Comments on: The Public Eye Chat With…Linda Mason

[gatecrasher7]

CBS, hire Michelle Malkin and watch your ratings go through the roof.....never happen will it?
We aren't looking for white men, we are looking for the truth.

[xylon11093]

To be sure, it is not possible for Katie to fix her unpopularity. The reason is because there are a multitude of things that would need fixing and thus would make it highly improbable. How do you fix a sorority voice, among other large problems??

I find it interesting that an intelligent news organization like CBS would rather "stay the course" than just it admit it made a mistake, pay Couric out of her contract, and put someone appropriate in the seat and start over.

What disappoints me is that CBS has the best supporting cast by far, like Randall Pinkston, Byron Pitts, etc. I could go on and on. And now I do not watch them because of Katie. I'll have my finger on the trigger- as soon as they remove her I'll change back. Otherwise, it will be Brian Williams every night.

[xylon11093]

To be sure, it is not possible for Katie to fix her unpopularity. The reason is because there are a multitude of things that would need fixing and thus would make it highly improbable. How do you fix a sorority voice, among other large problems??

I find it interesting that an intelligent news organization like CBS would rather "stay the course" than just it admit it made a mistake, pay Couric out of her contract, and put someone appropriate in the seat and start over.

What disappoints me is that CBS has the best supporting cast by far, like Randall Pinkston, Byron Pitts, etc. I could go on and on. And now I do not watch them because of Katie. I'll have my finger on the trigger- as soon as they remove her I'll change back. Otherwise, it will be Brian Williams every night.

[xylon11093]

To be sure, it is not possible for Katie to fix her unpopularity. The reason is because there are a multitude of things that would need fixing and thus would make it highly improbable. How do you fix a sorority voice, among other large problems??

I find it interesting that an intelligent news organization like CBS would rather "stay the course" than just it admit it made a mistake, pay Couric out of her contract, and put someone appropriate in the seat and start over.

What disappoints me is that CBS has the best supporting cast by far, like Randall Pinkston, Byron Pitts, etc. I could go on and on. And now I do not watch them because of Katie. I'll have my finger on the trigger- as soon as they remove her I'll change back. Otherwise, it will be Brian Williams every night.

[xylon11093]

To be sure, it is not possible for Katie to fix her unpopularity. The reason is because there are a multitude of things that would need fixing and thus would make it highly improbable. How do you fix a sorority voice, among other large problems??

I find it interesting that an intelligent news organization like CBS would rather "stay the course" than just it admit it made a mistake, pay Couric out of her contract, and put someone appropriate in the seat and start over.

What disappoints me is that CBS has the best supporting cast by far, like Randall Pinkston, Byron Pitts, etc. I could go on and on. And now I do not watch them because of Katie. I'll have my finger on the trigger- as soon as they remove her I'll change back. Otherwise, it will be Brian Williams every night.

[pesmit-2009]

The response to those idiotic 2 sentences is incredible. The biased bimbo touches a raw nerve in a lot of people. Calling it the fault of the viewer based on sexism is delusional. The spineless suits on top including the drooling unaccountable octogenarian with the trophy wife should be put out to pasture. There are such a large number of truly qualified female journalists out there that would do a great job.

[pesmit-2009]

The response to those idiotic 2 sentences is incredible. The biased bimbo touches a raw nerve in a lot of people. Calling it the fault of the viewer based on sexism is delusional. The spineless suits on top including the drooling unaccountable octogenarian with the trophy wife should be put out to pasture. There are such a large number of truly qualified female journalists out there that would do a great job.

[xylon11093]

To be sure, it is not possible for Katie to fix her unpopularity. The reason is because there are a multitude of things that would need fixing and thus would make it highly improbable. How do you fix a sorority voice, among other large problems??

I find it interesting that an intelligent news organization like CBS would rather "stay the course" than just it admit it made a mistake, pay Couric out of her contract, and put someone appropriate in the seat and start over.

What disappoints me is that CBS has the best supporting cast by far, like Randall Pinkston, Byron Pitts, etc. I could go on and on. And now I do not watch them because of Katie. I'll have my finger on the trigger- as soon as they remove her I'll change back. Otherwise, it will be Brian Williams every night.

[autiger_1989]

What a dingbat.

Katie's paying the price for being the first woman? Do you not remember Barbara Walters, Connie Chung, Jessica Savitch, or any of the others who have sat at the network news anchor desk?

Try and look PAST your kook "I'm so persecuted because I'm a [insert sympathetic non-WASPM group here]" ideology sometime.

So sad.

[xylon11093]

It is interesting how psychological denial is pervasive even among some of the smartest individuals such as the executives at CBS News. How convenient when one excuse eventually proves false, to turn to another. When Katie Couric first appeared on the evening news, she was cleary terrible. Instead of admitting a hiring mistake, CBS quickly blamed it on how difficult the transition was from the morning news to the evening. Someone forgot to tell Charles Gibson that. Now it appears the execs are blaming on Katie being a woman. This is utterly laughable. I would enjoy watching a woman such as Campbell Brown. She has done a great job filling in when Brian Williams is out. There are other very good women as well. The bottom line is that Katie is so terrible at doing the evening news, it pains me to even flip past CBS because I would have to see her face. To be fair, I did not watch the Today show solely because of her- I always thought she was a sub-par journalist. In my opinion, Brian Williams does the best job. However, I think if Russ Mitchell had Katie's job, he would over time be #1. He is simply very good.


continued below...

[chastity7]

couric was not the reason for good ratings at
today....it was the total package plus viewer
habits no matter who is on each day....she
should never been hired....you need to do
something now fire her and moonves....no woman
would have ever hired her for news...and I love
men....she was a cheerleader and they stay one
the rest of their life....looking at you goo-goo
and saying Oh you like me....her eyes glaze over
interviewing celebrity....the faster you can get
her out of the building the better....lose
money on the deal....if you wait another yr.
you will lose a lot more...The mistake with
Rather was you should have fired him at the
same time the others were fired, and not waited
a yr. to fire him. You make the same mistakes
over and over. Fire Moonves...who the hell
ever thought this woman was worth 15m. although
inside sources say it is 13m, but couric wants
everyone to think it is 15....she is a sicko.
Anchor's should not have there personal life
all over the tabloid's....they need to be taken
serious....NO ONE HAS EVER TAKEN THIS WOMAN
SERIOUS....SHE CAN'T EVEN KEEP A BOY FRIEND
THEY ALL CHECK OUT. Remember I told you

FIRE MOONVES at the same time.

[granth998]

Her attitude reflects the entire upper management at CBS News, i.e. it's not our fault it's the audience. Les Moonvees and the rest should have been fired for this blunder. Instead, they'll stay in denial and see their ratings continue to fall until the inevitable day when they'll have to replace Couric with someone more qualified, male or female. The whole idea of bringing Today Show fluff to a hard core news slot was at best ill-conceived and at worst, completely incompetent. Heads should have rolled. The fact they haven't proves CBS is a beauracratic, left-leaning, politically correct mess.

[writer222]

From justwaitasecond.com.Sept 2006
Normally, I suppose, you would wish someone "Good luck" on their first day at a new position. "Knock 'em dead" might be in order in some circumstances, but don't you dare use those expressions around theatrical people on 'Opening Night'. Those show folk genuinely consider them a curse. No, when it comes to performers it's strictly "break a leg". One could not be kinder to a star on their debut performance, than to impart the expression in a wish for great success. The opening night is fast approaching....the TV is flooded with promotional commercials...the "star" prominently featured. The excitement is at fever pitch and it is difficult to not get caught up in it.

I haven't watched CBS News since Walter Cronkite left. The man is a real honest to god professional journalist. He let you know what was happening and when he was editorializing, you damned well knew it. But, Cronkite never shoved HIS politics down the throat of the viewer...he is a NEWSMAN, and his is the NEWS BUSINESS.

CBS will pay an obscene amount of wealth to Katie Couric to be their 'Star Newsreader'. Katie's politics are hardly a secret...you know those showbiz types ..just gotta shout it from the rooftops. I suppose the decision to use a daytime television personality to represent their News Division is the capitulation long expected at CBS. The once proud venture has become a distraction, a charade, and will be so treated. Oh yeah..... Break a leg Katie.

CW

[michelle715-2009]

To add to what I wrote earlier... That Katie Couric is a woman has very little to do with her low ratings. I could easily watch Barbara Walters or Diane Sawyer doing the evening news. I would really like DS, in fact. K C just comes across as having no authority and being completely out of place. So many people are trying to blame her low ratings on her being a woman or a liberal. It is not those. It is just her.

[kendrakendra]

Katie Couric's ratings are poor because she's a poor newscaster, not because she's a woman. It's because we know her personality and flakiness from her morning fluff shows, not because she's a woman. We accept women as news anchors every day on cable. It's not even an issue, anymore. So what if she's a news anchor for a non-cable channel-- times have changed and I don't think too many people even make sure they watch noncable news anymore. We get more news coverage on cable at all times than we do making sure we are sitting in front of a tv at a certain time every evening.

Everyone who wants to blame external reasons for Katie's poor ratings are completely incorrect. Katie is so horrid to watch, so completely annoying, and so ill-informed. Does anyone believe that a good news anchor who happens to be a woman would still not be watched? I can think of several very capable women who I would watch without a second thought. Actually, I can think of several very capable women I DO watch give the news.

The reason Katie's ratings have taken such a fall-- even with the station's very costly PR and advertising campaign is BECAUSE SHE'S JUST NOT THAT GOOD!!!!! We don't care about her anatomy. We turn the channel because of her goofy personality and annoying voice and persona.

[scotter61]

Katie was always annoying to watch. She was annoying in the morning and now she is annoying in the evening.

[viewer960]

Here's a priceless bit of information for Linda Mason and whoever programs the news at CBS. You probably have some highly paid consultants who are too stupid to grasp the following, but here's your freebie.

I was working in another room one night while the news was on. I listened carefully because there was a lot of 'hot' news that night. For several minutes I was struck by the childishness of the voice I was hearing, it was as if a Valley Girl was reading the news. I stepped around the corner to get a look at the bimbette, and lot, it was Katie Couric.

The same charming, disarming, entertaining voice on the a.m. show is stupidly inappropriate on the news desk.

And Ms. Mason, you don't speak for the rest of us women who are not laboring under your idiotic sexist assumptions. Maybe you need to learn to think a little more clearly.

[sanity7-2009]

You mean there are still people watching the Democrat Misinformation Media Machines? That is the real suprise here.

[navyace]

Madam, gimme a break. Your lame excuse for Couric's lack of viewers is not only insulting but is beyond colossal in its stupidity, so much so that it hardly merits a response. In an effort to provide some modest insights to the pathetically out of touch "suits" at CBS, be advised that our predominantly female family (and for that matter most everyone we know) ceased watching the CBS evening news when the corporate bigwigs decided to anoint a pompous blowhard and left wing apologist as Cronkite's successor. We resumed viewing CBS when Bob Schieffer was installed in the anchor chair and had high hopes that he would remain there. Upon the coronation of Couric we again opted out of all news coverage provided by CBS. Ms. Couric is beyond lame, and it has nothing to do with her ***. I dare say Edward R. Murrow is probably still spinning in his grave at the thought of a journalistic poseur occupying his chair. We choose not to watch an overpaid news reader with transparent partisan sympathies. It's that simple. Moonves may as well have hired Rosie O'Donnell to read the news and deliver phony ghost written (and plagiarized) reminisences; she's apparently available for only 10 million a year, as compared to the 15 mil being paid to Couric.

[effallah]

Incredible. How do ppl of this sort reach the positions they reach, all the while being something of a moron?

Obviously it never occurred to you "experts" that an overweight, maybe not-so-attractive female such as Candy Crowley (CNN) IMO would've been a huge hit. And why? Certainly not because your "old white guys" have anything to do with it but that Candy, unlike Katie, is a serious news person and one which immediately commands some respect through her demeanor and delivery. But obviously you TV news types are no less biased in requiring "pretty people" as this non-existant women-hating audience you believe in.

This is about abilities and has nothing to do with gender. But obviously if ppl of your opinion carry sway then no wonder CBS continues to circle the drain - you just don't get it.