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Katie Couric and President Helble

Katie Couric, a former anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News,” co-anchor of NBC’s “Today” show, participated in a discussion with President Joseph J. Helble ’82 at the first Compelling Perspectives program of the 2024-2025 academic year.

Katie Couric Discusses Future of Journalism, Balancing Fact-Checking at Compelling Perspectives

The former anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News” and co-anchor of NBC’s “Today” show also talked about her cancer research advocacy and the changing media landscape.

Story by

Stephen Gross

Photography by

Kristi Morris

When Katie Couric began her career in television journalism in 1979, she said there were limited options to receive news. There were three network newscasts, news radio stations, and growing up she had The Washington Post and later The New York Times delivered on her front steps.

Today, she said, there are thousands of places to consume news, thanks to the internet, and referenced an online clip from 1994 in which she asked a colleague to explain the internet.

“The media landscape has changed so much,” Couric said. “You have to be a really discerning consumer of information. Not only that, but opinion news became news. When I was on the ‘Today’ show…I was trained to ask questions and see what was going on and maybe challenge some people…and now the airwaves are really dominated by opinion news.”

Katie Couric and President Helble on stage from side

Katie Couric said she always wanted to have a strong policy debate with the numerous former presidents she covered.

She says it’s hard to have a nuanced conversation because binary thinking has become commonplace in the country and often, things are seen solely in black and white.

Couric, a former anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News,” co-anchor of NBC’s “Today” show and Yahoo Global News Anchor, kicked off viogٷվ’s 2024-2025 Compelling Perspectives series Tuesday evening at Baker Hall in Zoellner Arts Center. For nearly 45 minutes, Couric discussed a range of topics with President Joseph J. Helble ’82, including her advocacy and work in cancer research, the role of media today, the use of generative AI in journalism and balancing fact-checking reporting. The last 15 minutes of the event was reserved for questions from the audience. Couric, the first of three speakers slated for the Compelling Perspectives series this academic year, also held a question and answer with students prior to the event.

The New York Times bestselling author and first woman to solo anchor a network evening newscast interjected humor into many of her answers. They included Couric joking with Helble, saying it was clear he was an engineer after he presented a hypothetical recipe featuring percentages on how much news is consumed from different types of media. Couric followed up by saying it is important to have a wide array of sources from differing viewpoints and noted two of her favorites include The Economist, because they cover American news from a different perspective, and The Bulwark, who provide a conservative voice.

Full Baker Hall with Couric and Helble on stage

Katie Couric participated in the first Compelling Perspectives program for the 2024-2025 academic year in Baker Hall.

Referencing current news stories, Helble asked Couric how journalists balance the need for fact-based reporting while remaining unbiased and not being seen as “presenting a particular political point of view.” Couric referenced interviewing former presidents and said she always wanted to have a strong policy debate, but what’s difficult today is when falsehoods are perpetuated.

Helble pointed to her 2008 interview with vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, which he said was largely characterized as fair. And he asked if that was possible in today’s environment.

Couric, who said she was very conscious in that interview of her facial expression and questions because she didn’t want to be seen as being unfair, didn’t think an interview such as that one would make a big impact today.

“I think in this media environment, one side of the country would say it was all these gotcha questions, it was unfair, it was fake news,” Couric said. “I think it might have an impact on a small sliver of people who are undecided.”

Couric’s appearance marked her second visit to campus. The first came in 1999 when she was the speaker at viogٷվ’s 131st Commencement ceremonies. Helble opened Tuesday’s program by mentioning her speech and Couric fondly recounted her time in Bethlehem.

Katie Couric holds her honorary degree from viogٷվ

Katie Couric brought along the honorary degree she received from viogٷվ when she spoke at the university's 131st Commencement ceremonies.

She shared that she gave the speech — her first Commencement address — thanks to the persistence of a number of students who repeatedly visited the plaza outside the Today Show studio with signs asking her to speak at their graduation.

“And I was like, ‘These kids are nuts,’” Couric joked. “But then I talked to them, and I was so impressed by their persistence. And I thought, ‘Gosh, they've gotten up at six o'clock in the morning on multiple days, made these signs and are really serious about me coming to make the commencement address. So I said, ‘Of course I will.’”

Couric even brought along the honorary degree presented to her during the Commencement ceremony, which she found cleaning out her office this past weekend.

Before Helble invited audience members to ask questions, he closed his discussion with Couric by asking her what she thinks about her own legacy.

“I hope that people will think of me as somebody who tried to tell stories and cover the world—events like 9/11—with humanity and heart, and that I respected people's intelligence,” Couric said. “I didn't always get it right. I'm a human being; nobody always gets it right 100% of the time. I hope they also see me as someone who used my platform and my relationship with the audience to take my personal losses and give people information that would help them live longer, healthier, happier lives.”

The audience posed a handful of questions, including one by a current viogٷվ journalism student, who asked Couric what she believes the future of journalism looks like for aspiring journalists.

Couric encouraged those who love journalism to pursue it because it allows people to be lifelong learners and it’s an exciting profession, even though the business models are challenging. She said it will be crucial for those in the industry to stay on top of trends and be prepared.

“You need to be aware of trends,” Couric said. “You need to see how the industry is changing. But I think, I hope, I pray there will always be a place for a free press to tell people accurate factual information about what's going on, because it is the cornerstone of our democracy.”

Helble closed the event by announcing the next Compelling Perspectives speaker, Marty Baron ’76. On December 5, the Pulitzer Prize-winning former editor of the Washington Post, where he served from 2012-2021, and the Boston Globe, from 2001-2012, will return to campus for the second of three Compelling Perspectives events. The third and final Compelling Perspectives speaker has yet to be announced, but viogٷվ will host that event in February featuring the viewpoint from a representative of non-traditional media.

Katie Couric meeting with students

Katie Couric met with students for a question-and-answer session prior to the Compelling Perspectives program.

Prior to the Compelling Perspectives program, Couric met with a group of students for a question-and-answer session. Students in attendance were members of various campus groups, majors and courses, including College Democrats, Student Senate, United Nations Partnership and those from the journalism department.

The discussion was moderated by Provost Nathan Urban. Students asked questions about a range of topics, such as the role of traditional media in the face of increasingly digital outlets catering to niche audiences; how media coverage has impacted public health policies, and how misinformation has threatened the credibility of modern media.

During her time with students, Couric talked about the influence of media in reporting on public health issues. Couric recalled her husband, Jay Monahan, who died in January 1998 at the age of 42 after a nine-month battle with colon cancer.

One student asked Couric how she got the courage to openly talk about colon cancer, including an on-air colonoscopy she had in 2000 when she was an anchor on NBC’s “Today” show. The experience helped demystify the procedure and led to a 20 percent increase in colonoscopies nationwide known as “The Couric Effect.”

“I felt so powerless when my husband was sick. I got all this information, I called pharmaceutical companies, and research institutions and academic institutions, trying to find clinical trials, trying to find if there was anything we could do besides the standard chemotherapy at the time, which had been around since the 1950s,” Couric said.

“I had learned so much during my husband’s illness…I could advise on the capability to keep people healthy, and even save lives,” she said. “To not share that because I wanted to keep it private, I thought that would be almost criminal.”

Talking about her experience was cathartic and helped her heal, Couric said.

She went on to talk about her love of journalism, including how she broke into the business and grew her confidence. Couric recalled early in her career when she was rejected from an on-air role at CNN.

“I looked around and thought, ‘What do these people have that I don’t?’ Experience,” she said.

With the support of her family, Couric took a job at a local news station in Miami where she became a better writer and sharpened her skills making soundbites and creating stories.

Group photo with students, Katie Couric and Provost Nathan Urban

Katie Couric and Provost Nathan Urban took a group photo with students who met with Couric prior to the Compelling Perspectives program.

“Are you willing to put in the sweat equity and get really good at it? And do you really love it? I think to be successful at something, you have to really, really love it and say, ‘This is so fun, it doesn’t feel like work,’” she said. “I feel so lucky that I had a career that I loved every day. Every day was different. I was always learning something, I was surrounded by people who love to talk about ideas.”

Urban ended the session by asking Couric her thoughts on how universities can prepare students to enter a rapidly-changing world.

Couric recalled the commencement speech she gave at viogٷվ in 1999.

“I wrote about change…not just focusing on what you’re doing but noticing how things are changing, being aware of trends so you can be adaptable,” she said.

“I also think being a life-long learner is really important, to have this sensational curiosity, to be a good listener, to try to understand why someone feels the way they do, and to listen and ask questions is really, really important.”

-Christina Tatu contributed to this story

Story by

Stephen Gross

Photography by

Kristi Morris

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