The Word For The Day Is, "Sputum"

Don't utter the word "sputum" around Katie Couric, or you might get slapped!

Joe Hagen at NY Mag devotes 6,000 words to Katie's life at the CBS Evening News. Joe, formerly with the Journal, did an excellent job of painting what must be hell on earth to work at. Couric isn't the only problem, there is of course Moonves, but more importantly, that joker Rick Kaplan and his unresolved anger over childhood issues which forces him to hide his weaknesses through management by intimidation. Peel that guy like an onion, and you'll find nothing at the core and thus far he's brought nothing to the broadcast that's bringing viewers back. I've seen it time and time again where a warped guy like Kaplan ends up stifling good ideas in the newsroom setting. 'My way or the highway' was great in the silk mills of the 1850s, but not in today's newsroom setting, especially in a newsroom that is ailing.

"During the tuberculosis story in June, Couric got angry with news editor Jerry Cipriano for using a word she detested— 'sputum' —and the staff grew tense when she began slapping him 'over and over and over again' on the arm, according to a source familiar with the scene. It had seemed like a joke at first, but it quickly became clear that she wasn’t kidding." Read more by clicking here.