Katie Couric

Confession: When Katie Couric wanted to speak with Team Newsette, we freaked out. After all, she’s brilliant, accomplished, approachable—and with over 40 years of experience in the broadcast business, she’s exactly the kind of woman we want to be. But it turns out we have something major in common with the legendary newswoman: we all believe in the power of a great newsletter.

Katie’s is named Wake-Up Call, and it balances hard news with interviews, exclusive videos, and peeks into the former Today Show anchor’s own life and work process. Here’s how she gets her job done during the chaos of 2020, and what we can look forward to in the future. (Mean Girls, the documentary?)

What’s the first app you open on your phone every morning?
I always go right to my email to read my newsletter, Wake-Up Call (shameless plug, but it’s true!) and also because I check my email constantly, I’m admittedly a workaholic. Then I check my Apple News app. Then I move on to Instagram. I love Instagram. It’s always my social media platform of choice.

What do you wish more women knew about the way they consume news?
In the last few years, I’ve become really passionate about the importance of women having strong financial literacy. I think many women, especially of my generation, have been conditioned to veer away from business stories, so I think those of us who are not confident in our business knowledge as a whole should try and educate ourselves. I also think we all, not just women, should be aware of the algorithms that feed us articles and information that are catered to our interests and perspectives. I often say that we’re fed affirmation instead of information, and that’s something to be wary of.

How has your perspective on news shifted since starting Wake-Up Call?
Since I started working for Yahoo! in 2014, I became keenly aware that many people are no longer relying on television to get their news of the day. In addition to the shift away from TV, I noticed the partisan divide among news outlets and I wanted to bridge that gap and give people news without an agenda; a holistic, accurate view of what’s happening in the world, not just in politics but in health, business, and pop culture. And I’m happy to say that people have been really receptive to what we’re doing. So I wouldn’t say my perspective on news has shifted since starting Wake-Up Call, but rather that my beliefs in media trends and the state of journalism have been reinforced.

How do you remain engaged with the world’s problems without becoming anxious?
At the beginning of the pandemic my social media producer came up with the idea to summarize the COVID news in one social media post at the end of each day so people can stay informed, but not be overwhelmed. Staying on top of the news is at the heart of my job, but I do think it’s important to limit news consumption, especially during such a tumultuous time. Information is being thrown at all of us minute by minute. I think checking for updates at the beginning and end of every day is healthy, yet still often enough for you to stay informed (another shameless plug to sign up for my newsletter, and to follow me on Instagram!).

You ask tough questions for a living. What’s your advice for asking someone a question you know they won’t want to hear?
When you’re asking a question that someone may not want to hear, it’s important to remember your tone. It should not be harsh or judgemental, but matter of fact. I also think it’s important to set up a question with a set of facts that it makes it difficult to deflect, deny, or change the subject. I also think it is critically important to listen to the answer so you can then do a respectful follow up. It sounds obvious, but eye contact and body language are important too, so the interviewee will be comfortable and forthcoming. If you’re a receptive, empathetic listener—even when asking hard questions—the answers are more likely to be more honest and revealing.

What’s a question that women are often asked during interviews, but never men?
“How do you manage being a *insert: business woman, politician, philanthropist, etc* AND having a family?”

Are you an inbox zero type of person? How do you keep your inbox prioritized? Ha—as I write this I have 16,848 unread emails. Yikes. Most of them are unread daily newsletters I didn’t get to that day, but no, I am definitely not a “zero unread email inbox” kind of person. I have a ton of incoming mail each day, but my assistant goes through my inbox every morning and every night and stars all of the emails that I need to see and respond to—it could be anything from something interesting or funny sent to me by a friend to a request for [Katie Couric Media] or Stand Up To Cancer. We’ll go through the starred emails at least once a week, because I really don’t like to leave people waiting for responses.

The Parent Trap reunion was amazing! What TV show or movie reunion is next, in your dream world?
Our team has been making our list of dream reunions. I would love to get Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, Anne Hathaway, and Meryl Streep back together for Devil Wears Prada. Or the cast of Mean Girls would be great. Maybe Nancy Meyers and I need to chat again!