a more traditional, hard-news approach since Kaplan began last spring, although it hasn't budged from third place in the ratings behind ABC's Gibson and NBC's Williams....The trip also takes Couric out of the country for her first anniversary as ''CBS Evening News'' anchor -- not a milestone CBS is eager to mark given the poor ratings....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-TV-Couric-Iraq.html

[book_worm]

1. If she has a "Walter Cronkite" moment and comes away saying it's a lost cause

then maybe I'll have some respect. But if it's a sham, publicity tour to boost ratings--forget it.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. You know, I didn't even think about that possibility. But who knows? And ratings would skyrocket...

would be my guess, if she had a "Cronkite moment."

[ananda]

2. I'll be glewed to my seat. NOT!

nt

[crikkett]

3. I hope she's okay, it's dangerous out there.

And her kids, I wonder who's keeping them while she's traipsing around war zones.

I wonder how many army units will be assigned as her escort, and if every single person she interviews and every single location is a smoldering smudge on the sidewalk the next day, a la McCain's little stroll through the Baghdad Market that resulted in the retaliatory murder of 21 shopkeepers just the next day.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. I think her kids are older now -- are they teenagers? And, yes --

for goodness sake, I wish her a safe journey. I hope she didn't decide on this trip just to bolster ratings.

[crikkett]

11. I hope she got to decide whether or not to do this

don't know what kind of pressure she's under.

My first reaction is that she's going under orders, to catapult the propaganda, because all the reputable journalists (who remain alive) have been saying for a year now that you can't get a story out of Iraq anymore, it's dangerous to leave the green zone.

[DeepModem Mom]

13. I'm thinking the pro-war people see this, at the least, as an opportunity. nt

[gatorboy]

5. Wow. CBS really really REALLY wants to get rid of her!

[soothsayer]

10. that's what I'm thinking! what a ratings boost if she's kidnapped or worse

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

7. blackwater mercenaries rock!

[crikkett]

12. Pray tell?

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

16. she said previously that "navy seals rock"

[crikkett]

17. ... and Blackwater will be protecting the Ms, I guess.

She comes off so stupid.

[elfin]

8. Isn't Lara Logan still with CBS?

She is the obvious one of their crew to do this as the main story and reporter and let Couric be the anchor.

Oh wait - then it would be obvious that Logan is the real talent.

Desparation move by Katie.

[Crabby Appleton]

14. I agree - Desparation move by Katie

[MethuenProgressive]

9. She's braver than 99% of Freepers.

I honor her for her courage.

[tiptoe]

15. Vacation or business?