If a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Who cares! Better question: If Katie Couric delivers a news broadcast and there are people around to hear it, does it change anything?

After two years of relentlessly bad ratings news, Katie Couric finally has something she can smile about.

The "CBS Evening News" anchor remains in third place behind NBC and ABC. But the average of 7.4 million people who watched her newscast last week was better than any than any week since February 2007, five months after she moved over from NBC's "Today" show.

That makes four straight weeks where her audience was bigger than at the same point last year, according to Nielsen Media Research.

It suggests that two years after the initial bad reaction viewers had to her move from "Today," some people are giving her a second chance. [AP]

Or, the more plausible explanation: Neilsen Media Research just makes shit up.