Gender is NOT the issue here…CBS, I’m looking at you

The Financial Times has a spiffy little article today that has the big wig’s over at CBS blaming Katie Couric’s overall sucky-ness (I love making up words) on her vagina.

I’m sort of surprised by the vitriol against her. The number of people who don’t want news from a woman was startling,” Mr. Moonves said of the audience’s reaction to Ms. Couric, who this month brought ratings for the CBS Evening News to a 20-year low.

Ouch. a 20-year low being blamed on being a girl. That stings. Although, it would sting more if it were TRUE.
The same broadcasting company that went crazy on the press when it HIRED Couric, saying gender was NOT an issue, is now making gender the issue when it comes to their boneheaded decision to put Katie in the anchor seat.

Let me make myself clear here…I love Katie. Hell, my husband wants to SLEEP with Katie. But our Katie adoration in this house comes from years of watching her giggle while she tried to help test a popular toy or while she dressed up like Dorothy and sang a little tune. We love her because she blushes and flirts with LL Cool J and Colin Farrell (seriously, did anyone else see that interview? I’m pretty sure she would have blown him on the set) while she tries to ask “serious” questions about upcoming films and cd’s.

I’m calling bullshit on CBS’s assumption Americans are turning away from a Couric newscast because she’s a girl. Don’t insult us. More specifically, don’t insult ME. I spent many years as a professional journalist and I know serious from fluff. Hiring Couric now looks like a publicity stunt. CBS was #3 before Katie. It was #3 with Dan Rather. Don’t blame it on her being a girl. CBS sucked before and then you hired Katie and now your reason is…she’s a girl? Um…yeah…not so much there Mr. Moonves. You brought a woman into a #3 spot vacated by an American Icon who left in disgrace. Now you’re blaming that #3 on the GENDER factor?

I’ve been waiting my ENTIRE LIFE for a woman to take over the “big” newscast. I’m waiting for her to run the country from the White House and I’m waiting for her to rule the world.

CBS needs to understand I’m not stupid. Just because I love Katie trying to skate with Tara Lapinski doesn’t mean I want Katie discussing violence in the Middle East. CBS and it’s media brethren need to stop capitalizing on my gender. You can’t use gender to grab attention with your hire and then blame us for your failures.
Give me Christiane Amanpour next time, then we’ll have a real discussion about gender and equality. We can talk seriously about how far we’ve come and how far we have to go.

Until then, I’m going to watch all the women anchors on my local news…turns out we seem to take them seriously…hmmmmmm.

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Comments

  1. That Moonves guy is one crazy mofo. I don’t get it. Is anyone watching the evening news this time of year?

  2. Amen sistah!!!

  3. I don’t watch the news, period, because there is so little news ON the news. I read. If I had a TV, I might watch a little of the Beeb, because BBC is the only decent TV news organization IMO.

    Katie Couric is an evil viper and I hated her on Today and I would quickly turn off ANY show that she was on. I will never, ever forgive the time she leaned over with her cute little face and said to Andrea Yates’s husband, right after all the kids were killed, “Today would have been little Noah’s 10th birthday. How are you handling that?” Evil. Pure horrible evil, and it pushed me right over the edge.

  4. Hear, hear. I was so sad to see Katie leave The Today Show because that is her niche. She is perky and funny. Not exactly a good fit for the talking head that is primetime news.

  5. I like Katie, but personally I found her very annoying on night news. She was much better as a morning person, in mho. And it was her..not simply ’cause she was a woman!

  6. I dislike Katie because of the way she sways the news to the left. I don’t think she is a fair or balanced journalist.

    Actually, I don’t think there are any fair an balanced journalists out there.

    The media have too much power these days. They need to start reporting news and not pulling and sorting stories for higher ratings.

  7. Dana, them are fighting words – “Actually, I don’t think there are any fair an balanced journalists out there.” I’m serious. I must have PMS because I actually feel physically ready to fight over that one.

  8. Much easier to blame her chromosomes than the content, which is the real problem, the one nobody wants to talk about. TV news is soon to be obsolete because they’re all turning into Entertainment Tonight.

  9. Hear, hear! As another “girl” journalist and former TV newscaster, this really frosts my you-know-what. And is Dan Rather REALLY trying to defend his comment about CBS having “tarted up” the broadcast as a non-sexist remark? Don’t even get me started!

  10. CBS has always sucked, before Katie and after Katie. They are just looking for more views by placing the blame on gender. Obviously it’s going to cause an uproar, which is what they want…I think. I don’t actually watch CBS regularly so I don’t know for a fact.

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