The Couric Catfight

Photo courtesy of Image Editor

It was a historic moment when Katie Couric was hired to be the first woman to anchor the news solo in 2006. But, as per usual, the media took this opportunity to criticize her rather than praise her. This has caused future female journalists to shy away from following in her footsteps, causing a major backlash.

The editor of Accuracy in the Media Cliff Kincald wrote a nasty article explaining how Couric was just a ploy to boost ratings. "They still don't understand that it is liberal bias that is driving away viewers. Putting a pretty face and a sweet voice on liberal bias won't fool viewers for long."

Most critics felt she could not handle "hard news". She was used to doing the Today Show, which was mostly human interest stories. But not many people realized Couric's great journalism skills. Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz writes in his book "Reality Show":

"The notion of a woman in a dress would be delivering the news challenged a cultural assumption deeply embedded in the country's psyche. What if there was another terrorist attack? Another killer hurricane? Would America really turn to Katie? ...Yes, Couric had some silly things before morning show audience. But she had also interviewed presidents, and business titans, had interviewed grieving families in times of tragedy, had been on the air at 9/11.Tom Brokaw had endured some of the same razzing when he jumped from Today to Nightly News, but nothing like this. Even in 2006, the country was conflicted over a woman taking a seat that had been long reserved for the other sex" (p.165)

Kurtz explains Couric's achievement turned out to be a detriment for some other female reporters. Diane Sawyer was offered the position as solo anchor for World News Tonight but refused. She knew the media would think she was trying to compete with Katie Couric. They would be viewed as "duelling divas". The media had already created a catfight between Sawyer and Barbara Walters. But in reality, the two had always shown respect and kindness for one another.

Just because two anchors are on competing networks does not mean they must hate one another. In fact, Brian Williams and Charlie Gibson are close friends. But the media never depicts them as a duelling duo!

This is one of the double standards I hate the most. There is nothing wrong with having women anchor the news by themselves. We need to get over this!

If you want to take a closer look at what other issues are effecting American television newsrooms, check out Reality Show by Howard Kurtz, It will show you what really goes on behind the camera.