LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – On the heels of Katie Couric's announcement that she will be launch a talk show with ABC in September 2012, the outgoing CBS News anchor discussed her plans, philosophies and possible guests.
KATIE, WHAT DO YOU ENVISION FOR THE TALK SHOW?
Katie Couric: Well, the ink is barely dry. We've started to talk about it in broad terms, and I think we'd like the show to be topical and to really capture the zeitgeist of what people are talking about. It will be serious at times, obviously informative and fun. Really, a mixture of things we hope people will be interested in. It's not going to be a news show, but we'll be talking about the news and issues that I think people care about, whether it's bullying or the effect technology has on our kids. It might be a profile of a Navy Seal after Osama Bin Laden has been killed; it might talk about women in the military and some of the stresses they experience in reentry with their families.
ON THE NEWS FRONT, ARE THEIR SPECIFIC TOPICS THAT YOU INTEND TO FOCUS ON AS YOU BECOME A MEMBER OF THE NEWS DIVISION?
Couric: Wherever I can be helpful. Obviously I love doing newsmaker interviews, and if I can contribute in any way to that, I would love to. I love reporting, getting out in the field and talking to people about various issues. I love figuring out how things that are going on Capitol Hill impact everyday Americans. I love to just get out and talk to folks and hear what they have to say and bring important issues to light that may not be getting attention. So, I'm here to serve.
THERE IS A TOPICAL AND NEWSY ELEMENT TO THIS SHOW. KNOWING THAT NEWS ITSELF DOESN'T REPEAT WELL, HOW DO YOU MAKE SENSE OF WHAT WORKS IN THE DAYTIME LANDSCAPE AND THE DESIRE TO BE TOPICAL?
Couric: I think for people to have an opportunity to think about issues and to talk about them is important. We're talking about a wide variety of subjects; it could be anything. I watched a documentary the other night on HBO, which was so incredibly powerful. It was called "How to Die in Oregon," about their death-with-dignity law and it profiled this amazingly brave woman. She was 54, so it reminded me a lot of my sister -- that was how old she was when she died. It was all about this woman and her family was so amazing. I thought, 'Gee, if I had a show, I would invite her husband and children, the documentarian and then someone who felt uncomfortable with the Oregon law, and have an intelligent conversation about something that people probably find difficult to talk about but probably need to talk about.' So that's a serious topic that I would try to tackle. Then there are a lot of less serious topic that I'm interested in.
SUCH AS?
Couric: Like what is going on with all of these men who can't keep it in their pants? The situation with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dominique Strauss-Kahn. What is it about the pathology, the neurology and the psychological makeup of a powerful man -- the hubris that makes them engage is such risky and thoughtless behavior? To me, that's a conversation about something that everyone is discussing but I think you could tackle it in a way that Time magazine did with its cover story about why men are such pigs. It would be fun, interesting and engaging. So these are the kinds of things that I'm interested in that I think a lot of folks are talking about.
WE'RE STILL A YEAR-PLUS AWAY BUT ARE DREAM GUESTS IN YOUR MIND?
Couric: Not yet, I don't want to say because I don't want to be disappointed if I'm not able to snag them. I think there is no shortage of fascinating people to talk to -- and I'm not talking about big, famous people, I'm talking about everyday people who are going through different travails. There are so many people doing extraordinary things in this world -- who have started foundations, who have started schools. Those are stories that if given enough time and told well are important; and I think people want to celebrate the incredible things that others are doing out there.
IS THAT TO SAY THERE WON'T BE A MIX OF CELEBRITIES?
Couric: No, no, I hope you don't try to pigeonhole this show before it's even on the air. I think the beauty of this show is that it can be all sorts of different things. If there's a celebrity that's doing something really interesting -- if Catherine Zeta-Jones wanted to talk about the importance of removing the stigma of mental issues, obviously that's something that we'd want to do. If someone has a really fun, interesting movie coming out, that's something that we'd want to do. Or if the guys behind the Book of Mormon wanted to come on and talk about it. Those are people who I'd want to talk to, but I think just celebrity for celebrity's sake isn't something we're going to be doing a lot of.
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