His first televised interview, hosted by Katie Couric, gave few definitive answers. The explanation Te'o's sticking with is the latter, though: he said that he's a man of faith, and had blinding faith in this woman. Te'o's parents joined him and Couric towards the end of the show to say they were proud of their son for how he treated Lennay Kekua, the girlfriend Deadspin uncovered as fake, whom they all believed to be real and in serious pain (Kekua's tragedies included the death of her father, a diagnosis of leukemia and a coma resulting from a car crash). "What I went through was real," Te'o told Couric. “It was very real, Katie. It was very very real.”

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After Deadspin earlier this month exposed the bizarre tale of the football player and the hoax he insists he was a victim of, Te'o still had to account for the fact that he'd continued to publicly play the part of the bereaved boyfriend for weeks after he discovered the ruse. In an interview with ESPN this week, Te'o defended the deception by couching it in the most innocent-sounding of terms, saying, "Not ever would I be part of this," and explaining that he continued to speak of his girlfriend because "I was confused. I didn't know … There were a whole bunch of possibilities going through my head." He did, however, admit that he "catered" his stories to seem like he and the fake girlfriend spent time together and that  "I kind of tailored my stories to have people think that, yeah, [my father] met her before she passed away. So people wouldn't think that I was some crazy dude." 

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Simpson, who gave birth to daughter Maxwell in May – and scored a deal with Weight Watchers -- has been keeping herself under wraps the past few months. She told USA Today last week that after a pregnancy in which she would "indulge in everything I wanted because it was the first time I was ever pregnant, and I wanted to enjoy it," she had to accept that "I'm not a supermodel. My body is not bouncing back like a supermodel. I'm just your everyday woman who is trying to feel good and be healthy for her daughter, her fiancé and herself."

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Couric's syndicated talk show doesn't debut until next week, but she is already wading into controversial subject matters – albeit unintentionally. A Tuesday profile in USA Today -- a story, by the way, in which writer Gary Levin referred to the 55-year-old Emmy- and Murrow-award-winning former "Today" and CBS Evening News anchor as both a "girl" and "gal" -- mentioned Couric's response to a test audience member's question about a dream guest. Kate Middleton, she declared, before adding, "I think she's getting too thin."

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We take a look at some of the more egregious examples of stations trying to make this non-story work below.

In 2009, Katie Couric did a short segment on Friggatriskaidekaphobia, a phobia of Friday the 13th, which raises the question: Why do we need a name for something everyone has?

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An NBC reporter asked a number of celebrities, newsmakers and Palin to name who they think is the most influential journalist today. "Um, gosh, that's a great question, I have to think about it, OK? Because there are many," responded Palin, after turning to husband Todd for his thoughts (to little avail).

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The network on Tuesday announced the expected selection of Pelley, the veteran "60 Minutes" reporter, to replace Katie Couric on the "CBS Evening News." Couric is pursuing a syndicated talk show, but hasn't said where she will be working next. The date for her final CBS broadcast has not been set.

Pelley is a Texas native who has worked at CBS for two decades. He will inherit a broadcast that is in last place in the ratings behind NBC and ABC, and has been for some time.

CBS said Pelley will continue to do stories for "60 Minutes."

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So perhaps it was not entirely surprising Monday when the Associated Press reported that a CBS network executive confirmed that the anchor, whose CBS Evening News is trailing at third in the ratings, will be leaving the network when her five year contract expires in June.

Is the anonymous tipster just a classic decoy, designed to test the waters of public opinion before Couric and the network get down to negotiations? CBS News spokeswoman Sonya McNair said Sunday, "We have no announcements to make at this time. Until we do, we will continue to decline comment on rumor or speculation," and Couric's own spokesman likewise declined to comment.

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A network executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Couric has not officially announced her plans, reported the move to The Associated Press on Sunday night. The 54-year-old anchor is expected to launch a syndicated talk show in 2012 and several companies are vying for her services.

Couric's move from NBC's "Today" show was big news in 2006, and she began in the anchor chair with a flourish that September. She tried to incorporate her strengths as an interviewer into a standard evening news format and millions of people who normally didn't watch the news at night checked it out. But they drifted away and the evening newscast reverted to a more traditional broadcast.

After those first few weeks, the "CBS Evening News" settled into third place in the ratings and is well behind leader Brian Williams at NBC's "Nightly News" and second-place Diane Sawyer at ABC's "World News."

No departure date has been set for Couric. Her CBS News contract expires on June 4.

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Meditating on a recent Harper's Bazaar fashion spread, in which the first female solo evening news anchor poses in a "short -- very short -- skirt," a curve-hugging Calvin Klein dress and "the kind of platform Gucci heels that have been known to send professional models tumbling to their knees," Givhan writes, "[a]fter breaking ground in network news, after having folks debate whether she should have worn a white blazer on her debut show -- as if anything but black or navy proclaimed her less serious -- there are these images. Unapologetically, forcefully, I-dare-you, sexy." The photos offer  "a full-throated, even exaggerated, rebuke of the notion that a woman must dress in a prescribed manner -- Suze Orman suits, full-coverage blouses, sensible heels -- to protect her IQ, her résumé and her place in a male-dominated work culture." Never mind Couric's Cronkite Award-winning evisceration of Sarah Palin, even -- just check out those shoes!

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The New York Post's Page Six reports that Couric, asked for her advice to Palin, said, "I think she should keep her head down, work really hard and learn about governing."

Ouch.

In a segment of their interview broadcast Wednesday, Couric's former colleague, Matt Lauer, asked Palin about one question she stumbled on during her conversation with Couric. The former vice-presidential candidate responded:

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"Why do you think Sarah Palin has an action figure, and you have a nutcracker?" asked CBS anchorwoman Katie Couric on her nightly webcast -- her so-called after party -- following the final presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain on Oct. 15.

Of course, Clinton didn't answer the question fully -- by, say, launching into a discourse on how her brand of female power is based on authority and competence that made her appear threatening, like a potential harvester of testicles, while the Alaska governor's brand of female power is based on her ability to winkingly climb the political ladder while never disrupting the fantasy that she is only here to conform to traditional feminine norms that do not threaten testicular dominance. No. Clinton just let out a loud (just once, for old times' sake) cackle and said, "I don't have any idea, Katie."

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The puzzling one came in response to a question Couric asked Palin about what newspapers and magazines she reads. Here's the ensuing exchange:

PALIN: I've read most of them, again, with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.

COURIC: But, like, what ones specifically? I'm curious that you ...

PALIN: All of them. Any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.

COURIC: Can you name a few?

PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news to -- Alaska isn't a foreign country where it's kind of suggested it seems like, wow, how could you keep in touch with the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking and doing when you live up there in Alaska. Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2008/10/01/palin_couric_2/feed/ 75 http://www.salon.com/2008/09/10/cbs_mccain_ad/ http://www.salon.com/2008/09/10/cbs_mccain_ad/#comments Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:03:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/news/politics//war_room/2008/09/10/cbs_mccain_ad You almost have to feel sorry for John McCain. Not only is he still trying to figure out that whole e-mail thing, but now people are removing his Web ads before they've even been in the series of tubes for a full day.

The Politico's Ben Smith reports that, at the request of CBS, YouTube has removed a McCain Web ad titled "Lipstick," which portrays Sarah Palin as the victim of Barack Obama's sexism. CBS sought the removal because the ad involves an unauthorized clip of CBS anchor Katie Couric saying, "One of the great lessons of that campaign is the continued and accepted role of sexism in American life."

The ad implies that Couric's comment was about Palin; in fact, Couric was discussing Hillary Clinton's campaign.

CBS spokeswoman Leigh Farris said, "CBS News does not endorse any candidate in the Presidential race. Any use of CBS personnel in political advertising that suggests the contrary is misleading."

The ad can still be viewed on McCain's Web site.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2008/09/10/cbs_mccain_ad/feed/ 16 http://www.salon.com/2008/06/11/katie_couric_2/ http://www.salon.com/2008/06/11/katie_couric_2/#comments Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:53:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet//2008/06/11/katie_couric The Huffington Post has posted a special segment recorded by Katie Couric that will air on CBS News Wednesday night. In it, Couric talks about the sexism that surfaced during the Clinton campaign: "One of the great lessons of [Hillary Clinton's] campaign is the continued and accepted role of sexism in American life, particularly in the media."

You can watch the video here:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2008/06/11/katie_couric_2/feed/ 33 http://www.salon.com/2008/04/14/katie_couric/ http://www.salon.com/2008/04/14/katie_couric/#comments Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:07:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet//2008/04/14/katie_couric News broke last week that Katie Couric will be leaving the CBS Evening News. In a story for the New York Post, Leslie Bennetts parallels Couric's fate with that of Hillary Clinton -- two powerful women in unprecedented roles and the wreckage to prove it. (In its trademark lack of subtlety, the Post illustrates the article with the women's heads Photoshopped onto the movie poster for "Thelma & Louise" and the headline: "Hillary & Katie: Two women pioneers driven off a cliff.")

Bennetts angrily describes how CBS suits turned Couric into a "nauseating female caricature," urging her to talk about her kids in between news segments and flashing her famous gams. Bennetts is indignant that women like Nora Ephron added to the pile-on, critiquing Couric's performance on election night by writing, "I don't mean to be sexist about Katie Couric ... But it's impossible for me to make any sort of evaluation at all about her. Because I cannot believe how bad her makeup is." (A quote that seems to say more about Nora Ephron than it does about Katie Couric, but point taken.)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2008/04/14/katie_couric/feed/ 32 http://www.salon.com/2007/11/27/clinton_15/ http://www.salon.com/2007/11/27/clinton_15/#comments Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:33:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/news/politics//war_room/2007/11/27/clinton An appealing sense of confidence or an obnoxious sense of entitlement? How you view Hillary Clinton's exchange with Katie Couric last night probably depends entirely on how you view Hillary Clinton herself.

Couric asked Clinton how disappointed she'll be if she's not the Democratic nominee. "Well," Clinton said, "it will be me."

Clinton said, as she has before, that she'll support the Democratic nominee, whoever it may be. So that means that Clinton has at least considered the possibility that she won't be the nominee?

"No," she said, "I haven't."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2007/11/27/clinton_15/feed/ 26 http://www.salon.com/2007/10/08/media/ http://www.salon.com/2007/10/08/media/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:53:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/news/politics//war_room/2007/10/08/media Point: In a new Gallup Poll, 77 percent of Republicans say that the news media is "too liberal."

Counterpoint: In an excerpt from his new book, Howard Kurtz describes the pressure Katie Couric felt from management at NBC to toe the line on Iraq:

"Two months before the 2004 election, when she was still at NBC's 'Today' show, Couric had asked Condoleezza Rice whether she agreed with Vice President Cheney's declaration that the country would be at greater risk for terrorist attacks if John Kerry won the White House. Rice sidestepped the question, saying that any president had to fight aggressively against terrorism.

"Couric interrupted and asked the question again. Would a Kerry victory put America at greater risk? Rice ducked again, saying that the issue should not be personalized.

"Soon afterward, Couric got an e-mail from Robert Wright, the NBC president. He was forwarding a note from an Atlanta woman who complained that Couric had been too confrontational with Rice.

"What was the message here? Couric felt that Wright must be telling her to back off ...

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2007/10/08/media/feed/ 29 http://www.salon.com/2007/09/27/dan_rather_suit/ http://www.salon.com/2007/09/27/dan_rather_suit/#comments Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:29:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/news/opinion//blumenthal/2007/09/27/dan_rather_suit Dan Rather's complaint against CBS and Viacom, its parent company, filed in New York state court on Sept. 19 and seeking $70 million in damages for his wrongful dismissal as "CBS Evening News" anchor, has aroused hoots of derision from a host of commentators. They've said that the former anchor is "sad," "pathetic," "a loser," on an "ego" trip and engaged in a mad gesture "no sane person" would do, and that "no one in his right mind would keep insisting that those phony documents are real and that the Bush National Guard story is true."

If the court accepts his suit, however, launching the adjudication of legal issues such as breach of fiduciary duty and tortious interference with contract, it will set in motion an inexorable mechanism that will grind out answers to other questions as well. Then Rather's suit will become an extraordinary commission of inquiry into a major news organization's intimidation, complicity and corruption under the Bush administration. No congressional committee would be able to penetrate into the sanctum of any news organization to divulge its inner workings. But intent on vindicating his reputation, capable of financing an expensive legal challenge, and armed with the power of subpoena, Rather will charge his attorneys to interrogate news executives and perhaps administration officials under oath on a secret and sordid chapter of the Bush presidency.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2007/09/27/dan_rather_suit/feed/ 345 http://www.salon.com/2007/09/19/ed_klein/ http://www.salon.com/2007/09/19/ed_klein/#comments Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:45:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2007/09/19/ed_klein Edward Klein's new biography of CBS News anchor Katie Couric, "Katie: The Real Story," is the latest entry in a unique and controversial oeuvre. In a series of biographies, Klein has painted various famous females -- Hillary Clinton, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy -- matching shades of bitch. Klein's subjects often turn out to be grasping harpies who aren't above using their lady parts to beat the competition. The Klein approach to Understanding Important Women is encapsulated in the title of his 2005 biography of Clinton, "The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She'll Go to Become President." In his newest profile, Katie Couric is sleeping her way to success -- and wrecking a home -- before Page 10. Through an anonymous source, Salon recently received the opening pages of Klein's next three books. You read them here first. -- ed.

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