Prominent anchor Katie Couric recently blasted CBS for replacing host Norah O’Donnell on “CBS Evening News” with two male anchors. Couric suggested that her former employer was “odd” and “out of touch” with the current times, seemingly insinuating that O’Donnell should have been replaced with another woman for the sake of diversity.
Couric stated in a recent op-ed published in the New York Times, “It was more than a little disappointing to read that Ms. O’Donnell would be replaced by two men, John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. The two people who will be greeting Americans watching evening newscasts will be men.” O’Donnell announced last month that she would be stepping down from her position on “CBS Evening News.”
She further complained that the replacement involving the male anchors was peculiar, especially since CBS added more female executives. “It’s odd and more than a little out of touch that even while CBS has announced a restructuring that introduces an additional layer of women executives, the leading editorial decision makers will mostly be men,” she said.
The media personality illustrated that factors such as Kamala Harris running for president, demand a more diverse set of anchors. “We’re also in the midst of a campaign that could result in the election of the first woman president, and first woman of color as president. It’s a potentially historic story — one that needs a diverse group of journalists covering it,” Couric stated.
Couric also criticized male writers in the media industry who sometimes have “blind spots” and are allegedly “sexist.” She continued, “While I was at CBS, I read copy written by one of my male colleagues describing Hillary Clinton in a way that struck me as subtly sexist. I asked my team, ‘Would you describe a male candidate this way?’ We rewrote it.”
“‘CBS Evening News’ has been in third place for decades. While I couldn’t move the needle during my time as anchor, I had hoped to open minds. Traditional broadcast news may be waning, but more than half of the viewing population should still demand more from the industry. Until then, once again, nightly network newscasts are the purview of a few good men,” Couric concluded.
While Katie Couric slams CBS for not pursuing diversity-related appointments to its anchor positions, Fox News is rewarding its journalists for their merit in the field. The American Tribune recently reported on news that top reporter, 30-year-old Trey Yingst, had been promoted to chief foreign correspondent. Yingst has made a name for himself, covering some of the most important geopolitical events in recent history.
According to a News Release from Fox News, “Trey Yingst has been promoted to chief foreign correspondent, announced FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott. In this position, Yingst will continue to provide coverage of international issues and events from locations around the globe. Additionally, Yingst was tapped as FOX News Books’ newest author, penning their 12th title “Black Saturday,” a gripping, firsthand account of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack in Israel and now ongoing war that it started in Gaza.”
Featured image credit: David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Katie_Couric_VF_2012_Shankbone_2.JPG
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