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tually, frantically, commuting back and forth - she on weekends, and he, when he can, in midweek - to spend three or four nights a week together. "I miss my husband," she said. "He was in town yesterday, and it was so nice to come home and be with him and Ellie and just be a family, you know?" It was a year ago on April 4 that Ms. Couric took over the seat beside Bryant Gumbel; motherhood and commuter marriage followed. The troika of personal upheavals might have undone a more...well, normal person. "These people who get these jobs, they're different," said Jeffrey Zucker, the 27-year-old executive producer of "Today." Across her kitchen table, Ms. Couric - most people, strangers included, call her Katie - appears much as she does on camera, petite and tomboyish, pretty but not glamorous, cheerfully collegiate. She is conversationally deft, ever vigilant for the opportunity to quip and gibe. On the air this translates into a precocious competence, a crossbreed of authority and chatty hip, the video offspring of, say, Walter Cronkite and Martha Quinn of MTV. She carries on impressively in the important world of adults, somehow without appearing to be important, or for that matter, adult. "She's the kid on the playground, not the dolled-up, glamorous, ready-for-prime-time anchor," Mr. Zucker said. "Perhaps we defined morning television for the 90's, by mistake, when we found Katie." A New Contract Viewers, critics and the network have responded: ratings have risen steadily since she replaced the beleaguered Deborah Norville, writers have exhaustively thumbed the lexicon of praise to describe her, and last week NBC rewarded her with a new five-year contract at an annual salary reported to be more than $1 million. No one questions her journalistic credentials. She arrived at "Today" after several years as a local television reporter in Miami and Washington and after a stint as an NBC Pentagon correspondent. But in the tepid news milieu of morning television, where foreign affairs and politics mingle with the softest of features, such competence is only helpful, not required. It's appeal that counts. "I think people just like me a little bit," Ms. Couric said. "I think they think, 'She's an O.K....'" - she paused awkwardly - "'woman.' "Woman. That's so weird. I think of myself as much younger than 35. She volunteered an assessment of her appearance, cheerleaderish, girl-next-doorish. "Unthreatening," she [[cutoff]] like an adult. But... -hood. The youngest of four children and a product of a happy family in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, she remains close to her parents, to whom she speaks by phone after every program. She still relies for professional advice on her father, John Couric, a retired newspaperman. She used to be a cheerleader and admits to being the kid of teen-ager to whom things came "sort of easily" and "who did a lot of extra-curricular activities in school," even though she was once suspended for smoking in the girl's room. Though she called herself a "serious procrastinator," she was a natural writer in school: "I was the kid whose essay the teacher would read in front of the class." She is also an accomplished flirt with a harmless naughty streak. "Half of America wants her haircut," said her NBC hair stylist, Anna Febres. Indeed, she has so many qualities with which so many people identify - or want to - that she seems a kind of walking demographic miracle. It's an appeal that "Today" has used to advantage. Ms. Couric gets [[cutoff]] - with the program reporting on a publishing event of current interest and the writer cooperating on behalf of some substantial free publicity. What made the segment unusual was that the author was Emily Couric, Katie's sister. Strictly speaking this was dubious journalism, a privilege granted to a relative of a powerful insider. On the other hand, it was first-rate television of the "infotainment" variety. When a third sister was introduced for no other reason than a few giggles, the interview turned into a warm family gathering, to which the entire nation happened to be invited. "I promise I won't tell anyone that Mom made me do this interview," Ms. Couric said to her sisters on the air. Fun and Entertainment Asked about the segment, she said: "We don't do things without thinking about them, but we are part entertainment and we want to have fun. I would hope we have standards, that's for sure. "We thought the book in itself was legitimate. I did tell Emily that I didn't feel comfortable doing it until there were some reviews in, some good reviews. I'd read the book and thought it was interesting. And I talked to Jeff about it, and I talked to [[image]] Free Catalog Teak & Mahogany Outdoor Furniture Precision-cut Kits or Fully Assembled Let us show you our all-weather furniture of enduring beauty and character, handcrafted to last a lifetime. Choose from classic garden benches, porch swings, chairs, tables, rockers and lounges. Available fully assembled, or as pre-drilled, precision-cut kits that are easy and fun to put together. Call or write for FREE catalog. WOOD CLASSICS Box 2N03- Gardiner, NY 12525 Visit our Garden Showroom, about 2 hours north of New York City in the beautiful Hudson Valley. Call for directions. 2N14 (913)255-7871 NEW. EVERY DAY. 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Transcription Notes:
tually- frantically, (wrong punctuation should be, not-)
removed [[separation line]] - this is not indicated. Area code on phone should be 914 for Wood Classics
