Female News Anchors? Sure!
Who Says The Evening News Has To Be Mainly Male?
Of course I was thrilled to hear that Katie Couric was offered an evening anchor news position without a man sitting by her side. And isn’t it ridiculous that this fact is such a big deal? Things have been moving very slowly for women, but this is one more threshold that’s been crossed—one more break in the glass ceiling.
Couric certainly has the serious background to warrant her consideration for this position. She was an award-winning reporter at local stations in Miami and Washington, and was an NBC News Pentagon correspondent. Brooks Barnes of The Wall Street Journal (April 6, 2006) says, “Ms. Couric has a lot of hard-news experience. She started her 17-year career at NBC News covering the Pentagon, but she is most famous for her ability to conduct interviews. CBS is betting that fans will accept her with a much harder edge.”
My bet is that CBS News is hoping for a change in their news coverage. I’ll bet they’re looking for someone who can bring more personality to the desk. Everyone will be testing Couric to see if she can be serious once again. As Miranda Spencer notes, “Her admittedly annoying perkiness on ‘Today’ is part of her job description. Morning shows are designed to be as fluffy as muffins, but — being a business — CBS would not have selected Couric unless they were confident she is competent, and able to muster sufficient seriousness for the anchor’s role.”
Besides a female voice, I vote for two more changes in the evening news. Who says an emotional story cannot be presented with a little emotion showing? Aren’t we human? And second, who says only grim events merit coverage? Don’t good things happen? Don’t they merit attention? Let’s end each session with a good-news segment that inspires us to be better people. Katie, you’re brave enough to make that change. Thank you in advance.
Thank you Katie for that break in the glass ceiling. And thank you Katie for not accepting the lowest pay as one might expect from the first, lone, female anchor, but to go for the highest pay. Way to go Katie! You lead the way. We’ll be happy to watch you.
Tip: Katie has one more barrier to overcome: Will men and women apply the double standard to her? If she’s strong in an interview, will the audience say she’s too aggressive for a woman? Will they refer to her as a diva? Your job is to remind people that they wouldn’t say that about a man behaving the same.
Further Reading:
Blog: Miranda Spencer, 4/10/06, The Media Are Evolving…or Are They?
Website: TVweek.com, 5/1/06, Guest Commentary: The Woman Who Led the Way Into TV News, about John Dickerson’s mother, Nancy Dickerson.
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I thought it was interesting that when Katie Couric was named evening news anchor, there were so many articles about you can’t take someone from a light morning news show and expect them to be able to handle the serious evening news. Now that Charlie Gibson has make the exact same move, why haven’t I heard the same thing? Is it all wrapped up in gender?
Comment by Karen Johnson — June 12, 2006 @ 5:28 pm