Katie Couric

When the news broke that Katie Couric was going to end her contract with ABC News and become “global anchor” for Yahoo beginning next year, the immediate reaction focused on whether it was a good move–for Couric. It was not exactly the career trajectory one might have imagined for her in the ’90s: from the Today show to CBS Evening News to daytime talk show to a search engine’s home page.

But more to the point, is it a good move for Yahoo? We don’t know exactly what Couric, who already produces news videos for Yahoo, will be doing. We do know that Yahoo, like some other online outlets, has been stocking up on high-profile journalists–typically ones with passionate followings in a specific field, like Nate Silver, the stats wizard ESPN snatched away from the New York Times. Couric is a broadcaster. A morning-show host or an evening-news anchor is kind of like an aggregator, able to bring you something of everything. But successful Web followings are usually built on specificity. Maybe Couric will do something at Yahoo unlike anything she ever did on TV. But if not, will a broadcasting personality translate to a narrowcasting medium? Stay tuned.

–JAMES PONIEWOZIK