12:34 AM EDT 10/01/2008

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Katie Couric

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Matt Lauer Set to Be Skewered at Celebrity Roast

Matt Lauer Set to Be Skewered at Celebrity Roast

Originally posted 09/12/2008 03:30PM

The burning question is, will Matt Lauer still be speaking to them in the morning?

Lauer, 50, is slated to be the victim – that is, "honoree" – when the Friars Club gathers at the New York Hilton Oct. 24 and rakes the Today host over the coals, humorously, at its annual celebrity roast – an event noteworthy for wildly uncensored remarks at the expense of the guest of honor.

Among those scheduled to appear at the by-invitation-only, not-for-broadcast event include Lauer's predecessor Bryant Gumbel, his former sidekick Katie Couric and the current one, Meredith Vieira – as well as his across-the-channel rival, Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer.

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Katie Couric: Cancer 'Destroyed My Family' | Katie Couric

Katie Couric: Cancer 'Destroyed My Family'

Originally posted 08/27/2008 02:35PM

Losing her husband and sister to cancer "obliterated" Katie Couric's dream for a happy and intact family. Now she's doing everything she can to fight back and spare others the same pain.

In between raising her two daughters – Ellie, 17, and Carrie, 12 – and anchoring the CBS Evening News, she's teamed up with a group of powerhouse women to create Stand Up to Cancer, a landmark, star-studded fund-raising special airing on Sept. 5 on NBC, CBS and ABC.

"[Cancer] completely destroyed my family twice. My husband, Jay, died when he was 42 and our daughters were 6 and 2," Couric tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week's issue. "Three years after that, my sister, Emily, who had ironically read the eulogy at my husband's funeral, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer."

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Tributes

VIDEO: News Leaders Pay Tribute to Tim Russert

Originally posted 06/13/2008 07:35PM

Tom Brokaw, Brian Williams and Kate Couric were among the television journalists remembering Tim Russert, who died at age 58 of coronary artery disease.

"Tim was a big teddy bear of a guy, but he was also a pit bull of an interviewer," says Couric. "He always held people's feet to the fire, often using their past words with great effect to reveal flip-flops or hypocrisy. While Tim was incredibly tenacious, he always did his job with great humanity and respect."

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Good Deeds

Katie Couric Joins Bette Midler in Sing-Along

Originally posted 05/23/2008 11:30AM


Two children of the '60s – Bette Midler and Katie Couric – got down and dirty, and pretty groovy, for Midler's fundraiser for the New York Restoration Project, which the Divine Miss M established in 1995 to help green up the city. The goal: to plant one million trees in the five boroughs by 2017.

"To walk under the branches of a tree that you have planted connects you to the roots of our past and the aspirations of our future," Midler says of the project.

And speaking of roots, she and Couric – who introduces their appearance in this video – dug deep into their adolescent pasts for a song medley they delivered sing-along style at the gathering earlier this week: Petula Clark's "Downtown," the Beatles' "When I'm 64" and, from the American tribal rock musical Hair, "The Age of Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine." Peace.
– Stephen M. Silverman

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POLL: What Should Katie Couric Do? | Katie Couric

TV News

POLL: What Should Katie Couric Do?

Originally posted 04/10/2008 01:15PM

After a year and a half, America's former morning sweetheart, Katie Couric, has failed to lure viewers to her CBS Evening News broadcast, and late Wednesday came a report that the TV anchor may depart her news desk as early as right after next January's presidential inauguration.

While media observers are pointing fingers of blame at various targets – from CBS head Les Moonves, who wooed Couric away from NBC's Today with a large paycheck, to network executives for even thinking they could get set-in-their-ways older news viewers to adapt to change – the question remains: What could be next for Katie? Take our poll and vote!

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Report: Katie Couric May Leave CBS News Early | Katie Couric

TV News

Report: Katie Couric May Leave CBS News Early

Originally posted 04/09/2008 11:00PM

Despite a contract due to run until 2011, Katie Couric is expected to end her anchor job at CBS Evening News possibly as soon as the January 2009 presidential inauguration, reports the Wall Street Journal, relying on information from CBS News executives and Couric's inner circle.

The potential move comes as a result of continual low ratings for the nightly newscast, a high (estimated $15 million a year) salary for Couric and pressure at the network to slash costs and attract more viewers.

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Source: Matt Lauer to Be Roasted by Katie & Meredith

Source: Matt Lauer to Be Roasted by Katie & Meredith

Originally posted 03/20/2008 11:55AM

The gloves will be off on Oct. 24, when Matt Lauer is served up as the luncheon entrée being skewered at the annual Friars Club Roast in New York.

A source tells PEOPLE that both of the Today host's co-anchors – Katie Couric, from Lauer's past, and Meredith Vieira, from his present – have agreed to take turns delivering jabs at him at the event. Fellow Today star Al Roker will serve as the afternoon's roastmaster.

Traditionally, these roasts feature foul language, filthy jokes and merciless ridiculing of all aspects of the guest of "honor" – from his looks to his sex life.

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VIDEO: Katie Couric Makes Fun of Dan Rather

Originally posted 11/16/2007 05:20PM


Katie Couric's ratings are about to go through the roof – for a segment that was never meant to air.

The CBS Evening News anchor has been caught on video making fun of her predecessor, Dan Rather, while preparing for a remote broadcast – playing with her coat and obsessing over her appearance, much as Rather did in a similar video last month.

"I'm going to be like Dan Rather on YouTube," Couric jokes, as she toys with her coat. "Geez, don't you think he deserves a little payback?"

As she gets herself together, she exclaims, "This tart is ready to go!"

What do you think of Katie's behavior on the video? Take our poll and vote!

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Katie Couric's Daughters Choose Gossip Girl Over News | Katie Couric

Katie Couric's Daughters Would Rather Be Watching Gossip Girl

Originally posted 09/26/2007 03:00PM

Among the viewers that the third-place CBS Evening News with Katie Couric can't necessarily count on are the anchor's own two daughters, Ellie and Carrie – who've set their sights elsewhere.

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Katie Couric Admits Slapping Staffer | Katie Couric

Katie Couric

Katie Couric Admits Slapping Staffer

Originally posted 07/09/2007 11:00AM

CBS Evening News host Katie Couric has revealed the toll that low ratings have taken on her confidence and composure, admitting she has second-guessed her move to CBS at times and even slapped a staffer on set.

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