David Letterman had one clear message to his guest, Evening News anchor Katie Couric, on Tuesday’s “Late Show”: Stay at CBS.
“You can’t leave the network, can ya?” Letterman asked Couric, whose five-year, $15 million contract with CBS ends in June.
The iconic anchor laughed, replying, “I’m figuring out what I want to do, and I’m just sort of in the process of figuring out the future”
“Once you take the anchor chair, that’s what you do . . . it’s not like it’s a temp gig,” Letterman said, listing such favorites as Walter Cronkite, Brian Williams, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw as examples.
“They get in it, they saddle up and they ride into the sunset — into the sunset!” he said.
The TV host then spoke to the trust value of nighttime news anchors. “You can’t leave . . . there’s a period of adjustment to get accustomed to the trust and buildup faith in the character of the person presenting the news, and you can’t just pull the rug up from under the viewers!”
“Okay, okay, Dave,” Couric replied.
Earlier this month, it was reported by The Hollywood Reporter that Couric is considering a daytime talk show with former NBC boss Jeff Zucker at the helm. This comes after the announcement that CBS has offered to keep Couric on, with the agreement that she would take a pay cut. While she seems to be staying silent on the issue, come July, Couric may not be greeting CBS viewers as they turn into their nightly news.