Former CBS and NBC anchor Katie Couric went to bat for her former colleagues on a Wednesday Substack video interview with fellow Substacker Liz Plank. Couric claimed that “for everybody shitting on the mainstream,” they still rely on it for their news and that it is still needed to combat “the shit show that is the Trump administration.”
Alluding to a couple of lawsuit settlements President Trump has had with two of the big three networks, Couric began by reporting that she is seeking to make a documentary about “what has happened to journalism and how it has really changed and how it’s so critical for a democracy to have a free press and, you know, obviously corporate stuff that’s going on at ABC and CBS.”
She also added that for all the hate the industry gets, the haters could not do their job without it, “A lot of these social media creators, you know, for everybody shitting on mainstream media, you know, they depend on a lot of mainstream outlets to get their information and then to report it. It’s not like they’re on the scene… I asked the Midas Touch guys about this. And they said, ‘Oh, we do some original reporting,’ but a lot of it isn’t original, although in fairness they can watch the CSPAN feeds, they can see what’s going on at press conferences and all that stuff, so they can write directly from an event, but sometimes they’re reporting what other outlets have reported, so I think it just, it underscores the importance of more traditional media.”
Ultimately, Couric would claim that the media isn’t needed to simply tell people what is happening in their country but to be a part of the anti-Trump resistance, “So I think it just, it underscores the importance of more traditional media, and I think we need it all, to be honest, especially at this moment in our history and what’s happening in our country and the shit show that is the Trump administration.”
On one hand, Couric isn’t completely wrong. Plenty of news commentators do rely on traditional media for their news. That’s why the MRC exists because, in 2025, TV viewership numbers aren’t everything. If the original source is biased, then the secondary source, such as Katie Couric’s Next Question podcast, is also potentially problematic. However, on the other hand, if traditional media simply refuses to cover certain stories or leaves out critical information in the stories they do report on, then it is left to alternative media to fill the gaps.
Here is a transcript for the July 9 show:
Katie Couric and Liz Plank Substack Video
7/9/2025
13 Minutes, 25 Seconds
KATIE COURIC: But you know, one thing interesting, and I’ve talked to, like, friends of mine in more traditional media—
LIZ PLANK: Yeah.
COURIC: —because I’m actually trying to develop a documentary on what has happened to journalism and the news business—
PLANK: Oh, yeah.
COURIC: —and how it has really changed and how it’s so critical for a democracy to have a free press and, you know, obviously corporate stuff that’s going on at ABC and CBS, anyway, so what was I talking about, Liz?
PLANK: You want to make a documentary about—
COURIC: Oh yeah. No, wait, wait, wait—
PLANK: About the state of news—
COURIC: I was talking to a friend to recently. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, and we’re saying a lot of these social media creators, you know, for everybody shitting on mainstream media, you know, they depend on a lot of mainstream—
PLANK: That’s true.
COURIC: —outlets to get their information and then to report it. It’s not like they’re on the scene—
PLANK: Yeah.
COURIC: —It’s on the ground. It’s not like they’re, you know, sometimes, you know, I asked the Midas Touch guys about this. And they said, “Oh, we do some original reporting,” but a lot of it isn’t original—
PLANK: It’s true.
COURIC: —although in fairness they can watch the CSPAN feeds, they can see what’s going on at press conferences and all that stuff, so—
PLANK: Context.
COURIC: —they can write directly from an event, but sometimes they’re reporting what other outlets have reported, so I think it just, it underscores the importance of more traditional media, and I think we need it all, to be honest—
PLANK: Yeah.
COURIC: —especially at this moment in our history and what’s happening in our country and the shit show that is the Trump administration.
