It seems CBS's gambit to improve its Evening News ratings by sending Katie Couric into the war zone has failed. According to Reuters, despite Couric having been to Iraq and also interviewing General Petraeus and President Bush, her news program has hit an all-time low of 5.4 million viewers, "the lowest ratings on record since the current ratings system took effect in 1987, according to Nielsen Media Research." (In comparison, ABC's Charlie Gibson is attracting 7.8 million while NBC's Brian Williams draws in 7.78 million.)

But I knew ahead of these latest stats that things were not well when watching the NFL on CBS last Sunday. During a commercial break, the network ran a promo with a voiceover that sounded just a little too desperate:

"Katie Couric, covering the most important story of our time. She did it. And did it well."