"Where was Katie?"

Well, now we know exactly where the priorities of CBS News lie in the Katie Couric era. Let's summarize:

• Tragic hiker death in Oregon: Producers secure an exclusive with the widow and Katie swoops down to conduct it. CBS deems it so newsworthy, interview is stretched into two parts so it can carry over to "The Early Show."

• Gerald Ford dies: Katie is on vacation. Her staff handles the early news.

It didn't escape the notice of reader Richard Feldan, either:

"I watched all three network news programs tonite. Of course, they all led off with news and background on former President Ford. I noticed that both NBC and ABC brought back their primary anchors (B. Williams and C. Gibson) from the holiday break to cover and co-ordinate the stories.

"Most glaring by her absence was CBS anchor Katie Couric. Where was Katie? I'm sure CBS can come up with a good reason, but if Williams and Gibson can be brought in to cover this big story, why not Ms Couric?"

Here's another question: When do the Aaron Brown comparisons start?

CBS told Brian Stelter, ""Katie Couric is out of the country but is returning to anchor all of CBS News' special coverage of the funeral ceremonies and will anchor the CBS Evening News from New York tomorrow night." Still, as media watcher Tom Rosensteil noted, "you don't want to be the only network that didn't do something when the others did."