Longtime legacy media star gives rare compliment to conservatives Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly... while branding her former employer CBS a 'total embarrassment'

Longtime NBC and CBS host Katie Couric paid a surprise compliment to Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson for both of their independent journalism careers on Sunday.

Couric, 69, singled out the former Fox News stars after being asked who was 'building a promising independent media operation that can actually last' by Status.

The veteran journalist praised both for being not only 'successful' but 'entrepreneurial.'

'When you talk to them, they feel very liberated by their ability to make decisions quickly, to not have to deal with the bureaucracy,' she said.

Couric also criticized the current state of network news, conceding her old employers have been 'less relevant' and 'slow to adapt'. Couric enjoyed a stint at ABC as well.

The former 60 Minutes correspondent concluded that 'corporate ownership and journalistic integrity don’t always align,' before taking a shot at CBS directly.

'The stories coming out of “60 Minutes” about trying to direct the storytelling in a way that is less offensive to the administration or that fudges the truth is a total embarrassment,' she said.

'It’s hard to measure, but there is probably some anticipatory obedience, if you will.'

Couric clarified that she does not think this obedience - to Donald Trump and the administration - is 'everywhere.'

'There’s still very good reporting being done.'

'But when corporate interests are trying to achieve something with the administration’s blessing, it’s hard for the news organizations to be completely independent and liberated to report and to seek out the truth,' she added.

Couric worked at CBS News for roughly half-a-decade. At the time, she was the highest-paid news anchor in the world and worked on both Evening News and 60 Minutes.

'From everything I’ve read about the reporters who were fired, some of the stories behind the scenes were very troubling,' she said of the latter's current state.

A slew of firings hit 60 Minutes on May 28 at the behest of CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, who was appointed by then-new Paramount CEO David Ellison in October.

Couric said she viewed Ellison's ownership of CBS News as 'very concerning', due to the 43-year-old father's well-known support for Trump. 

Ellison is the son of conservative billionaire Larry Ellison, and his former company, Skydance, acquired Paramount last year days after CBS settled a $16 million lawsuit filed against the network by Trump. Claims of bribery and political slant ensued.

60 Minutes' former top executive Bill Owens paved the way for the allegations by publicly accusing Paramount of already interfering with the show's journalistic integrity while the merger was in limbo, before resigning in protest in April 2025. 

Paramount is now set to acquire the parent company of CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery, as well.

'Having control of too many media outlets is not a good thing. It’s cause for concern how they’re going to manage CNN and who’s going to be in charge there,' Couric said.    

'I think it’s unclear at this juncture, so I’m taking a wait-and-see attitude right now. But anytime there’s massive consolidation, it’s not good for journalists, and it’s definitely not good for viewers, in my opinion.'

As for the changes specifically at 60 Minutes, Couric said she was also waiting.

'It will be interesting to see how the program coalesces around new hires,' she said. 'We’ll see if the quality of the reporting and the quality of the pieces are still there.'

Scott Pelley - previously Couric's CBS Evening News replacement - Cecilia Vega, Sharilyn Alfonsi, and Anderson Cooper have all exited the program in recent months, with the latter the only one going willingly.  

Cooper - a CNN anchor since 2001 - left his longtime 60 Minutes gig last May as his contract expired. 

Cooper privately told colleagues he does not want to work for Weiss, according to a report from The New York Times published in June about CNN parent Warner's looming merger with Paramount.     

A CBS source pushed back on Couric's categorization of CBS News, pointing out how Weiss already oversaw 60 Minutes last season and that it included a number of pieces critical of the Trump Administration.

Segments set around the impact of SNAP cuts on rural Americans, the administration's attacks and threats on the federal judiciary, and the impact of tariffs on family farms were indeed aired during Weiss's first year.

Couric, meanwhile, was replaced by Pelley at CBS Evening News back in 2011. She famously anchored the Today show throughout the 90s and early 2000s. She launched Katie Couric Media in 2017 and now runs a popular podcast.

The Daily Mail approached CBS News for comment.