The AP catches up with “CBS Evening News” EP Rick Kaplan after, as we reported yesterday, the newscast tied its lowest all-time weekly average, despite anchor Katie Couric‘s live reporting from Afghanistan. The AP writes that the ratings “have to be discouraging to news organizations contemplating expensive assignments in a tough economy.” But Kaplan says he wasn’t expecting a ratings jump:

“We think the story was worth it,” he said. “I make no apologies for it at all. We didn’t expect any huge ratings surplus. What was important to us was that we do it and we do it well.”

By those standards, the trip “was a complete and utter success,” he said.

“Evening News” averaged 4.89 million total viewers for the week. On Thursday and Friday, the two days Couric anchored from Afghanistan, the newscast drew 4.69 million viewers and 4.38 million viewers, respectively.