NY Observer calls Katie Couric “beleaguered,” just to stand out

By Rachel on May 25, 2005 10:29 AM

This week’s New York Observer weighs in on the juicy battle between Katie Couric’s front-running “Today” show and the up-and-coming “Good Morning America,” led by scrappy upstart Diane Sawyer. Alexandra Jacobs examines and analyzes the appeal of the two women (very fairly, I thought), reminding us that, clickety heels not withstanding, Katie’s remained perky and loveable through some tough stuff. Sawyer, who one would more readily refer to by her surname, is “cool — but a luminous cool, like the moon (not for nothing does she also shine down on you Thursdays at 10 p.m. on Primetime Live).” Rebecca Dana leaves the catfight to her colleague and examines the ratings gap between Today and GMA, and which one is doing better at giving viewers “a sense of hopefulness, a feeling of optimism, a smile on their face as they’re starting out their day” (segments on Saddam’s underclothes and stem-cell research always leave us with a glow). Neither Jacobs nor Dana picks a winner between the two shows and their reigning divas, but they leave us with an important takeaway message: dignified people don’t clap their hands eagerly and say “yay!” Fortunately, we at Fishbowl would never dream of such undignified behavior. In other news, we respectfully solicit the musical musings of our esteemed readers on the above-mentioned rivalries in the form of a list of songs that might bring a gentle smile to your lips.