NYT's Gail Collins Hails Katie Couric as 'Total Success' on CBS for 'Not Screwing Things Up'
It turns out retired CBS News anchor Katie Couric had at least one fan during her failed attempt to lift the network's evening newscast out of the ratings cellar: Gail Collins, former editorial page editor of the New York Times turned feminist columnist. Collins devoted her Saturday column to Couric’s significance as the first female nightly news anchor: "Katie Couric Moves On."
After hailing Couric’s (of course) "historic Sarah Palin interview," Collins declared Couric a "total success," ratings be damned. How so? By managing "not to screw things up." (The soft bigotry of low expectations?)
From my perspective as a charter of the progress of American women, Couric was a total success. The first great mandate for a First Woman is not to screw things up for the Second Woman or the Third. On that count, Couric did great. She was under incredible scrutiny and pressure, and she held up her end. There was never a point at which American viewers turned to each other and said: "Well, that certainly didn’t work out."
When she first got the job, Couric said, she was told that 9 percent of viewers polled didn’t want to watch a woman in the anchor job and 4 percent had mixed feelings. That’s not a humongous proportion of the watching public, but within the world of television ratings, it’s quite a chunk.
Now, people don’t even really notice. Couric made it unremarkable to turn on the television news and see a woman sitting in the chair of authority. And when the time came for ABC to find a new anchor and there was no longer a novelty premium in picking a woman, Diane Sawyer was chosen because she was clearly just the best person for the job. The follow-through is critical when it comes to these pathbreaking stories, so there are really two heroines here. The danger of first-woman-ness is that it doesn’t always lead anywhere.
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Comments
Their use of words
Submitted by jon_torlin on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 8:56am.
They have a real loose and funny definition of what "not screwing things up" mean.
-Jon
Agreed
Submitted by Galvanic on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 10:12am.
If she hadn't screwed things up, she'd still be the anchor at the CBS Evening News. The fact is that she took over a failing enterprise and made it worse.
People didn't even really
Submitted by ant on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 9:09am.
People didn't even really notice because they weren't watching.
Gail Collins is hideous
Submitted by Texndoc on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 9:10am.
And what does she have against dentists? Every red blooded American male knows why she hates Sarah Palin. Grrrrrrrrrrr!
They didn't?
Submitted by Chris Norman on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 9:30am.
"There was never a point at which American viewers turned to each other and said: "Well, that certainly didn’t work out."
Yes, they did - several times, in fact. First, when they saw the show, then when they saw the Nielsen ratings, and finally the day when CBS announced they weren't renewing her contract.
Spot on, Chris
Submitted by Galvanic on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 10:14am.
The Nielsen ratings were a direct reflection of the viewers' negative opinions of her performance. Collins can ignore the data, but there it is.
I truly
Submitted by Bob K on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 10:32am.
believe that MSNBC should scoop Katy up, she's perfect for them. They should advertise her debut there widely, make her the headliner in thier cavalcade of idiots, and hasten their race to oblivion.
Hey Katie! Sarah Palin
Submitted by Free Stinker on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 10:07am.
Hey Katie! Sarah Palin still has her job at Foxnews!
/// Sarah Palin Fan since July 11, 2007 /// خال
By Collin's yardstick, Chrysler was also a total success.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 10:13am.
.
She's correct.....
Submitted by notinstl on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 10:15am.
CBS was determined to set a new low for their network news ratings and Couric was the perfect choice to lead that charge!
total success?
Submitted by Patriot II on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 10:29am.
Lady...you sure as h-ll don't set the bar very high do you? She is a freaking loser!
I believe this is evidence
Submitted by Beukeboom on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 10:38am.
I believe this is evidence that some sort of mind-altering drugs are being consumed by people at the NYT for considering Couric's tenure at the CBS Evening News a success is definitely from the mind of someone living in an alternate reality.
How can you screw up what's
Submitted by jessieH on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 11:01am.
How can you screw up what's already screwed up?
The Network Evening News...
Submitted by MidAmerica on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 11:21am.
What an antiquated concept.
Well, if you set your goals low enough,
Submitted by johnsonl on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 11:56am.
you'll always attain them.
Much ado about nothing...
Submitted by Pilgrim1949 on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 12:49pm.
As has oft been said, "The only way to never make a mistake is to do nothing."
So, not screwing up is now considered the ultimate success and compliment? Boy, they set the bar pretty high nowadays, don't they? Gee, I'm impressed!
To springboard off of the noble goals of our pub-lick edjoomikashun dis-establishment, a stratospheric self esteem (not to be confused with actually knowing or doing anything of note) plus not blowing up the planet in an apocalyptic explosion qualifies one as a potential Nobel Prize candidate.
As, for example, our Numb-Nuts-in-Chief temporarily occupying the People's House in DC.
Bird(brain)s of a feather....
"Ye canne change the laws of physics....." but some politicians believe that with the right legislation you can pretend they don't really apply to your own pet projects...
Libs celebrate failure like no other
Submitted by Dave. on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 10:26pm.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
What a way to put women down...
Submitted by Radical1979 on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 10:34pm.
...by setting the bar so damn low. The first and only rule for women to succeed is to do the same job as anyone else with the same requirements and do it just as well if not better. It's the same thing liberals do to African Americans. Tell them they're so incompetent they can't succeed unless the rules are changed.
That isn't success.