Elizabeth Kadelin link
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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Couric Fires CBS Medical Reporter--Replaces her with Own Doctor |
| 2006-09-13 |
| Katie Couric has been on the job at the "CBS Evening News” for little more than a week, but changes are already being made on her show – a doctor with ties to Couric has been hired as medical correspondent, replacing veteran Elizabeth Kaledin. The new face is Dr. Jonathan LaPook, a Manhattan gastroenterologist who helped arrange an on-camera colonoscopy for Couric on the "Today” show in 2000. Kaledin had covered the network beat for CBS since 1996. "The thing I’d feel most comfortable saying, which is the truth, is that I am heartbroken by the loss of my job and have spent 20 years working to get to this point, only to be replaced by someone with no journalistic experience only because he’s a doctor,” she told Rebecca Dana of the New York Observer. "I have worked incredibly hard from the smallest markets in TV to get to this point . . . My reporting career is unblemished. I’m well liked. I work hard. I’ve been loyal to CBS.” But Dr. LaPook is close to Couric, whose husband Jay Monahan died of colon cancer and who founded the Jay Monahan Cancer Center. LaPook is a member of the faculty at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, and the Monahan Center is affiliated with his department there. "His insights and his ability to clearly explain and inform will resonate very well with our viewers and will help us set the standard for reporting on this important subject,” CBS News President Sean McManus said in announcing the decision to hire Dr. LaPook. Rome Hartman, executive producer of the "CBS Evening News,” acknowledged to the Observer: "That’s not to say you can’t have a terrific medical reporter who’s not a doctor.” As for the journalist he is replacing, he said, "I really don’t want to comment on that, other than to say that I’ve had nothing but really positive dealings with Elizabeth.” Dr. LaPook is the son-in-law of Norman Lear, creator of CBS hits "All in the Family” and "Maude,” and has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates. |
| Posted by:mcsegeek1 |
| #14 Mickey Kaus: As Katie Couric's newscast sinks back into third place, here's a thought: Maybe CBS isn't disappointed. Maybe the hiring of Couric had nothing to do with boosting the ratings for the CBS Evening News...Maybe Couric was hired by CBS solely to screw NBC's highly-profitable Today Show!... CBS's Les Moonves could somehow get his network back into the lucrative morning-show game--by depriving the dominant competitor of its star--wouldn't that mean a lot more to CBS' bottom line than whether it gets an extra point or two in the shrinking evening news market? ... Wait and see how the Couric-less Today does before you decide whether she was worth $15 million to CBS. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2006-09-13 21:31 |
| #13 Probably smarter, too. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-09-13 21:26 |
| #12 I wouldn't have her on my show either. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-09-13 18:59 |
| #11 pretty obviously she had to go for that uneven right eyebrow....disgusting /sarc |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-09-13 18:35 |
| #10 xblanke: "Was she fired because she's prettier than Katie?" Elizabeth Kadelin link |
| Posted by: BigEd 2006-09-13 18:30 |
| #9 Dr. Jonathan LaPook Is the RantBurg name Hudna still in effect? |
| Posted by: 6 2006-09-13 17:56 |
| #8 Irish Pennants blog asks: "Was she fired because she's prettier than Katie?" |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2006-09-13 17:56 |
| #7 I have an acquaintance who is still very good friends with Couric going back to their days in college (they were sorority sisters, apparently). My acquaintance is about as far left as you can get without being labeled a "left wing nut", though it seems these days that the distance between them is getting harder and harder to ascertain. |
| Posted by: eltoroverde 2006-09-13 16:51 |
| #6 Sorry Frank, that was the whole thing. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-09-13 16:34 |
| #5 Most disturbing in the colonoscopy video was at the end...I know that was a brain stem I saw |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-09-13 16:16 |
| #4 Hey, new doc's done something almost all of us would like to do. Jam something up Katie's ass... tu3031, I was going to insert a comment along the lines of "that musta been one helluva colonoscopy" when I posted the story, but decorum restrained me. Thanks for taking point. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-09-13 15:48 |
| #3 Dr. LaPook is the son-in-law of Norman Lear, creator of CBS hits "All in the Family” and "Maude,” and has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates. Gee. What a surprise. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-09-13 15:37 |
| #2 "Dr. LaPook is the son-in-law of Norman Lear, creator of CBS hits "All in the Family” and "Maude,” and has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates." Of course he has.... |
| Posted by: Mark E. 2006-09-13 15:34 |
| #1 Hey, new doc's done something almost all of us would like to do. Jam something up Katie's ass... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-09-13 15:10 |