Comments on: Katie Couric's Notebook: Sexism And Politics

[gypsy0126]

For those of you complaining about the hand sanitizer and soda, you are probably the same ones that accused Senator Clinton of not being approachable, warm, or had endearing qualifications. Sorry people, you can''t have it both ways.

Thanks Katie; you have more courage than our politicians. We are behind you.

[bport6]

Finally, a real news person. Tell it like it is Katie. The treatment of Hillary Clinton in the media was a disgrace to America. Is this what we are about ? Maybe you would re-think your questions to Hillary. Interview her again Katie. Do it your way, not the way of MSM.

[kavala007]

Thank you and congratulations Katie. You had the courage to speak your mind and lo and behold, you received the wrath of Keith Olbermann. You have shown him up for what he is a neo Nazi.

How I pray that some like the late Katharine Graham or a Walter Cronkite would come along and actually report news. Dare I hope that you might step into those shoes? Dare I hope that CBS will allow you to do that.

Hate mongering and fear is what the entire Democratic primary has become. A media that has lost its sense of objectivity and no longer reports the news has fed it and it has led to the nascent stirrings of Nazism. The swift takeover of the DNC by Senator Obama is a warning shot across the bow of Congress as to what they can expect if he were actually to win the election. It is also a warning shot to every American voter.

[tessa46]

One more point, the election is over. Katie never said she lost the election because of sexism . But that she was treated in a sexist manner by the news media and that must change.

[tessa46]

Thank you, thank you thank you Katie!

The fact that these programs are commentary does not excuse them. There are comments that are so offensive that they have no place on cable even when they are representing some pundit''s opinion.

I will continue to boycott those shows I found offensive and will try to find other ways to get them of the air.
The most dissapointing thing about all of it was people laughed at the sexism rather than being outraged.

[kurt0101]

Thank you Mrs. Couric. I have seen a lot of sexism but absolutely no journalism in this election.
It was not just sexism but general EXTREME disgusting media bias against Hillary that cost her the nomination. I will never vote Obama or democrat until the DNC changes its way.
Thank you again. Keep up the good work. I stopped watching NBC and only watch CBS now!!

[notfooled08]

Thank you-thank you-thank you!! I am so glad someone actually spoke out;I can''t believe they are pretending this didn''t happen.

[greenfun]

Katie,

Bless your heart. I just loved the way the media questioned whether there was truly bias and sexism during this campaign, or if Senator Clinton was just playing the victim again. It is clear we have a lot of work still ahead of us. I thought Senator Clinton handled it with such honor and integrity-she and people like you make me proud to be a woman. Thank you Katie!!!!
We are fighting back.
http://blog.pumapac.org/

[echotalk]

Thank you Katie Couric. Your voice, position and courage carry a lot of weight. As a woman in the workplace, it meant a lot to me to see someone of your stature stand up for this issue, especially knowing the personal and professional risks you assume speaking out on sexism in the media. I was surprised to see much of the defense over inappropriate and demeaning remarks has been that %u201Cit was only commentary%u201D, or %u201Cit was only presented to smaller audiences%u201D (in today''s NY Times article on the subject). That''s absurd and shameful. It strikes me as shockingly similar to some of the illogical defenses I hear from my 8 & 9 year old kids when they''ve gotten caught doing something they knew they weren%u2019t supposed to be doing. The big difference is that these illogical deflections are coming from accomplished, educated adults, whose lives and careers are built around understanding the power of the media. Thank you for having the courage and integrity to use your voice and position to call a spade a spade.

[snapshot12]

Katie,
Thank you for standing up and stating the truth. I am hurt and appalled that there are so many unethical "gasbags" in the media. Every time Hilary was lambasted,not only did I take it personally, I wondered what type of people are these? Do they belong to some "hate them ***" club? Are the women who parroted these guys so desperate for money and power that they would participate in the blatant smearing of other women in order to advance themselves? Are they so desparate to gain the approval men who obviously have no respect for women much less their own mothers? If these men respected their mothers, they would by nature be ble to show respect for all women. I am hurt and disappointed and I will never forget how Hilary was treated by her own party and by the media. I am sitting on the fence as to my political loyalties. I will never again listen to anything any of these men have to say about any politician. These media "dudes" are as corrupt as the people they lambast, if not more so.As long as you have the courage to stand up and state what is right, Katie, I have your back. Thank you again

[voter13]

Katie,
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, for standing up and simply stating the truth. Short, sweet and to the point.
For all those who want to deny it, and have the nerve to ridicule you for stating the facts, I think that a compilation of a video of the many, many times hateful degrading comments were made by news reporters, pundits, Obama, and even other democrats who supported Obama,would be good to just slap them in the face with the truth. They want to pretend it didn''t happen and just hope it will go away. It is a serious problem in this country, a country that fights for women''s rights in other countries but ignores abuse of women in our own country.
Very, very few abstained from joining in, Obama and his advisers used it to excite the crowds, and what was worse is that it did. They loved the preaching of the hate.
I can''t comprehend why the media and the other political leaders didn''t stop it or get outraged by it.
But instead they began to over and over again try to emphasize, by their group polling, that it was white women, not voting for Obama insinuating that they were the racists cause they now were voting for Hillary in big numbers.
Here''s a thought, maybe they were voting for who they didn''t think was racist, for someone who stood up for all no matter what race or gender, and just maybe because they realized and came to know who this Obama was and decided NO he doesn''t represent what a president of this country should represent-ALL OF THE PEOPLE.

[voter13]

Katie,
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, for standing up and simply stating the truth. Short, sweet and to the point.
For all those who want to deny it, and have the nerve to ridicule you for stating the facts, I think that a compilation of a video of the many, many times hateful degrading comments were made by news reporters, pundits, Obama, and even other democrats who supported Obama,would be good to just slap them in the face with the truth. They want to pretend it didn''t happen and just hope it will go away. It is a serious problem in this country, a country that fights for women''s rights in other countries but ignores abuse of women in our own country.
Very, very few abstained from joining in, Obama and his advisers used it to excite the crowds, and what was worse is that it did. They loved the preaching of the hate.
I can''t comprehend why the media and the other political leaders didn''t stop it or get outraged by it.
They began to over and over again try to emphasize, by their group polling, that it was white women, not voting for Obama insinuating that they were the racists cause they now were voting for Hillary in big numbers.
Here''s a thought, maybe they were voting for who they didn''t think was racist, for someone who stood up for all no matter what race or gender, and just maybe because they realized and came to know who this Obama was and decided NO he doesn''t represent what a president of this country should represent-ALL OF THE PEOPLE.

[ladyesq1]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! At least there is ONE honorable, intelligent journalist out there doing their job instead of acting like a @$$ and, as a result, lowering their channel''s ratings.

Good job Katie. You are EXACTLY right!!!! If someone had held up a sign saying "Pick my Cotton" at an Obama rally, people would have been outraged. But "Iron my Shirt" at Hillary''s rally was totally appropriate...right??!!!

[hswyatt]

Katie, I was dissappointed and disgusted with your Ewww! comment when asking Barack Obama about Hillary Clinton as a running mate. You of all people in your business should be thrilled tha a woman of her intellect and expertise has the opportunity at long last to be in this position.

I have watched your newscast for the last time.

[dcmusicman]

Thanks, Katie, for courageously expressing your point of view on this important issue. Your simple, straightforward argument is in such contrast to the angry commentary of your cable news competitors. I hope, for one, that the attention your comments are getting in the "blogosphere" reminds Americans that they should watch the network''s evening newscasts (yours is my favorite!), which continue to provide us with the best, most journalistically sound summary of the day''s actual news. It''s so important, and sadly increasingly rare, to have a forum on TV that doesn''t interject hours of needless "analysis" from talking heads -- "analysis" that, as you point out in your piece, often exposed a disturbing tolerance for sexism in the media''s commentary, if not reporting, about Senator Clinton.

For the record, as a young man who found himself torn between Senator Obama and Clinton, I agree with you. While Senator Clinton lost for several reasons (as you acknowledge), her campaign exposed that our country has a long way to go in rooting out insidious forms of sexism. (And, let''s face it: you''ve been the victim of exactly this sexism, as needless media critics haven''t evaluated your broadcast -- nor your once-controversial interview with Sen. and Elizabeth Edwards -- on their merits, but instead on your hair, eye makeup, clothing, leg-exposure time, etc.)

Thanks, again, for addressing this.

[mdratelyblue]

Ifyouaskme2:

Thanks for the tip to the Washington Post article. Yes, mysogynist AND racist attitudes were evident on MSNBC and the racist attitudes were more than loud and clear on Fox News. Cable talk shows are a new phenomenom in presidential elections, and I think viewers need to stop thinking of them as news outlets. When viewers tune in to these programs, they should be prepared for opinions, not balanced news. I was surprised and disappointed that Katie chose to get into this fray. This type of commentary I expect to hear on cable news or on talk radio, not a news broadcast.

No, I don%u2019t like someone telling me who to vote for. Anyone doing such is wasting their time! I was leaning towards Senator Clinton early on. One of several things that made me reconsider her for the nomination came late in November in an interview with Katie Couric, where Senator Clinton refused to think the nomination was not hers. Her sense of entitlement was offputting and it said a whole lot for me. I started viewing her differently.

[xdemvtr]

Thank you for helping to bring this subject out into the light. Sen. Clinton is an honorable public servant who did not deserve the public humiliation that was heaped upon her by the media. Women are angry and we''re not backing down on this. The media needs to be held accountable. Even this morning they(MSNBC, CNN) are still denying they did anything wrong. That just proves we need to keep the conversation going.

[anglimk]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for restorting my faith in journalism. The shabby, bias, unfair treatment of Hillary Clinton during the campaign was disgusting. I wrote to Chris Matthews, Keith Oberman and others at MSNBC while it was happening. They would sometimes appolgize, only to repeat their sentiments with different words.
I was a loyal MSNBC view, not anymore.
Thanks for bring this very important subject out into the open. It is topic that needs to be discussed and not dismissed.

[voter13]

Katie,
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, for standing up and simply stating the truth. Short, sweet and to the point.
For all those who want to deny it, and have the nerve to ridicule you for stating the facts, I think that a compilation of a video of the many, many times hateful degrading comments were made by news reporters, pundits, Obama, and even other democrats who supported Obama,would be good to just slap them in the face with the truth. They want to pretend it didn''t happen and just hope it will go away. It is a serious problem in this country, a country that fights for women''s rights in other countries but ignores abuse of women in our own country.
Very, very few abstained from joining in, Obama and his advisers used it to excite the crowds, and what was worse is that it did. They loved the preaching of the hate.
I can''t comprehend why the media and the other political leaders didn''t stop it or get outraged by it.
They began to over and over again try to emphasize, by their group polling, that it was white women, not voting for Obama insinuating that they were the racists cause they now were voting for Hillary in big numbers.
Here''s a thought, maybe they were voting for who they didn''t think was racist, for someone who stood up for all no matter what race or gender, and just maybe because they realized and came to know who this Obama was and decided NO he doesn''t represent what a president of this country should represent-ALL OF THE PEOPLE.

[voter13]

Katie,
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, for standing up and simply stating the truth. Short, sweet and to the point.
For all those who want to deny it, and have the nerve to ridicule you for stating the facts, I think that a compilation of a video of the many, many times hateful degrading comments were made by news reporters, pundits, Obama, and even other democrats who supported Obama,would be good to just slap them in the face with the truth. They want to pretend it didn''t happen and just hope it will go away. It is a serious problem in this country, a country that fights for women''s rights in other countries but ignores abuse of women in our own country.
Very,very few abstained from joining in, Obama and his advisers used it to excite the crowds, and what was worse is that it did, they loved the preaching of the hate.
I can''t comprehend why the media and the other political leaders didn''t stop it or get outraged by it.
They began to over and over again try to emphasize, by their group polling, that it was white women, not voting for Obama insinuating that they were the racists cause they now were voting for Hillary in big numbers.
Here''s a thought, maybe they were voting for who they didn''t think was racist, for someone who stood up for all no matter what race or gender, and just maybe because they realized and came to know who this Obama was and decided NO he doesn''t represent what a president of this country should represent-ALL OF THE PEOPLE.