Go Katie!

Go Katie! It's so unfair to blame her for the celebrity turn that once-respectable news programs have taken. She just reports it, she doesn't write the content.

And he said that to Joe Scarborough, who's not exactly a pillar of high-minded journalistic integrity himself.
Regarding ratings slippage, Cronkite on Rather: "It surprised quite a few people at CBS and elsewhere that, without being able to pull up the ratings beyond third in a three-man field, that they tolerated his being there for so long."

Katie Couric Sucks!

First off, I'd like to say that I don't think that Rather's comment "Tarting it up" meant "putting in a Tart"--I think that he meant the show itself is "tarted up" which it is! All style and no substance. One might call a subject "sexy" to mean that its getting a lot of buzz, but that doesn't mean that say, media consolidation is literally sexy or deals with human sexuality. Its a saying.

Second, I think that when you compare Couric's news to some of the others, you will see that it is a further degradation of the news as news--its all fluff and entertainment. Its quite frankly disgusting. The BBC has several female anchorwomen and they haven't done to the news what Couric seems to do with glee. This is not a woman's perspective issue, its a bad taste issue--Couric has spades of bad taste and mediocre thinking capacity.

Although she is not the only voice in terms of how the show is shaped, she is the name and the face and that carries weight. If she had ANY journalistic integrity, the show would not be the total pile of crap it is now--but she doesn't, she an entertainer who likes to play a journalist on TV.

I think that real journalism IS a feminist issue. Defending Katie Couric won't do anyone any favors--let alone the most vulnerable women in the world who need serious representation in television media and certainly won't get it from Couric.

peace

p.s. Dan Rather has actually said many feminist things in the course of his career; he may not be perfect, but he doesn't deserve to be ridden out on the rails simply because he got on the wrong side of the Bush administration (and that story regarding Bush's lack of service has never be disproven--they do not have the records of his service in Alabama, though the one's showing lack of service were shown to be part of a fraud).

I think anyone who gets on "the wrong side of the Bush administration" deserves to be "ridden out on the rails." And just b/c a person has made feminist statements in the past does not give them immunity from being called out when they make sexist comments in the present or future.

The other commenters are correct, Couric doesn't decide the content or write the news. However, my personal opinion is that there were many more qualified women and/or minorities for this particular job than Katie Couric, but that doesn't excuse the sexist shit she's had to put up with, i.e. discussions about her looks/weight; talking-heads saying she was a "bad mother" for going to Iraq to do her job.

And just b/c a person has made feminist statements in the past does not give them immunity from being called out when they make sexist comments in the present or future.

I believe what Thealogian is trying to say, and I agree with her/him, that Rather wasn't referring to Couric (or any woman, for that matter) but was referring to type of news covered and the way in which it's covered. If he was referring to Couric, then he's despicable, but I just have a hard time believing that is true. And, yes, I think Rather's past behavior means something, especially since we are assigning meaning to his statements that may not be there.

I think anyone who gets on "the wrong side of the Bush administration" deserves to be "ridden out on the rails."

KMP, surely that's a typo because I never pegged you as a Bushie.

PS: Where were the MRA's when Couric was being beaten up in the press for being a single mom and daring going to Iraq for her job? Isn't one of their key issues the fact that so many more men work in dangerous positions than women? Why the hell weren't they backing her up then (and doing it loudly)?

Yes, there was supposed to be a "don't" between I and think.

Couric doesn't decide the content or write the news

Actually, Katie Couric is the managing editor of CBS Evening News, meaning she's only second to the Editor in Chief. So she has a pretty heavy say in what gets put in each newscast. Not to say that there aren't producers and others involved, but she is able to pick and choose (to an extent) which stories she'd like to report.

How are Dan Rather's comments sexist?

She is a brainless tart. I agree 1000%. How is that sexist? The fact she has 0 talent and doesnt know her head from a hole in the ground makes her a perfect candidate for the critiscism.

Scilian, it's sexist because "tart" is a derogatory term for a woman who is sexually promiscuous or who dresses sexy.

She may indeed have 0 talent, and you might not think she's intelligent, but "tart" is a sexist term.

Get a clue.