CBS chief calls Rather comments ’sexist’.
F that. His statement, that
the mistake was to try to bring the ‘Today’ show ethos to the ‘Evening News,’ and to dumb it down, tart it up in hopes of attracting a younger audience,
shouldn’t offend women; it should offend dumb people, and rightly so.
Don’t pull any punches, Dan— you’re dead on. (Might not want to use the “tart” phrase, though.)
Isn’t it sexist for Moonves to assume that Rather equated “dumbing down” with “bringing in a female anchor”? Tart was a poor choice of words, but I don’t see how Rather’s comment had anything to do with Couric being a woman until the news patriarchy interpreted it that way.
Comment by Parker — June 12, 2007 @ 3:13 pm
I think it’s sexist to say “tart” in reference to another professional in your field. It’s certainly offensive.
Comment by gobble — June 13, 2007 @ 9:54 pm
Yeah, the “tart” thing was bad, even though it was in verb form. I thought the rest of it was exactly right, though– he’s fighting the disturbing trend towards “infotainment” like Dateline, 20/20, and every cable news show.
Comment by Patrick — June 13, 2007 @ 10:38 pm