Katie Couric

Katherine Anne Couric, better known as Katie Couric (born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and media personality. She was born in Arlington, Virginia to an Episcopalian father and a Jewish mother. She refers to herself as of medium height in spite of being 5' 1".

Career

Couric enrolled in the University of Virginia in 1975, graduating in 1979. Her journalism career began when she was hired as a desk assistant for the ABC News bureau in Washington, DC, later joining CNN as an assignment editor. Between 1984 and 1986, she worked as a general-assignment reporter for WTVJ in Miami, Florida. During the following two years, she reported for WRC-TV, an NBC station in Washington, DC, work which earned her an Associated Press Award and an Emmy.

Related Topics:
University of Virginia - 1975 - 1979 - ABC News - Washington, DC - CNN - Editor - Reporter - WTVJ - Miami, Florida - WRC-TV - NBC - Associated Press Award - Emmy

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Couric joined NBC News in 1989 as a reporter. From 1989 to 1991 Couric filled in for Bryant Gumbel as host of The Today Show, Jane Pauley, and Deborah Norville as co-host of The Today Show, Garrick Utley, Mary Alice Williams, and Maria Shriver as co-host of Sunday Today, John Palmer, Deborah Norville, and Faith Daniels as anchor of the former NBC News program NBC News at Sunrise, and also for Faith Daniels, Deborah Norville, and John Palmer as the newsreader on The Today Show. In 1990, she joined The Today Show as national correspondent, becoming a co-host in February 1991, at first temporarily when Norville had a baby, but later on in April 1991 on a more permanent basis when Norville left The Today Show to spend time with her newborn baby. In 1992, she began working as a collaborator at Dateline NBC, where her reports appear regularly.

Related Topics:
NBC News - 1989 - 1991 - Bryant Gumbel - The Today Show - Jane Pauley - Deborah Norville - Garrick Utley - Mary Alice Williams - Maria Shriver - Sunday Today - John Palmer - Faith Daniels - NBC News at Sunrise - 1990 - 1992 - Dateline NBC

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She hosted or worked on a number of "specials" (one-time programs): ', in 1995 was a report on the state of children in the U.S. Katie Couric has filled in for Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News. Couric has also filled in for Garrick Utley on the Sunday Edition of NBC Nightly News from 1989 to 1992, and also for Maria Shriver on the Saturday Edition of NBC Nightly News in 1989.

Related Topics:
Specials - 1995 - Tom Brokaw - Garrick Utley - NBC Nightly News - Maria Shriver - 1989

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Similar "specials" of a commercial or trivial aspect were ' in 1993, and in 1999.

Related Topics:
Trivial - 1993 - 1999

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Personality interviews

Couric has interviewed many international political figures and celebrities during her career, including George H. W. Bush, his son George W. Bush, Barbara Bush, John Ramsey and his wife Patsy Ramsey, Trisha Meili (known as The Central Park Jogger), Bill Clinton, Ann Coulter and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. John F. Kennedy Jr. gave Couric his first and last interviews. In addition to that, Couric has won multiple television journalism awards through her career.

Related Topics:
George H. W. Bush - George W. Bush - Barbara Bush - John Ramsey - Patsy Ramsey - Trisha Meili - Bill Clinton - Ann Coulter - Saudi Arabia - John F. Kennedy Jr.

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Media crossovers

In a media crossover to animated film, she was the voice of news-reporter Katie Current in the film Shark Tale, in the U.S. version. Most non-U.S. versions use a different voice, but she is still credited.

Related Topics:
Animated film - Shark Tale - U.S.

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She also made a cameo appearance as a prison guard at Georgia State Prison in Austin Powers in Goldmember. She guest-starred as herself on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace in late 2002.

Related Topics:
Cameo appearance - Austin Powers in Goldmember - Sitcom - Will & Grace - 2002

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The "Couric Effect"

Couric's husband died of colon cancer in 1998 at the age of 42; today she is a prominent spokeswoman for colon cancer awareness.

Related Topics:
Colon cancer - 1998

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She underwent a colonoscopy on air in March of 2000, and, according to a study published by Archives of Internal Medicine (July 14, 2003), inspired many others to get checked as well:

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:Katie Couric's televised colon cancer awareness campaign was temporally associated with an increase in colonoscopy use in 2 different data sets. These findings suggest that a celebrity spokesperson can have a substantial impact on public participation in preventive care programs.

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On October 7, 2005, Couric broadcast her own mammogram on the Today Show, in the hopes of recreating the "Couric Effect" around the issue of breast cancer. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. http://nbcumv.com/release_detail.nbc/news-20051006000000-moreonquottoday.html

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