Today, we are talking Katie Couric who is also getting set up with her new "beginning."
According to the Washington Post, a CBS employee in the publicity department visually doctored photos of the new anchor in a promotional photo just prior to her taking the reins of CBS news on Sept. 5.
That's some serious photoshopping work. That is wrong on so many levels. One, CBS did a great job in making Katie's job of appearing to be a serious journalist much harder with this in the wings. Two, this sends a terrible message from CBS that could possibly compromise their integrity and public trust. It says, If we don't like the story, we'll just fix it a little bit. Not a great way to start a fifteen year job.
I think Katie handled this better than anyone though, saying, "she liked the original photo better because 'There is more of me to love.'"
What do you think? Is this that big of a deal? How did Katie react? Does compromise CBS evening news?
Personal Background: I am currently the president of the KU chapter of PRSSA. I am also serving as one of two Journalism Student Senators. I am majoring in Strategic Communications at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications. I plan on working in the agency PR biz. Last summer, I was a marketing intern at the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City.
Please feel free to send me anything you find interesting or want me to talk about either via e-mail [ jarrodm(at)ku(dot)edu ] or via del.icio.us .
Edit: Props to Steve Cody, managing partner and co-founder of Peppercom, a New York based public relations shop, where I saw this story. His blog, Repman, is among the best of all agency principals. Truly a must read.
