Trying to See the Message in Katie’s Glasses

It could mean nothing, or it could mean something. Probably nothing, but still, you gotta wonder. . . .

On the morning of Dec. 14, Katie Couric greeted “Today” show’s 7 million viewers wearing glasses. A strikingly ugly pair at that: jagged and sharp, the kind a heroine in a 1950s B horror flick might wear, not the ever-fashionable doyenne of the “Today” show. Astute observers (notably Peter Johnson of USA Today) pointed out that Couric never wore glasses on the air, at the express command of her trusted and beloved producer, Jeff Zucker. So why wear them that day? Because Zucker would shortly announce that he would become president of NBC Entertainment. He would be Katie’s boss no longer.

So back to the glasses. A little inside joke? A fun and harmless act of rebellion? Or perhaps an angry gesture, as in, “Hey, you’re leaving me, pal, so I can wear my glasses if I want to. So there.” Probably not, but still, you have to wonder. . . .

Let’s get the facts straight. Jeff Zucker is leaving “Today.” Katie Couric is not. There is no talk of her departure at the network, where she has exactly 20 months left on her contract.

Still, you have to wonder, and, in fact, much of the television industry is doing just that. With Zucker--or Zook as he is affectionately known--gone, will Katie be far behind? Let the speculation begin.

As everyone in television news circles knows, the Couric-Zucker team is one of the longest-running (and most successful) acts on TV. She knows how he thinks. He knows how she thinks. He knows what she likes, she . . . well, you get the idea.

Couric-Zucker has been a team for one solid decade. Their many accomplishments could fill a nice, puffy multithousand-word article (and have), but for our purposes, only one need be cited: Together they helped save the “Today” show. Not Bryant, or Willard, or Al, or Matt. Zook and Katie did it, with an unerring sense of how morning TV’s great institution should present itself. Not as easy as it sounds--particularly after some semi-sentient NBC executives nearly nuked it in 1989-90. (Remember the Deborah Norville-for-Jane Pauley fiasco?)

Zucker and Couric have never been apart. He was a producer on the show when she joined as a correspondent in June 1990, and he was made executive producer the following year.

They’re apart now. So what’s next? Obviously, friends and supporters have a one-word answer: nothing.

“I don’t think there is any doubt that Jeff Zucker is a world-class producer, but I think it’s just as clear that she’s a world-class anchor,” says Sara James, an NBC anchor and Couric pal. “Does anybody think people will stop loving Katie because he’s gone to the West Coast? I know she’s been hugely supportive of him taking on this next challenge.” Zucker’s ambitions have hardly been ill-disguised. He’s chafed for the top entertainment job for years, according to most observers--including Garth Ancier, whom he will replace.

One report making the rounds: Zucker told NBC he was going to leave “Today” next year when his contract is up unless he got the job. (Not true, according to one source who, nonetheless, admits GE Chairman Jack Welch personally tapped Zucker for the entertainment role.)

During a teleconference last week, Zucker was asked about Couric’s future: “She’s not going anywhere. She’s staying on the ‘Today’ show and she’s integral to the program’s success. . . . Yes, we’ve grown up together, but she’s been aware that there would come a day where something like this would happen. . . . So it’s not an unbelievable shock to her system.”

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But what does Katie really want? More speculation: In two years, she’ll engineer her exit and launch a syndicated show, most likely with NBC. And more speculation: Oprah Winfrey will be close to retiring by then, leaving the field open to a new megastar--Ms. Katie. And even more speculation: Her friendship with Tom Werner, one of television’s most prominent producers (“Cosby,” “Roseanne”), may one day lead to her relocation to the Left Coast.

Asked about her future during a recent “Larry King Live,” she said: “I’ve never been one to think five years ahead, [but] maybe I’d like to stick around and see what other opportunities are out there. But right now, I think we have the best gig in town.”

Yet, during the interview, she neglected to mention that Zucker was even leaving. (“Jeff Zucker is really brilliant and quite good at keeping his finger on the pulse and figuring out what’s interesting and what’s gonna be hot.”) A simple if rather odd oversight, given his prominence in her career? (She declined a request to comment for this column.) Probably, but still, you gotta wonder. . . .