Couric leaves 'Today' with tears, gratitude

NEW YORK -- It took three hours, but NBC's Today gave star Katie Couric a warm send-off Wednesday in a star-filled extravaganza that even she joked was a "celebration of moi, ad nauseam."

Couric's co-anchor, Matt Lauer, kicked things off for the "Goodbye, Katie"-themed show by saying that, during her 15 years on Today, Couric had displayed "grace, wit and charm" and was "the perfect journalistic partner. There are many days when I watch her on the air and say, 'I couldn't do that.' I don't think many people could."

Couric becomes the nation's first solo female broadcast news anchor Sept. 5 on the CBS Evening News. She is expected to drum up support for her new gig when she addresses CBS affiliates in Las Vegas today.

Meredith Vieira, host of ABC's The View, joins Lauer in September.

Wednesday's farewell, capping off weeks of testimonials from diverse public figures, "shows how deeply the roles of reporter and celebrity have blended together in today's high-profile media world," says Fordham University communications professor Paul Levinson.

"It was easier for reporters to be detached and objective when they were just faceless names in newspapers. Now the news anchor, the political leader, the entertainer all share the same glimmering television screen," he says.

Musicians Tony Bennett, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, the Jersey Boys cast and Hairspray star Harvey Fierstein serenaded Couric, 49, as her parents, two daughters, NBC colleagues and about 1,000 fans watched in Today's famous outdoor plaza that other networks have copied widely.

Six ordinary people who became newsmakers saluted Couric's human touch as a journalist during the show, which featured dozens of her interviews.

"I could feel her genuineness. She helped me to heal so much," said Craig Scott, who survived the Columbine school massacre and talked about it with Couric on Today in 1999.

Lauren Manning, who was burned during the terrorist attacks in New York on 9/11, said, "In meeting her and talking to her, I felt that it helped heal me, as well."

Conservative blogger Debbie Schlussel, a Couric critic, found the three hours Today devoted to Couric "an overabundance of worship. ... It was as if a new queen of the universe was being anointed."

But Couric fans, who began lining up at Today's plaza at 4 a.m., were not disappointed; they stayed through the broadcast, holding aloft signs that read "We love you, Katie" and "Thanks for the memories."

Children's book author Deborah Guarino of Sussex, N.J., said she was particularly impressed that Couric had carved out time to write a children's book in 2000 called The Brand New Kid (Doubleday). "I'll always love Katie."

For her part, an at-times tearful Couric said on the broadcast, "The word I keep coming back to is gratitude. I never dreamed I would see a rainbow over Victoria Falls, walk silently among the crosses above the beaches of Normandy, see the blue mountains of Australia or get a tour of 10 Downing Street from Prime Minister Tony Blair. That's just a small sampling of what I'm grateful for."

She saluted the Today staff, which "scurries around like elves on Christmas Eve." Of Lauer: "I know I'll never have a partner like you because I won't be working with a partner. Beneath this well-dressed exterior lies this huge and loving heart." Of weatherman Al Roker: "You amaze me with your enthusiasm and your ability to connect with everyone." And news anchor Ann Curry: "Your genuine concern for causes and people have inspired me."

Couric, who lost her husband, Jay Monahan, to colon cancer in 1998, called her work on colon cancer prevention by far her proudest accomplishment. "This is, in fact, the best job in television and what a privilege it has been for me to hold this post for almost a third of my life," she said. "I know this program will be one I'm proud of long after I'm gone."

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