Going There, the “radically transparent” new memoir from Katie Couric, has drawn attention for its unusually blunt assessments of fellow media bigwigs—and its even-more-unusually blunt assessments of her own life. An Arlington native who was a local-TV reporter in DC before ascending to network-news stardom, she also produced a few choice descriptions of colleagues from her time at Channel 4. And while none of them are quite as likely to drive headlines as her dish about the likes of Larry King, Bryant Gumbel, Deborah Norville, or the disgraced Matt Lauer, there are some memorable asides all the same:
Pat Collins: A “Beltway fixture” who “had the twinkly-eyed, ruddy face of someone who’d wandered in from County Clare. Had we met a century earlier, he would be happily dipping my braids in the inkwell.”
Susan Kidd: “A ballsy anchor with an Angela Davis vibe.”
Steve Doocy: “Long before he became the host of Fox and Friends, he was a benignly funny features guy at WRC.” He emceed Couric’s wedding reception.
Wendy Rieger: “A leggy looker at WRC and my complete opposite.”
Barbara Harrison: A “warm, impeccably dressed morning anchor,” she was “the first time I ever saw Bulgari jewelry in the wild.”
I.J. Hudson: When management wanted the young Couric to do a cringe-worthy sweeps-week feature called “No Time for Sex,” she suggested the veteran male reporter instead. “He’s married with children; he probably doesn’t have time for sex. I’m 27 and single. I have plenty of time!”
