It is hard to believe that a nation that prides itself on equality and freedom of speech has not had a female solo anchor of a major network television evening newscast up until now. Tuesday, Katie Couric became the first for CBS.

CBS wanted a new look, and they got it. As Walter Cronkite announced: "This is the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric." She smiled and began with a simple: "Hi, everyone. I'm very happy to be with you tonight." The spotlight that CBS has been waiting for has finally arrived.

CBS network re-evaluation and revamping via focus groups has created a new news show. Why Couric, one may ask? And the answer: why not? In terms of qualifications, she is over-qualified. She has an interview résumé that includes presidents Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. John F. Kennedy, Jr. even gave Couric the first and last interviews of his life. She is also the longest-serving co-anchor of NBC's The Today Show and has proven that she is not afraid to fight for what she believes in. After the death of her husband Jay Monahan from colon cancer, she underwent a colonoscopy on The Today Show and created, according to researchers at the University of Michigan Health System and the University of Iowa, the "Katie Couric Effect." In the July 14 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, the group reported that colonoscopy rates nationwide jumped more than 20 percent in the days and months after Couric's on-air test.

Couric has also dealt with the scrutiny of the media and has recovered time after time. Recently, CBS photoshopped a photograph that created a thinner Katie wearing a darker suit than the original showed. This proves once again the unique pressures on a female anchor, as I have a hard time believing that CBS would have done the same to Walter Cronkite.

She demands respect and makes an effort to remain unbiased while presenting the evening news. Unfortunately, Couric's efforts fell short on Tuesday when her liberal prejudice became evident. She began, "In the War on Terror, you have to wonder: Is it back to the drawing board? It's easy to forget Afghanistan is where that war began, and that 21,000 U.S. servicemen and women are still there." She continued with a story on President Bush's speech about the dedication of terrorists and followed with an interview with New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, who ridiculed President Bush. He began, "He's saying we're in the fight of our life, that this is the World War III of our generation, but let's have a tax cut." Mr. Friedman continued, "We're a country that is seen widely around the world as exporting fear and not hope."

But as Couric said herself, "Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion;" thus, a new segment entitled "Free Speech" was revealed. This commentary, which will feature a different American each night, is intended to "create a candid and robust dialogue among viewers about issues important to them, their families and the nation." Tuesday's session featured filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who railed on the media, which he said is forcing Americans to choose sides and take extremist positions.

As the highest-paid news anchor to enter family rooms across the nation, Couric is a soldier fighting for women everywhere, but the estimated $15 million a year she is paid is not because she is a woman, it is because she is the best.

Joelle Parks ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism and Spanish.