During a Spreecast interview this morning about the launch of her talk show, Katie Couric took questions from viewers, including one about Ann Curry‘s departure from “Today.” Couric, who co-hosted the program from 1991-2006, offered some candid thoughts on Curry’s exit:

A lot of people have asked me this on this chat, and it really broke my heart this morning to see Ann, because I know she’s suffering and is feeling a lot of pain with this transition. And I know that it’s really hard for everyone on the show. I still have a lot of great friends that I made over those 15 years on the “Today” show, and this kind of tumult is really hard for everyone. But I do think Ann is a great reporter and loves covering those important international stories, as she said this morning, what’s going on in Syria and the face of the new poor in this country. And I think she cares deeply about those issues, and I think that she’ll do a great job in that venue. I think she did a good job on the “Today” show, but for whatever reason, and I’m not on the inside anymore, they didn’t feel that the show was on all four cylinders or everybody was clicking properly.

Couric went on to say that she thinks “some of the morning shows need to be a little more hard-hitting.” Watch the full interview here (her comments start around the 39-minute mark).