Katie Couric offered unexpected praise Sunday for two former Fox News figures, Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson, pointing to their post-cable careers as examples of independent media operations with staying power. Asked by Status who was “building a promising independent media operation that can actually last,” the longtime NBC and CBS host, 69, described both Kelly and Carlson as “successful” and “entrepreneurial.” Couric said the appeal of working outside major institutions is clear when speaking with them: “They feel very liberated by their ability to make decisions quickly, to not have to deal with the bureaucracy.” She also took aim at the state of traditional network news, saying her former employers have become “less relevant” and “slow to adapt.” Couric, who also spent time at ABC, argued that “corporate ownership and journalistic integrity don’t always align,” then singled out CBS more sharply. “The stories coming out of ‘60 Minutes’ about trying to direct the storytelling in a way that is less offensive to the administration or that fudges the truth is a total embarrassment,” she said.
Couric Warns of Corporate Influence in News
“It’s hard to measure, but there is probably some anticipatory obedience, if you will,” Couric continued, while stressing that she does not believe such deference to Donald Trump and his administration is universal. “There’s still very good reporting being done,” she said. Even so, Couric warned that when corporate priorities depend on favorable treatment from an administration, newsrooms can struggle to remain fully independent. “But when corporate interests are trying to achieve something with the administration’s blessing, it’s hard for the news organizations to be completely independent and liberated to report and to seek out the truth,” she added. Couric spent roughly five years at CBS News, where she became the highest-paid news anchor in the world and worked on both “Evening News” and “60 Minutes.” Speaking about the current state of the latter program, she said: “From everything I’ve read about the reporters who were fired, some of the stories behind the scenes were very troubling.”
The latest turmoil at “60 Minutes” included a wave of firings on May 28 at the direction of CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, who was appointed in October by then-new Paramount CEO David Ellison. Couric said she found Ellison’s ownership of CBS News “very concerning,” citing the 43-year-old father’s well-known support for Trump. Ellison is the son of conservative billionaire Larry Ellison, and his former company, Skydance, acquired Paramount last year just days after CBS settled a $16 million lawsuit brought by Trump against the network. The deal fueled accusations of bribery and political bias. Former “60 Minutes” top executive Bill Owens had already intensified scrutiny by publicly accusing Paramount of interfering with the show’s journalistic independence while the merger remained unresolved; he resigned in protest in April 2025. Paramount is also now set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company. “Having control of too many media outlets is not a good thing. It’s cause for concern how they’re going to manage CNN and who’s going to be in charge there,” Couric said.
“I think it’s unclear at this juncture, so I’m taking a wait-and-see attitude right now,” Couric said of the broader changes. “But anytime there’s massive consolidation, it’s not good for journalists, and it’s definitely not good for viewers, in my opinion.” She struck a similarly cautious note about “60 Minutes” itself, saying she wants to see how the program evolves. “It will be interesting to see how the program coalesces around new hires,” she said. “We’ll see if the quality of the reporting and the quality of the pieces are still there.” In recent months, Scott Pelley — who previously replaced Couric on “CBS Evening News” — Cecilia Vega, Sharilyn Alfonsi and Anderson Cooper have all left the program, with Cooper the only one whose departure was described as voluntary. Cooper, a CNN anchor since 2001, exited his longtime “60 Minutes” role last May when his contract expired. According to a June New York Times report about Warner’s looming merger with Paramount, Cooper privately told colleagues he did not want to work for Weiss.
CBS Source Pushes Back
A CBS source disputed Couric’s characterization of CBS News, noting that Weiss had already overseen “60 Minutes” last season, during which the program aired multiple segments critical of the Trump administration. Those included reports on the effects of SNAP cuts on rural Americans, the administration’s attacks and threats against the federal judiciary, and the impact of tariffs on family farms. Couric was replaced by Pelley on “CBS Evening News” in 2011 after a career that also included her celebrated run anchoring NBC’s “Today” throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. She launched Katie Couric Media in 2017 and now hosts a popular podcast. The Daily Mail contacted CBS News for comment.
