Couric finding herself, audience online

'Tis the season to be Katie. It is for Ms. Couric, at least, as she wraps up a year in which the critical tide turned much more in her favor as weeknight anchor and managing editor of "CBS Evening News."

Thanks in part to major interview "gets" -- from heroic airplane Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger to U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, with whom Couric spoke while in Afghanistan -- and steps into new media, including her Facebook chats and her online series "@katiecouric," she received some of her best notices since she left NBC's "Today" in 2006 to become the first regularly scheduled solo female anchor of a broadcast network newscast.

"I think it's been a very productive year," Couric reflects. "There were many exciting stories to cover, so I had a great playing field to do what I hope I do best, which is doing interviews and reporting big stories. As time has gone on, I've felt increasingly comfortable at the anchor desk. I think a lot of my interests in other areas, such as doing longer interviews, have been satisfied through my Internet show and doing webcasts following big events.

"Of course," adds Couric, "there's also the opportunity I have to do '60 Minutes' pieces, so I think all those things have provided an incredible panoply of options for me. I've never worked harder in my life, but I'm really enjoying what I'm doing on a daily basis."

Couric deems her increase in original content for www.cbsnews.com to be timely. "We had some Columbia University graduate students in recently, and we asked them, 'How many of you guys watch an evening newscast?' Very few raised their hands, but I think about two-thirds of them were aware of the existence of '@katiecouric' (whose guests have included First Lady Michelle Obama, former Vice President Al Gore and talk show host Glenn Beck).

"That was pretty shocking, because it's a relatively new endeavor, but there was brand recognition there. The fact is that we have to get our franchise out on different platforms to reach the consumer today."

New media has helped Couric stay comfortable in her own skin, since she considers her online work "a great venue for me. I'm used to being pretty casual and having a very connected relationship with the audience from my years on 'Today.' I think I was effective in removing the 'third wall,' if you will, and making people feel they were spending time with someone who wasn't an 'anchorwoman' ... just another person who happened to be a journalist and was talking to them about hopefully important issues. I think people appreciate it when you're not buttoned-up."

Still, the news of 2009 dictated many serious on-air moments for Couric. Beyond such stories as health care and the dawn of the Obama administration, she covered prominent deaths including those of Sen. Edward Kennedy, Michael Jackson and two indisputable icons of CBS News: anchorman-reporter Walter Cronkite and producer Don Hewitt, creator of "60 Minutes."

Recalling Cronkite as "one of the most important and impressive people in American culture and, certainly, who I've ever met," Couric believes the main lesson he left newspeople is that they share "a huge amount of responsibility. That's whether you're a local anchor in a small market or you're sitting in the network chair. There are certain principles of accuracy and integrity that all of us need to strive for, and as sad as Walter's death was, it was a reminder that all of us in this profession have an obligation to search for truth."

In fact, a Cronkite Award is among Couric's most recent honors, for her 2008 interview with former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. This year also brought Couric a Governor's Award from the Emmy-bestowing Television Academy, an Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media and a Partners in Discovery Award from the University of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation.

Couric isn't alone anymore as a woman flying solo at the anchor desk, since Diane Sawyer is assuming that spot on "ABC World News."

"I think Diane is terrific," Couric states. "I have a lot of respect for her, because I think she's an extremely hardworking and dedicated journalist. I have no idea if she'll be subjected to some of the same criticism I was. I think it's a little tired at this point; when something become less of a novelty, it becomes less objectionable."