TV

Katie Couric Clarifies CNN Rumors

By Robert Pace

ET was exclusively inside of Marie Claire's Women Taking the Lead event Monday afternoon and caught up with honored women, including Katie Couric, who clarified a recent lingering rumor about her career.

Gossip has been circulating that Couric will soon leave her current post at ABC News for a position at CNN, which the newscaster ardently denied.


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"No, no, no. Honestly, slow news day?" the 56-year-old ABC News special correspondent responded when asked about the rumor. "I'm very busy doing my show and having a lot of fun doing it. The whole world is about gossip and rumors and speculation, but I'm very, very focused on doing the best show I can do every single day."

Couric was honored alongside actress Sarah Jessica Parker, tennis player Serena Williams, fashion designer Tory Burch, and politician Kirsten Gillibrand at the event, which recognized the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act, signed by John F. Kennedy in 1963.

"I hope I've contributed to evening the playing field somewhat for women, but of course, I've played a very small part. 'It takes a village,' as Hillary Clinton would say," the first solo female anchor of an evening news program said. "I always laugh and say, 'I got in to broadcasting when "harass" was two words instead of one,' so we have come a long way."


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Although Couric says the broadcasting industry has come a long way, research cited by those in attendance finds that there is still more work to be done for gender equality when it comes to pay compensation.

"It's so important that women make the same money that men get for the same work," Marie Claire editor-in-chief Anne Fulenwider said. "We were so surprised when we started doing this research that the common wisdom is that women make less money because they're going after jobs that pay less...but in fact, we found that even in nursing men are making more money than women."

Watch the full video for ET's exclusive look inside Marie Claire's Women Taking the Lead, including reactions to Paris Jackson's attempted suicide.