Katie Couric’s Gender Bias: Female Correspondents Getting 40 Percent
October 23rd, 2006 2:31 PM
So much for sisterhood. Broadcasting & Cable reported Monday that female correspondents aren’t getting as much work on the CBS Evening News since Katie Couric became the anchor six weeks ago (hat tip to Drudge, emphasis mine throughout): “[S]ince Couric’s arrival, women have received 40% fewer assignments than they did under her predecessor, Bob Schieffer. Men, meanwhile, have seen no cutback…
Couric Leads with Six Minutes on Foley, Starting With Memories of Nake
October 20th, 2006 1:18 AM
Back on October 6, Katie Couric promised that the Mark Foley scandal “is not going away.” And just under two weeks later, on Thursday night, she did her part to keep it alive by leading the CBS Evening News with six minutes on it, starting with salacious descriptions of the teenage Mark Foley's alleged sexual activity with a Catholic priest. Couric offered a warning to viewers as she hyped the…
TV News Slammed 'Ruthless' Newt in '94, But Liberal Nancy Pelosi Gets
October 19th, 2006 3:35 PM
Back in 1994, the last time Democrats had majorities in the House and Senate, the broadcast networks tried to suffocate the Republican challenge with negative spin. NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw scoffed at the GOP's Contract with America: "It is long on promises, but short on sound premises." No Republican got worse press that year than the man who would be Speaker, Newt Gingrich. ABC's Jim…
CBS Finally Gives 'freeSpeech' Time to Anti-Illegal Alien View
October 17th, 2006 9:00 PM
After twice turning over its “freeSpeech” segment to sympathetic pleadings on behalf of illegal aliens, Tuesday's CBS Evening News provided time to a small city mayor who is working to curb the illegal influx into his community. In the October 17 segment (CBSNews.com's transcript), Lou Barletta, the Mayor of Hazleton, Pennsylvania explained how his city was “gripped by fear” and “because of…
Katie’s Ratings Plummet
October 17th, 2006 10:18 AM
It appears the early fascination with Katie Couric as an evening anchor has fallen quicker than temperatures in the Northeast. Drudge is reporting the perky one's ratings for Monday, Oct. 16, 2006:NEW YORK CITYWABC 7.1WNBC 5.3 WCBS 3.7LOS ANGELESKABC 5.9KNBC 3.1KCBS 1.5WASHINGTON, DCNBC 9.3ABC 7.8CBS 2.5 Yikes. This certainly coincides with views expressed by Variety’s Brian Lowry on October 15 (…
CBS Evening News Takes Seriously Conspiracy About Bush Manipulating Ga
October 16th, 2006 8:45 PM
Although a Monday CBS Evening News story included a soundbite from an expert dismissing the idea as “preposterous,” the newscast treated a far-left conspiracy theory -- about how the Bush administration is somehow manipulating the pump price for gas to help in the election -- as credible and worthy enough to deserve a broadcast network story. Citing how the price of a gallon of gas has fallen to…
CBS and NBC Report Nuke Test Confirmation; ABC Suggests Doubt, Could B
October 13th, 2006 8:01 PM
Friday's broadcast network evening newscasts (6:30pm EDT feeds for ABC and CBS, 7pm for NBC) delivered contradictory reports on whether U.S. officials believe North Korea conducted a nuclear test last weekend. On the CBS Evening News, Jim Axelrod reported from the White House lawn: “The first tests on air samples from near North Korea have been completed and U.S. intelligence agencies now…