Katie Couric, Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey put twists on morning TV

By Bill zwecker Columnist/bzwecker@suntimes.com April 1, 2012 9:19PM

Katie Couric, once a popular co-host of NBCs Today, will return to morning television this week alongside George Stephanopoulos as guest host of rival Good Morning America on ABC. Shes filling in for vacationing Robin Roberts.

storyidforme: 28280622tmspicid: 10210658fileheaderid: 4709760

Updated: April 2, 2012 2:16AM

Things are going to be fun this week in the morning TV wars.

With former Today co-anchor Katie Couric guest-hosting on her old rival, ABCs Good Morning America, and Today and CBS This Morning fighting back with a few twists of their own, the three network bosses are doing all they can to snare viewers eyeballs.

After Couric jumped from NBC to CBS in 2006 to become the first female sole anchor of a broadcast networks evening newscast, she never hosted and only rarely made any appearances on the networks morning show.

That was not surprising, said a longtime Couric associate Sunday, who agreed to be interviewed anonymously, as she was not authorized to speak for the veteran TV star.

When Katie moved to CBS, it was extremely important to her to make her mark and be taken seriously by the audience as a nightly news anchor. She felt, and most people around her agreed, that she needed to cut the cord so to speak to morning television.

She had been such a morning show staple for so many years, she had to carve out that new niche in the evenings.

Now that shes moved on to ABC six years after her Today depar! ture en ough time has passed to make Couric comfortable sitting back at a morning show anchor desk, the source said.

Besides, her new role at ABC will be very different, and this week on Good Morning America will be a great way to tease that morning audience to watch her new weekday talk show that launches this fall.

To fight back, CBS morning co-anchor Gayle King has secured her decades-long BFF Oprah Winfrey to come in for an interview Monday. What is intriguing has been CBS promotional angle, touting Winfrey opening up to King about many aspects about her personal life things she has not previously addressed.

Meanwhile, over at NBC, the Today honchos did not take lightly the Couric coup by GMA. Along with promising a major legend as a Monday guest, they also came up with a bit of a Couric tweak.

Sarah Palin, who famously clashed with Couric during a 2008 interview while the then-Alaska governor was running for vice president, has been tapped to guest co-host on Today Tuesday a bit of an ironic match-up against Couric on GMA.

Other high-profile guests Today has slated for this week include Kim Kardashian, Octomom Nadya Suleman, Tori Spelling, part-time Chicagoans and TV personalities Guiliana and Bill Rancic plus a performance by hot singer Nicki Minaj.