Lament Of A Woman?
(CBS)
As much as we'd like to think that as a culture, that we have progressed to the point where it doesn't matter, I think that in news particularly, there is a sense that there is not the -- I hate the "G" word, but the gravitas when a woman gives the news, as opposed to a man gives the news. You also have to understand that the average news viewer tends to be older, 60 and older, so they are more entrenched in the tradition. And the tradition, until Katie Couric came in September, was white, middle-aged men.Last week, Rebecca Dana wrote a piece in Slate asking if Couric's "rocky start" means trouble for Hillary Clinton in her presidential campaign. She wrote that both the anchor and chief executive jobs have certain similarities: "It's not simply that both jobs are traditionally male. It's that both demand a certain stage presence—an intangible sense of authority, divorced from direct, measurable accomplishment." According to Dana's sources, there is still a "small but unmovable percentage" of the American public uncomfortable "hearing serious, scary things" from a woman. That presumably applies when it comes to both the Oval Office and anchor chair.
That may indeed be true. But a small percentage isn't necessarily enough to sink a candidate – or an anchor. And it's a mistake to extrapolate from too small of a sample. Couric and Clinton may both be women, but their similarities don't go much beyond that. Neither should be treated as the magical embodiment of womanhood through which we can understand our culture. That doesn't mean, however, that Kaplan and Shister are wrong.
I think critics can make too much of gender when talking about TV anchors. Viewers have years of experience now watching women report and anchor news locally and on cable TV. Those who won't settle for anything but manly evening news have got to be few and far between. How many people watch network evening news? About 6-9 million for each broadcast, maybe 27 million for all three combined, out of an adult U.S. population of about 217 million. A greater percentage vote in presidential elections. The problem for network news would seem to be declining interest, no matter who is the anchor.
Shame on you !
PS I'm male.
If the objective is to hire a woman to be the editor-in-chief, there are many candidates who have the requisite experience and journalistic credentials. One might be Thalia Assuras.
I also think it is very difficult to report in "22 minutes" what the all day news reports. I like to hear the different sides to the stories and more in-depth information. I like (or count on) the evening news (National - ABC, CBS, NBC) - to give me a summary of the top news stories.
I think when 9/11 happened - people found themselves so tethered to their tv to hear more - and when the big 3 were doing the same as the all day news channels - I certainly watched CBS as much.
As far as the local stations - another issue I have is the continuous "Breaking News" - wolf cry... I am not sure if others feel the same as I - but I sure get sick of hearing that a story I heard 3 days ago is "breaking news" and they are using the same tape but may add in a small part that may not have been shown earlier.
Better honesty - by letting people know that they are not really adding anything new to what they said 3 days ago.
I certainly am tired of war stories (although I understand they need to be aired)... I personally am overwhelmed and insensitized by the constant barrage of stories telling me that a war that was supposedly won several years ago is causing greater loss of life this far out.
This is my own personal opinion - even when Dan was in the chair - I found myself turning more to CNN. I do still like to watch CBS and will watch CBS over the Big 3... I cannot remember when I last watched either NBC or ABS news.
I am wondering how many others find themselves changing to CNN or even ?Fox
It seemed that Katie was about to get the David Lee Roth treatment: getting pushed out of the chair when ratings languish. But Katie has persevered and is getting the people around her that she wants. The Evening News may actually evolve into a broadcast designed by her. And she may even overshadow the Oprah Effect.
But some may never get used to getting the news from a powerful woman.
In the same sense, Britain is not ready for woman Prime Minister%u2014and yet Lady Thatcher has already held that role and executed splendidly.
Kaplan and Shister are playing the classic liberal "blame the uneducated masses" game which we all understand, and which we sense is behind the entire Couric broadcast. Couric is always talking down to us, from the royal heights of New York City. Well, we don't like that so much.
Bring back Bob Schieffer! Schieffer didn't think he was better than me. When he asked reporters those impromptu questions at the ends of their segments, damned if those weren't the exact questions going through my mind.
BTW, I agree with you that in my area CBS has the weakest local news, and NBC the strongest.