The California Internet company hired longtime newscaster and talk show star Katie Couric, well-known to American television viewers, having hosted programmes on three top broadcast networks.
"Couric is joining the company as Global Anchor, as part of Yahoo!'s ongoing commitment to re-imagine how news and information is delivered and consumed," a Yahoo statement said.
Yahoo! chief executive Marissa Mayer, hired last year to help revive the fortunes of the faded Internet pioneer, said Couric "will lead a growing team of correspondents at Yahoo! News who will cover the world's most interesting stories and newsmakers."
"From pivotal coverage of natural disasters and historic elections to the Royal Wedding and the Olympic Games, groundbreaking interviews with heads of state, her experience is unmatched," Mayer said in a blog post.
Mayer says Couric, 56, will continue to host her daytime television talk show "Katie" while being the "face" of Yahoo! News and being part of features for the Internet company's home page.
Couric will begin with Yahoo! News early next year to help reshape coverage for the Internet company, which hosts the biggest global news website and is gradually moving to control more of the content.
Couric told news website Capital New York the format for Yahoo!'s programming has not yet been defined. "I don't think it is going to be a half-hour evening news broadcast or a two-hour morning show," she said.
"We are trying to be very open-minded. What I really am excited about in working with the team at Yahoo! is that there are no rules right now, we're going to try things, we're going to see how they go, we're going to see what people are interested in. We can do everything from a town hall meeting to in-depth interviews or a breaking news story," Couric said.
Couric joins a team of other respected journalists including Megan Liberman, David Pogue and Matt Bai, hired from the New York Times.
Yahoo! last month asked Pogue to head a grand expansion of consumer-focused technology news.
Liberman was hired in September to be editor in chief and to lead a major expansion of Yahoo! News, bringing in new voices and defining features for the site.
Bai was hired this month to be a national political columnist.
The Couric recruitment comes as Yahoo! continues a quest to redefine itself as an online venue for premier digital content.
Couric joined the CBS "Evening News" in 2006 after 15 years presenting NBC's "Today" show. She left CBS in 2011 and since 2012 has had her own show with ABC, which has a news partnership with Yahoo!.
Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge
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