Katie Couric: The Other America

Yesterday I got an email from CBS News wanting to know if I would like to cover a story that Katie Couric is doing on the American Economy. I don't really watch her show but this one looks interesting. Here is a snapshot of what can be expected.

The "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" is keeping an eye on the American economy and how it affects all Americans. In this week's installment of the ongoing series "Other America" we are looking at Chicago's "One Stop" supermarket, which sees little business the last week of each month but is jam packed on the first of the month.



So crowded that you can barely get through the aisles when they open their doors at midnight.

By one A.M., the checkout lines are thirty people deep - and a good lot of the people with overflowing shopping carts are here in the middle of the night because the state of Illinois automatically adds their monthly food-stamp benefit at midnight-oh-one on the first......and those accounts have been empty for days or weeks by now.

CBS News Correspondent Seth Doane discovers that because of rising prices, people's food stamps are running out MUCH more quickly than they used to - and these monthly midnight sprees allow them to stock up just as their larders have dwindled.

This Wednesday at 6:30 PM EST on the "CBS Evening News" we will meet some midnight shoppers who tell us how the rising prices are affecting them, why they come out for food when they should be home sleeping, and why it's especially important with the July 4th holiday just around the corner.

Also, make sure to check out last week's installment of "Other America: From Auto Exec to Paper Deliveryman" here: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/24/eveningnews/main4206421.shtml

If anyone watches the show, please feel free to leave your comments and feedback here. I'll do a followup post if I find anything interesting to report.


UPDATE from Eric Kuhn of CBS News:

Please tell your readers that I will send on their comments to the story's  producer and correspondent.  We are very interested in what people are saying on this issue

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