IN HER
FOOTSTEPS
photographed by YLVA EREVALL ; styled by CRICKET BURNS
For decades, no one could imagine getting their news from anyone other than
a man—think Walter Cronkite. So, when Katie Couric was tapped to be
the first woman to anchor a network evening newscast, everyone sat up and
took note. For Les Moonves, president of CBS, and Couric, it was pretty brave,
and clearly has turned out to be a risk that has paid off. But not right out of
the gate. Proving all her initial critics wrong, Couric persevered with her
characteristic hard work and journalistic integrity, irrevocably shattering
the glass ceiling that Barbara Walters first cracked in the ’70s when she
co-anchored the ABC evening news with Harry Reasoner.
“CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” has since been critically acclaimed,
winning many awards, including the Edward R. Murrow Award for best
newscast in 2008 and 2009, and Couric won the Walter Cronkite Award for
Special Achievement for her impact on the 2008 campaign. Beginning this
January, ABC’s “World News” will follow suit when they turn over their anchor
chair to Diane Sawyer. Thanks to Couric’s trailblazing, Sawyer will likely have an
easier time being welcomed by America as a solo anchor of the evening news.
For this issue, Mariska Hargitay, Emmy award-winning star of
“Law & Order Special Victims Unit,” sat down with her friend Katie to chat
about why Sarah Palin remains a compelling political figure, whether young
women today would rather be smart or hot and how Brian Williams is about
to be outnumbered at 6: 30 p.m.
Hair by JACQUELINE BUSH FOR RENÉ FURTERER ; Makeup by JOSIE TORRES FOR DANIELA KLEIN
