Katie Couric on being 'ruthlessly competitive' with Diane Sawyer: 'Just look at the way she looks'
Katie Couric discusses a lot in her forthcoming memoir Going There, including her long-running feud with Diane Sawyer.
"Of course we were competitive," Couric, 64, tells The Cut while promoting her book.
The morning show wars have been tabloid fodder for years, particularly during Couric and Sawyer's reign at NBC and ABC, respectively. But the former Today show anchor says it wasn't only the women who were competitive over their home network's million dollar franchise.
"You think Tom [Brokaw of NBC News], Peter [Jennings of ABC] and Dan [Rather of CBS] weren't ruthlessly competitive too?" she asks.
Still, Couric does not hold back when discussing her rivalry with Sawyer, 75.
In Going There, Couric confirms a story that's been rumored for years. After Sawyer booked an interview she wanted, Couric declared, "I wonder who she had to blow to get that."
Couric clarifies in the book she doesn't believe Sawyer actually performed the sex act to get a story, but that it was a metaphor.
"I'm pretty sure I speak for Diane when I say neither of us ever resorted to actual fellatio to land an interview, but we both engaged in the metaphoric kind — flattering gatekeepers, family members, and whoever else stood in the way of a big get," Couric writes.
"Diane was everything I wasn’t," she adds in Going There. "I was fun and feisty; Diane was sleek and sophisticated."
Couric elaborated to The Cut about how Sawyer's physical appearance played a role in the competition.
"Just look at the way she looks," Couric says. "The packaging really shapes your perception. I’m short. I was a cheerleader. Would it be different if I were five-foot-11 and not that outgoing?"
Going There will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 26.
