By Kathy Groob, Publisher ElectWomen Magazine – Ok I get it, ratings are everything in the television business.  And Katie Couric is a big star who spent well over a decade hosting the popular Today Show morning magazine show.  But Sarah Palin on the Today Show during the same week Katie Couric is filling in as a morning show host while Robin Roberts is on vacation?  This smells of network TV ratings spin masters trying to create a “catfight.”

Katie Couric filling in on ABC’s Good Morning America makes sense. It is Katie’s new network home, she will be launching a talk show in the fall, and she’s a seasoned, professional television journalist.  Sarah Palin served as governor of Alaska for half her term, was John McCain’s VP nominee, is an author and political pundit.  And this makes sense for her to be filling in as a guest host on Tuesday, April 3rd opposite Katie?

I am a fan of Katie Couric and tuned in to her every morning for years at 7 a.m..  It was great to see her again this morning, but on Tuesday, I’ll be back to my regular early morning getting ready for work routine – Morning Joe & Mika and oatmeal!

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Katie Couric vs. Sarah Palin

Call it “Game Change,” Round Two.

Four years after Katie Couric introduced a woefully unprepared Sarah Palin to a national television audience in an unforgettable interview, the former vice presidential candidate and mega-media personality has been tapped by NBC’s “Today” show to face-off Tuesday morning against Couric in an inter-channel ratings race with ABC’s “Good Morning America” that lays bare the cutthroat nature of broadcast television.

“There aren’t too many names that will move the needle against such strong competition,” Jonathan Wald, a former Today show producer and the executive producer of CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, told POLITICO.

“Palin is the go-to blunt force opposition,” he added. “She’s the popular person to put on when you need a big booking to combat a big booking.”

The Couric vs. Palin heavyweight rematch of sorts is frought with drama on two fronts: the face off itself between the two media personalities and the fierce competition between the two networks – for the first time in more than 16 years, GMA has a shot at topping the “Today Show.”

The prospect has the political world readying for what promises to be an entertaining channel-to-channel battle, and conservative bloggers – still smarting over Couric’s interview – are hailing Palin’s selection as a guest host as an inspired choice and urging the former Alaska governor to even the score with the journalist who did her in.

“It’s no secret I’m not on Sarah Palin’s political bandwagon, but I’ve long maintained she’s one heck of an entertainer and a good draw. I really hope she makes this a full time gig and does so well that people forget who Katie is. Or was. Or whatever. Go Sarah! Turn Katie into just another also-ran,” a blogger at Redstate wrote.

Late last week, ABC announced that Couric, a former host of “Today” show, would fill in on GMA for all five shows this week while Robin Roberts was on vacation — a move that threatened to upset Today’s streak as the most-watched morning show for 850 straight weeks. Not to be outdone, NBC raised the stakes, revealing Sunday that it had booked Palin to guest-host Tuesday’s episode of “Today.”

NBC Universal would not confirm whether Palin’s gig was a direct response to Couric’s appearance, although that is widely believed to be the case. Palin, now a Fox News contributor, last appeared on Today back in 2008 when Lauer interviewed her in Wasilla, Alaska, and the network says it was interested in having her back. (Fox News gave Palin clearance to appear on the Today show, NBC confirmed.)

Read more at POLITICO.