Couric
rashes
Gender Bias?
"Gender" Blamed for Katie Couric's Low Ratings: Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007
CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus says that gender bias may play a role in the disappointing ratings Katie Couric has been getting on CBS Evening News.
"I think it is a fact there are probably people, both men and women, who are perhaps uncomfortable having a woman anchor the news," McManus told the media industry publication Broadcasting & Cable.
"The way she is scrutinized, I think sometimes unfairly, quite frankly, I think a lot of that has to do with gender."
McManus maintained that as a woman, Couric has to be concerned about 'a lot of things the male anchor doesn't have to worry about, like how she looks or what she is wearing."
The Real Reasons for Couric's Low Ratings
With all due respect to Mr. McManus, I believe the reason Couric's numbers have fallen is not because she is different, ala being a woman, but that she is the same. She is the same old touchy feely liberal bias wrapped up in a new gender and new clothes.
Despite her attempts at being objective, with her Free Speech segments, her underlying sympathies show through loud and clear. What makes FOX so appealing on cable is that they give voice to a side that has been neglected by the other media. The same can be said for talk radio. When the people have a choice, they go for Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity over Air America, Al Franken, and even Alan Combs any day.
The networks have never used a conservative anchor. They ought to try it. They might like it.
The Stiffness Factor
One problem with finding a conservative for the job is the stiffness factor. Several conservatives are less fun than liberals. They are wrapped up in righteousness and act like they have a stick up their rears. Some conservatives who are enjoyable are too radical. Ann Coulter is more fun than a barrel full of puppies, but she'd be a poor choice for a news anchor.
Find the Doppelganger Plus of Katie Couric on the Right
I suggest the networks find a conservative female who is not overly religious, and not overly stern, but who has gravitas on the major issues of the day. This would be a more serious version of Katie Couric, but on the right. Not too religious. Not too dogmatic. But with a conservative bent. Able to smile, and laugh, and joke; but with a real interest and understanding of world issues.
One Girl Who Could Do It
Do I have suggestions? It's a difficult task.
Surprisingly, even to me, is one person that pops into my head as perfect for the job, Democrat Tammy Bruce. Of course, she would have to abandon her combative side and adopt a more sober demeanor, but she is an example, to me, of the kind of woman who could present the news with a depth of understanding and draw ratings too.click to show/hide the rest of the post
About Ms. Bruce
Tammy Bruce (born August 19, 1962) is an author and political commentator. Bruce hosts The Tammy Bruce Show, a radio talk show broadcast on over 160 stations in the United States. The show broadcasts six days a week, including Saturdays. Each episode is three hours long. NewsMax.com Magazine's "Top 25 Talk Radio Host" list selected Bruce as the twenty-fourth most influential host in the nation. She is described on her website as "an openly gay, pro-choice, gun owning, pro-death penalty, voted-for-President Bush progressive feminist". Bruce is a self-described classical liberal.
For seven years, Bruce served as president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) from 1990 to 1996, the longest continuous tenure in the chapter's 30-year history. She mobilized activists locally and nationally on a whole range of issues, including women's image in media, childcare, health care, violence against women, economics, and domestic violence. She also served two years on the board of directors for NOW, which she heavily criticizes in her last book.
Tammy, while remaining a Democrat, has taken a decided right turn in her outlook in the last several years. She is highly supportive of George Bush and the Iraq War, and holds now several conservative positions on national issues. She does remain liberal on many social issues, but she is tolerant of opposing views. She takes her Democratic Party to task on their demagoguery, as I do.
Her Books
The New Thought Police: Inside the Left's Assault on Free Speech and Free MindsThe Death of Right and Wrong: Exposing the Left's Assault on Our Culture and Values , (Random House, 2003).
The New American Revolution: Using the Power of the Individual to Save Our Nation from Extremists (Morrow, 2005)
Her newest book is The New American Revolution, How You Can Fight The Tyranny of The Left's Cultural and Moral Decay
Pigeonholing Tammy
Ms. Bruce is an anomaly, and the left doesn't know what to do with her. She still stands tall as a hard-driving, reasonable feminist, and wants to remain a Democrat, but she is disgusted where her party has gone. Sound familiar? That's my line. She is a classical liberal. That's how I see myself. Which translates into today's jargon as conservative, or even neo-con. But it's really just classical liberal—the same beliefs on many issues that great Democrats have held, like FDR, Truman, and Kennedy. Strong on defense, patriotic, pro-business. Believing in God, but not overly religious. Tolerant.
click to hide most of this post
Ms. Bruce as Anchor
Anyway, off my soapbox and back on topic. Ms. Bruce is one example of a female, I think, who could hold her own as a news anchor. Why would she succeed where Couric is failing? Ms. Bruce is pretty, like Couric, but more so; intelligent, far more than Couric; and has gravitas, far more than Couric. She is passionate about world issues, much like the men—Brokaw, Williams, and Gibson. Plus, she is basically conservative, without being stiff.
Let's face it, Couric is a lightweight. She is not passionate about world events. She is not well informed. Her politics are liberal, and based on feelings. Who will turn to her for her views on the world?
Get a woman like Tammy Bruce, and you've got a chance for an audience.
Rock
(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)
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Katie had Matt to balance her out on the Today show, I love Kaite, but her views on just about everything were a little tilted, ok, alot.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out Tammy, thats an interesting description of a person.
Sgt Dub, thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteActually, despite what I said, I love Katie too. My comments are just aimed at her politics and gravitas.
Tammy is wonderful. You'll love her.
Rock