Katie Couric, Daytime Talk Show | featured news

Katie Couric finished first among new daytime talk shows during its premiere week, early stats suggest. “Katie’s” week, which started big before taking a spill, ended strong Friday with a Jennifer Lopez interview. (Couric got J-Lo to comment on the new “American Idol” judging panel by incorrectly assuring her that Fox had confirmed the names — which Fox did not do until Sunday).

Katie Couric’s triumphant return to daytime TV Monday snagged the biggest ratings for a syndicated talk show launch in a decade. 
The “Katie” unveiling tied “Dr. Phil’s” premiere back in September of 2002 and --  because we know you’re going to ask – there have been 25 daytime talk show debuts since the unveiling of “Dr. Phil.”

Katie Couric’s return to daytime TV began with Katie in bed, having a nightmare. She woke up with a jolt and said to someone in the next twin bed, who was buried under the covers: “Wow! I just had the weirdest dream! I left ‘Today’ to anchor the evening news and did it for five years, and then I dreamed I was going to be hosting my own daytime talk show!”

In a much anticipated interview with television host Oprah Winfrey that aired Monday, Sarah Palin tamped down speculation that she might run for president in 2012 and took shots at CBS News’ Katie Couric, who conducted a series of interviews with the former Alaska governor that seriously damaged Palin’s standing in 2008.