Maybe the most important part of Kurtz’s piece comes at the end, when Sean McManus “says the program, excluding those atypical first two weeks, is up 11 percent over last year in the 25-to-54 group prized by advertisers.”

Quoting McManus: “It’s bringing in enough to pay for Katie’s salary. I couldn’t be happier with the job she is doing, knowing she is under more scrutiny than probably any other person in television history.”