Setting Sail: A Blog is Launched

Today we begin "Couric & Co." Welcome! I'm glad you found us. Pull up a chair and stay a while. There's a lot going on in the world, and we have a lot to talk about. And I hope this little corner of the Internet will be the place to do just that.

We're going to be surveying the landscape here, and pointing out a few of the more interesting and surprising things we see on the horizon. We'll be swapping stories, sharing opinions, asking questions and generally just taking stock. In the little village that is CBS News, you might consider "Couric & Co" the coffee house on the corner, where something is always brewing.

I can't be here all day, every day, so some visitors will be dropping by – the "company" of "Couric & Co." We'll be hearing from CBS News correspondents and producers, from different corners of the world, adding their voices to this conversation. And the editor, Greg Kandra, will be keeping an eye on things, too– throwing in his two cents, looking for whatever is new or notable, and otherwise offering free refills of piping hot news, with a side order of links. While you're here, you might want to take a look at our Rules of Engagement, and Editor's POV.

A footnote: out of curiosity, I did a little "Googling" for the word "blog." And one of the first entries that popped up was a guy by the name of Henry Blogg. He lived long before the age of the Internet. But his story is quite remarkable. He was apparently an accomplished sailor – a legendary lifeboatman, to be exact – who weathered fierce storms while doing his job, rowing out to sea. It took guts – and some muscle – to venture out into the unknown like that.

Reading his story reminded me of some wisdom that was passed on to me when I was deciding whether or not I should come to CBS. I was anxious about making a career change. But a good friend told me: "Katie, a harbor is a safe place for a boat. But it's not what it was built for."

She was absolutely right.

And here I am.

Like Henry Blogg, this blog is shoving off from the harbor, and heading out to a mysterious and uncharted sea. The harbor was great. But, let's face it: we're supposed to be exploring the wider world. This is what we were built for. And that's what we'll be doing at "Couric & Co."

So grab an oar. Take a deep breath. And let's get going.