All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

There's been considerable fallout about Falwell.

When the Rev. Jerry Falwell died Tuesday, the CBS Evening News devoted a lot of time to dissecting his life and legacy. (Katie offered some thoughts about him here.) Over at Public Eye, they took a hard look at the media coverage.

On the Evening News, Katie interviewed historian Douglas Brinkley, who placed Falwell in the following cultural context:

The feminists never liked him in the United States. He was always warring with the women's movement. In many ways he's a backlash figure. He was opposed to the great society and opposed to some of the progressive liberal high watermarks of the 1960s, and certainly he wanted--his returning to family values was returning to women being in the kitchen, in many ways.

That prompted the following e-mail to Couric & Co., from someone who begged to differ:

I was disappointed by the final comments of Douglas Brinkley regarding Jerry Falwell’s legacy. His statement that “his returning to family values was returning to women’s being in the kitchen…” is ridiculously far off the mark. I am a graduate of Liberty University, and one of a small number of female vascular surgeons in this country. As a matter of fact, Jerry’s only daughter Jeanne is also a surgeon, and he talked about that often. He was very proud of her accomplishments. That is hardly the mark of a man that believes women should be isolated to home. He did feel that both men and women should be dedicated to their families.

Liberty provided me an education that allowed me to breach a very “male” society in the medical profession. As a “first female nightly news anchor”, I think you can appreciate how difficult it is to overcome such barriers and stereotypes. Jerry Falwell was simply a man that wanted Christians to not fade into the woodwork, but to be an integral part of society, and to be bold about their beliefs. There is nothing worse than someone who cowers from his beliefs. I did not always agree with everything Falwell said, but I certainly respected him for his unwavering faith and staunch convictions of his beliefs. He was more honorable than many people will ever hope to be.

Amy Lipscomb, MD

In the run-up to Falwell's funeral next week, I'm sure others won't hesitate to weigh in. The founder of the Moral Majority inspired strong feelings in people; no one, it seems, was lukewarm when it came to Jerry Falwell.

Yesterday, producer Mary Walsh blogged about the OTHER General Casey -- the father of the new Army Chief of Staff. She got a note today from one of the men who worked with the General's father:

Thank you for including my tribute; but my words come up short describing the man - George W Casey. I served with him in Vietnam as his Assistant Chief of Staff, when he was a colonel and Chief of Staff of the 1st Cavalary Division. He once insisted I come to a staff meeting, at the end of which he stood up and announced the birth of my son. He then had the Division Adjutant General read promotion orders promoting me to major, pointing out that we need to take care of our soldiers, who have new responsibilities. As it turned out, it was the same day orders were cut in Washington, D.C. promoting me - I was on the promotion list. There are many more stories which all of us could tell, all of which would not only reflect on his leadership, but also his humanity. I, myself, could fill up several pages of incidents reflecting his love of his troops, his compassion, his leadership, and his humor. Even now, 30 years later, each day I say a prayer for him, hoping that the Good Lord has taken him into His bosom. By the way, he bet me $10 that the Red Sox would win the 1967 World Series, played after he rotated back to the states. Two weeks after the end of the world series, the colonel, yet to be promoted, sent me the $10.

Again thank you for letting me be part of the tribute to a wonderful man and great leader. He was felt by many to eventually hold the same position for which his son has been nominated. How fitting, though I am sure that General Casey, Jr is most deserving on his own.

Yes, he commands a lifelong love of the man.

Joseph G. Ward, II LTC, Ret, U.S. Army

A viewer wrote in this afternoon about Alzheimer's, with an especially poignant perspective:

My mother was diagnosed with this disease in her mid fifties, about the same age I was when stricken with early onset Alzheimers..I still remember how she gradually was reduced to a child, and then to just a body with no thought nor realization of the world around her. Frankly, I can accept the disease today. I can cope with its tricks and the slow price it extracts. What is so very difficult is knowing first hand what fate eventually will control me. I can put myself in that nursing home and in that unconscious state, curled into a fetal position. To me that is the most difficult aspect - knowing what will eventually happen, with no way of really stopping the progression.

Hopefully, we will continue to learn more of the disease and address the social consequences - especially of the early onset variety. I have learned that a good sense of humor can be the best medicine. I can laugh at myself most of the time, and if I don't take myself too serious, my day generally goes better. I am also very grateful for my family and friends, who are very suppotive. It would be a terrible disease to wrestle alone.

Thank You.

Thank You. You can check out more on the disease at this link and catch information on the latest research right here.

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Katie's hair style last night prompted some e-mails this morning.

Some, like these two, loved it:

OK, I know that men don't have to go through this, but such is life. Your hair-do tonight is just right. You look sleek, svelte and like you chose the 'do' yourself because it seems so comfortable on you. Stick with it, please. It is a do that is easy and ready for any event. You look great.

Love the new hairstyle! Sounding and looking superbly as ever.

But then there were those who consider it less a hair-do than a hair-don't:

We think you are a great newsperson and a good role model for women but...Please, dear God up in heaven, lose the hair-do you had tonight (pulled back tightly). You are very attractive, but this hair-do makes you look like a Soviet prison matron.

But the pithiest comment was probably this one:

Granny from the "Beverly Hillbillies" called. She wants her bun back.

Sigh. TGIF.

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This e-mail arrived today from the National Association for Pupil Transportation, taking issue with a recent Notebook on seat belts in school buses. -- Ed.

Dear Ms. Couric:

The emotions involved in a discussion of seat belts in school buses often set off a needlessly contentious debate that forestalls intelligent discussion about how the safety of children riding in school buses could be improved even more.

Unfortunately, your recent “Katie Couric’s Notebook” segment about school bus safety did just that.

I therefore encourage you to step back from the emotion of this issue and consider why an industry that is predicated on and devoted to making sure that all children – including their own children, step-children and grandchildren - get to and from school safely would be opposed to the popular – some would say logical – thinking that kids in school buses would be safer if they were wearing seat belts?

The answer is not because it would cost too much. It’s because there is no clear and convincing evidence that everyone would be safer wearing a safety belt while riding a school bus. In fact, there is significant evidence - not from the industry but from the leading national transportation safety experts - that while some kids might be safer wearing seat belts in a school bus, some kids might be in greater danger...

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Seems the very emotional video of Bush 41 weeping -- shown last night on the CBS Evening News, and viewable today in the monitor below -- displeased some people.

A viewer writes:

Video:
Ex-Pres. Bush Gets Emotional

What is "newsworthy" about a former president - now a feeble old man - breaking down in public?

Is the Bush Dynasty now so established that we are going to suffer through the Camelot-type obsession that was once imposed upon us regarding the Kennedy Dynasty?

I invest time most days to watch the "Evening News" - in return, I expect... news. The reason that I waste no time whatsoever on the so-called "local news shows" is that they (all network affiliates) are full of fluff, nonsense and low-grade voyeurism that appeals to those with so little interest and perspective that they wish not to be bothered by topics that require the slightest investment of thinking or personal involvement and investment in any process of actual understanding. Like simple math to the football squad, I guess it makes their brains hurt.

Do you folks want to set yourself apart from the pack of what now passes for journalists? Stay on newsworthy topics. Help an electorate that is disassociated from the political process for which it is responsible - that is, the electorate as the most important "fourth branch of government" and the ultimate check and balance - to understand the deeper issues. Don't join your competitors in giving a "gloss over" to difficult subjects. Tell us both sides. Stay away from the bumper sticker mentality that permeates television and radio journalism. Help illuminate the reasons that the simple answers sought by most simply do not exist. Do not waste time on the peripheral nonsense that so captures the interest of CNN. Do not waste time on the highly partisan "pop analysis" that has become the stock in trade of Fox. Do not pander to the rich and powerful - NBC has appointed itself to be the lap dog for whoever is in power. Take a page from Dan Rather's book, and challenge your viewers to become involved.

I know your sponsors would prefer that you continue to appeal to the banality of the masses, so they can sell more soap.

But, many of us would prefer that you become different from the other guys, and be meaningful as news journalists.

That field is wide open.

Mark H. Goodrich
Reno, NV

Personally, I found it poignant. But that's me. I also cry at basketball games.

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Someone commented below that he could do without fruitcake during the holiday season.

I beg to differ.

Oh, I agree: most fruitcakes are of the brick-and-mortar variety, more suitable for building retaining walls than actually eating.

But before you rush to judgment, I have to recommend the fruitcake made here. Every year I order a few, along with boxes of fudge. The stuff is saturated, absolutely swimming, in old fashioned Kentucky bourbon. You can practically taste the wood from the still. It's spectacular. I eat it for breakfast. It makes me unbelievably jolly. Try it. You can thank me later.

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A viewer sent this to us today: part of an e-mail he got from his son in Iraq.

It strikes me as serious, thoughtful, and concerned. I imagine there are a lot of parents who share his concerns -- about their children, and about this war and the news they are hearing about it.

Below is his letter, and his son's e-mail:

Katie,

I am the father of a 23 year old 1st Lieutenant in the Army. He is presently deployed and we are fortunate that he is able to send us an occasional e-mail.

Yesterday he sent an email and I thought you may be interested in his “on the ground” view of the war.

To give you a little background, my son – Bryan Patrick Smith, graduated from West Point in 2005 and is presently a platoon leader with the 1st Calvary Division...

Here is the part of the email I found so compelling to pass on to you:

“It is pretty interesting operating in this area. I have always understood that the media reports what people are interested in hearing but I never realized to what extent that they really ignore the good things that are going on over here...

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A reader has some strong views about what Pope Benedict is up to in Turkey. Here’s an e-mail we received this morning:

Benedict is not the charismatic world figure of John Paul II or the gentle harbinger of hope and ecumenical unity as was John XXIII. Benedict first and foremost is a theologian, a man of the mind who thinks upon and expounds about religion.

In a nutshell, Benedict’s argument against fanaticism is such: Violence is the enemy of reason. Violence has no place in religion because to act against reason is to act against the nature of God. Reason is the line he draws in the sand; it creates and interesting fulcrum from which to juxtapose comparisons of faith, fanaticism, violence and the secular proclivities of modern religion.

Christianity has a rich history of sectarian violence. The Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, the Anglican cleansing of Catholic England, the burning of heretics in Lutheran Germany and the removal of the Huguenots from France are a few examples. Many of these persecuted sects found their way to our American shores. Here they establish a relatively harmonious Christian conglomerate. Lately we have witnessed a revolutionary evangelical fundamentalism in America; faith based incursions into the societal and political arenas often fall short of the measure of reason. While such fanaticism seems minimal compared to the murderous intent of Sunni/Shiite sectarianism the religious right’s interference in human and constitutional rights is obsessive and unreasonable. Make no mistake; Benedict is also addressing this sort of secularism.

The pope’s remarks rekindle an examination of whether spirituality and religiosity can stand on faith alone. If faith stands at odds with scientific and moral truth it must assert itself through coercive means. Life is reduced to confliction in which the most powerful and violent among us reign supreme. Righteousness absolves the faithful from moral clarity and human charity. At once Moqtada al-Sadr and Pat Robertson appear more similar than dissonant.

Benedict seeks an alliance with Islam and other monotheistic faiths to confront the larger danger of liberal secular humanism, hedonism and unbridled consumerism that he feels corrupts the moral core of Western society. Beware! Pope Benedict XVI wants the keys to your SUV and the remote to your plasma T.V.

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This viewer wrote in to express his displeasure with our coverage of the leadership wrangling on Capitol Hill:

Your network's reporting of the completely unspectacular competition in the Democratic House of Representatives for key leadership positions, and your subsequent turning of a molehill into a mountain, shows that you guys still can't manage to just report the news without taking as your stance whatever the GOP talking-points of the day are. The same thing went on within the GOP, in which the racist Trent Lott was re-appointed House Minority leader, and yet you depicted this as something different and less contentious (and even, repugnantly enough, as a heart-warming comeback).

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