Posted on 06/12/2007 2:18:54 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
NEW YORK (AP) - CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves shot back at former CBS news anchor Dan Rather on Tuesday, saying his characterization of the network "tarting" up its newscast with anchor Katie Couric was "sexist."
Rather, speaking by phone on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program with Joe Scarborough Monday, said CBS had made the mistake of taking the evening news broadcast and "dumbing it down, tarting it up," and playing up topics such as celebrities over war coverage. The comments subsequently appeared in blogs and in a story published Tuesday in the New York Daily News and the New York Post.
While referring to his successor, Couric, as a "nice person," Rather said "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."
Moonves, asked about the remarks at an appearance in New York sponsored by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, called the remarks "sexist" and said he was surprised at the amount of negative coverage Couric was receiving. Couric, the first solo female news anchor, has been struggling in the ratings.
"She's been on the air for nine months," Moonves said. "Let's give her a break." .........."
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
No!
Speaking of tarted up check out the makeover on Moonves much younger wife.
Maybe they should hire him back and then fire him again!
Appointing Couric was sexist to begin.
Dan is safe now, shining his Schadenfreude wood!
There are lots of laughs in the threads this afternoon. First, AlGore’s “global warming concert” was frozen out in Antarctica, because July is winter down there (which AlGore apparently forgot), and now Dan Blather is accused of making sexist comments about that bimbo Couric. The libs are running wild today. Great stuff.
Katie isnt good looking enough to be called a tart IMO.
Certainly she is a female,but that distinction as pertaining to her kinda leaves me cold. Her sex appeal is somewhere around a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10.
ESPECIALLY when she opens her pie hole...(she does have nice gams, though).
Gimme a frippin’ break.
I have the typical FR opinion of Rather generally, but Moonves is wrong here, IMO. Rather correctly pointed out that Couric was hired not for her gravitas but for her gender and “demographics.” Perhaps Rather could have put it differently, but it’s not sexist to assert that she was picked for her gender, looks and relative age (instead of proven, if boring and equally liberal, Bob Schieffer).
He was speaking historically of course. There was never a dumber tart than Dan Rather when he headed up the CBS evening news.
"And that's a piece of your world tonight." -Barf
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