NEW YORK (AP) ¿ When the red light is off, Katie Couric (pictured) gets annoyed about her microphone, jokes about her husky voice and ¿ the shock! ¿ asks questions of her colleagues.

A video of Couric unplugged while on the set covering the New Hampshire primary was posted on comedian Harry Shearer's "My Damn Channel" website and quickly made the Internet rounds this week. They appear to be shots taken in between live reports on January 8, material that is occasionally available to people with powerful satellite dishes.

Most of it is unremarkable footage of a journalist in the midst of a story, asking colleagues about Barack Obama's poll numbers and checking the date of the Michigan primary.

There are also some entertaining asides, and more shots of Couric's famous grin than are usually seen on the air on CBS. She makes a cutting motion to her throat to discuss Rudy Giuliani's chances in New Hampshire and lets loose a stream of expletives about her rush to get everything in one brief report.

And she admits to being transfixed by John McCain's wife's eyes. "She looks like a husky, those weird blue eyes," she said. "Cindy McCain has the most intense blue eyes ... They were so intense, I couldn't stop staring at her. She must have thought I was weird."

By late afternoon, the video had been viewed more than 600,000 times, according to "My Damn Channel''.

Shearer wouldn't say where he got the video. He said he likes to bring such unguarded moments to light and, given the interest in Couric, knew that people would be curious. He said he wasn't trying to make fun of her.

"I really try not to load the device or say what the viewer should take from these pieces," he said.

It's the second time since Couric's stay at CBS that such off-air video has made it to the Internet. The first time, she was mocking predecessor Dan Rather.

CBS had nothing to say about the video.