Katie Couric gets Yahoo! show and child obesity doc

Katie Couric will host a weekly series online at Yahoo! that will center on health, fitness and parenting and is in addition to the syndicated daily talk show already announced.

Katie Couric is a busy woman. On Wednesday it was revealed just how busy as her Yahoo! series called "Katie's Take" was announced to begin next Tuesday, May 1.

The Wall Street Journal reported on the Yahoo! announcement. The show will cover "news and social trends, with a particular focus on nutrition, parenting and health," and will feature interviews with experts and Couric's personal perspective on the topics covered. It will have a dedicated page on Yahoo!'s website.

Couric said in a statement released about the program, "Today there is so much information available to us that it can be overwhelming to sift through it all," Couric said. "I am happy to have found a place in the digital world where I can cut through fads and trends. I want to introduce people to serious experts who can hopefully help provide real solutions."

Yahoo! is adding the Couric show to its other original content programs already streaming on Yahoo! Screen. The company revealed that it is the premier destination online for entertainment shows, topping the viewership of Hulu. with 27 million views. That full story, here.

Couric is in the midst of gearing up for the premiere of helping produce the syndicated daytime talk show she will host, set for ABC-owned television stations in September 2012.

At the time of the announcement in June 2011, Couric said, "I think that ABC is a place that embraces and nurtures strong women, and I really appreciate that and I'm really excited to be a part of that culture," she said.

"We'll be running the gamut from everything from serious stories, like a new cancer drug, or what's going on with the deficit and trying to explain it so people can really understand it, to dealing with kids and technology and what is all this technology doing to our children's brains and ability to socialize, to bullying, to fun, popular culture stories."

Alongside that Yahoo! show announcement was a report by The Hollywood Reporter that Couric and Laurie David will produce a full-length feature documentary on child obesity and the food industry called "The Big Picture."

The issue of child obesity has become embroiled in political sniping that would have seemed impossible only a few years ago. There is a fissure somewhere between the left and right wing political philosophies in the country that makes the word "fat" too harsh for young kids' ears.

The idea of Michelle Obama encouraging kids to get out and move, while exchanging some of their sugary and fat treats for healthier fare became criticized as a case of government intervening in parental decisions on food choices for kids.

Recently at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the Walt Disney Company took steps to halt the progress towards opening an attraction called Habit Heroes. Disney World in partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield created Habit Heroes and it targets teens and their families.

The exhibit features video superheroes Will Power and Callie Stenics who lead visitors on a journey during which they must fight off enemies two of which are named Lead Bottom and Snacker. It was criticized by organizations such as the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance who said, "We're appalled to learn that Disney, a traditional hallmark of childhood happiness and joy, has fallen under the shadow of negativity and discrimination." That full story, here.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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