Reidblog [The Reid Report blog]

CBS chief Les Moonves is eager to revamp the evening newscast.

"America is tired of grim announcers blathering on about body counts in Iraq and Washington scandals," he said. "Katie will be able to bring a smile and a cheerful exuberance to even the most horrible tragedies, and, can you just imagine getting jiggy with her?

"I'm personally so excited that Katie Couric is coming to the CBS News family," said Leslie Moonves, president and chief executive of CBS Corporation. "With this move, our news division takes yet another giant leap forward."

For Ms. Couric, leaving the morning, where she has thrived, leading "Today" during the longest run of success the program has ever enjoyed — it has finished first in the morning competition every week for more than 10 years — will certainly carry risks. She has thrived in the morning format, where her skills at moving between interviews with newsmakers and lighter segments, like interaction with celebrities and cooking and fashion features, have fueled her success.

At CBS, she will take over a newscast that has perennially finished in last place, though in recent months it has shown signs of rejuvenation under the anchor Bob Schieffer, who took the post temporarily after Dan Rather stepped down.

Thinking ahead to 2008, it's clear that new CBS anchor Katie Couric has to be counted as a positive political asset for Hillary Clinton. Hillary's "Today" interviews have been almost universally sappy and sympathetic. (In a big-picture way, you might also see in solo-anchor Katie another sign, like Geena Davis's "Commander in Chief" on ABC, of an attempt by liberal media to push hard on the equal plausibility and authoritativeness of women in the top jobs.)

• Ugh. Perky goes to CBS