You don’t often see stars take a hit in their wallets to help others, so it’s refreshing to hear one prominent star was looking out for the little guy. Katie Couric is reported to have once taken a salary cut at CBS News in order to save her staff from layoffs.
In the new book Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood’s Creative Artists Agency, as reported by Page Six, author James Andrew Miller wrote of when CBS News was looking to slash the staff, and Couric stepped in to take a $1 million pay cut to help her team out. The layoffs wouldn’t just be for the low ranking interns, it was an office-wide proposed lay off with senior-level producers and key contributors on the chopping block.
But Couric was not content with the money just going to some CBS big wig’s wallet. She agreed on the pay cut based on two conditions: the money would directly be fueled into staff payroll to avoid terminations, and there would be no public or private acknowledgement of it. There seem to be so many celebrities out there that are too concerned with their salaries, and it’s a joy to see a high profile newscaster like Couric take one for the team. It’s not known exactly who was saved by Couric’s pay cut, but let’s hope it was the producer who booked her Skrillex segment.
(Via Page Six)