Are the Sunday morning network interview shows an example of white and male privilege?

[CreekDog]

CBS: Bob Scheiffer's replacement, John Dickerson, seems the a capable journalist but yet another white male

NBC: Chuck Todd, preceded by many white males

ABC: George Stephanopolous and preceded by all white males except for Cokie Roberts "co-host" stints.

If you never pick a female or someone who isn't white, what are we to assume except that being a white male is one of the qualifying criteria?

[delrem]

1. But these guys are all the scumsucking bottomfeeder type.

The MSM type, it seems to be.

[CBGLuthier]

8. Bob Scheiffer?

I would not describe Bob Scheiffer that way. the others sure, but not Bob Scheiffer.

[4lbs]

2. I stopped watching those Sunday morning turdballs 4 years ago. My blood pressure is no longer high.

Coincidence?

[NYC_SKP]

3. No. You're probably imagining things.

All of television and all of media, just a few exceptions, are examples of white and male privilege.

It's not a new thing, been around as long as television.

I don't watch those Sunday morning shows, they really suck.

[Bonobo]

4. Absolutely. nt

[olddots]

5. I thought those shows were test patterns

for the engineers .

[Eleanors38]

28. Nooe. You'd have to include an image of a Native American.

[Sheldon Cooper]

6. Yes, and so are the late night talk/comedy shows.

Dave Letterman, Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Myers, Craig Ferguson, James Corden, etc.

Comedy Central has named Trevor Noah to replace Stewart, so I guess that's a start on the road to diversity. But when was the last time a woman actually had a late night show? Joan Rivers, back in the 80s?

[Arugula Latte]

27. Chelsea Handler had a show for a few years,

but other than her I can't think of anyone.

[Sheldon Cooper]

29. Yes, she did. But I think she was on the E! network, which

isn't exactly the major leagues. And I forgot to mention Larry Wilmore, who I like a lot - he took over after Colbert left. So, for those keeping score at home: two black guys, but still a TON of white guys.

I don't believe that there isn't a worthy woman out there.

[Joe the Revelator]

35. What Female comdian has a high enough stature to get a job like that.....

.....and accept it? I think the entire world would have rejoiced at news that Tina Fay or Amy Pohler would have taken Late Night or the Daily Show. Both of them don't want it, because its a gruling schedule, and a step down from the moves they are currently doing in Hollywood. Who else do you think was passed over here?

Late night TV is a dying Medium, at least in the letterman/leno and sadly even Conan model. Jimmy Fallon, who is kind of a twerp, is actually doing it right. Package the show as a bunch of youtube friendly 'events' that can be watched the next morning by folks drinking their coffee or studying for finals.

Jon Stewart was/is on a whole other level. I am not a fan of Trevor Noah, and would have loved if Jessica Williams had gotten the host chair. Why they went with Noah over here, I don't know, however I think it says a lot in that the two top contenders (at least in the publics mind) for the Stewart chair were PoC and one was a female. Sadly, in my opinion, only one of them is funny, and she didn't get the job.

[Sheldon Cooper]

36. I guess a woman with the same 'stature' as Noah, Wilmore, and Corden.

Which is to say: practically no stature needed. None of those three guys were exactly burning up the place, and yet they all managed to land a gig. In the case of Noah and Wilmore, a pretty damn good gig. I think Williams would have been great, but she publicly stated that she wasn't ready for that big a step. That's her choice and I respect that. I think Samantha Bee has the chops too, and I don't know why she wasn't selected. I also think Wanda Sykes would be great.

I agree that Fey, Poehler, and a few other funny women such as Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig would not be interested in a late night show. But there is surely some woman as obscure as Noah and Corden who could have been given at least a shot at the job.

I hadn't thought about the late night format as a dying breed, but now that you bring it up I think you may be right. We've become dependent on quick, cute, youtube videos as a form of entertainment and the slower paced, celebrity interview-style show is not that relevant to how we live anymore.

[Fumesucker]

7. There is a reason they are known as the Sabbath Gasbags

And it's not for the quality and quantity of their insight.

[romanic]

9. Sunday morning shows are in need of diversity

but honestly it wouldn't matter if the anchors were black and/or female if the MSM forces them to report and say things they allow them to say. TPTB control the message, regardless of what the messenger looks like. Superficial diversity isn't true diversity imo.

[bemildred]

10. Such paid propagandists must appear to be authority figures, that is why.

The residial racism, sexism, and whatnot in our culture has the effect that we listen better to white males in business suits, it's like doctor suit or a police or military uniform, it means you are serious.

To me it means you are an employee, but what do I know?

[Orrex]

11. They don't pick a lot of low-income commentators, either.

Several forms of privilege at work there, I'd say.

[el_bryanto]

13. Well there are ways to test that theory

You could do a demographic analysis of his supporters.

Bryant

[CreekDog]

20. Nye's wrong, here are the numbers:

Public Policy Polling did a poll a couple weeks ago with some demographic data included:

Hillary had 63% overall in the primary and:

and support by demographic group:
Hispanic 58%
White 61%
African American 75%
Other 57%

Bernie had 13% overall in the primary and:
Hispanic 18%
White 15%
African American 4%
Other 14%

Hillary has much stronger support among African Americans, but Bernie's support doesn't appear to be the monolithic white support that Nye said it was (then deleted afterwards).

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_National_51315.pdf

[LWolf]

14. Maybe.

I don't really know, since I don't watch interview shows on TV of any kind, and day of the week.

[CreekDog]

15. I don't blame you, and I don't watch them either

knowing who the hosts are and have been doesn't require watching the shows.

[LWolf]

24. If I were a candidate,

I'd be making sure I paid attention, and trying to be a guest, on all of them, since a vast majority of people seem to thrive on them.

They aren't for me. I should probably care more than I do what others think. I definitely care that the majority are willing to allow talking heads on the tv or radio control the national conversation. I don't know how to change that.

[CreekDog]

25. A vast majority don't even watch them though

The pundits pay attention somewhat but the ratings are low and have been falling.

[Paladin]

17. Same here. Why subject yourself to all that lying?

[aikoaiko]

16. I really depends on the pipeline.

But Christiane Amanpour, Melissa Harris-Perry, and Gwen Ifill have the gravitas to pull off some of those venerable shows.

[CreekDog]

18. as you say, there are plenty of women and people of color in the pipeline

they're just not using it.

[Calista241]

19. If those women could draw the same viewers as the current staff

I'm sure the networks would use them. Imo, it's not the racism of the networks on display, it's the racism of the viewers.

[CreekDog]

21. Wrong. That's not an acceptable explanation

That's not how it works or it would be acceptable for other businesses to hire white males instead of others because their customers are racist.

That doesn't fly. I'll say it one hundred times, that's wrong.

[Calista241]

22. I disagree. I think these corporations could give 2 shits about what race or sex some

Employee is. All they care about is revenue, and in this particular case, it's ad revenue.

For whatever reason, they believe the news anchors they have generate more revenue than anyone else in that position would.

[CreekDog]

30. What you are describing is illegal

by the way.

and there are plenty of news anchors that are nonwhite, just not on those Sunday shows.

[Calista241]

31. Picking the best person (from a revenue point of view) for a job is illegal?

[CreekDog]

33. you aren't seriously defending the practice of hiring white people

in order to not offend white racists are you?

[Calista241]

34. I think people (you, me, other TV watchers) have gotten used to getting Sunday

Talk show, political news from white guys. Broadcasters are clearly wary of changing this dynamic.

I don't think there's anything racist about it. If some network thought some minority news person was the second coming of Walter Cronkite, and that person could have a better return for advertisers than who they're currently getting, I think they'd make the change in less that a heartbeat.

Use Lester Holt as an example. He's doing as good or better than Brian Williams ever did. So much so that I doubt Brian Williams will be back.

[KamaAina]

23. Is Pope Francis Catholic?

[JustAnotherGen]

26. Yep n/t

[hunter]

32. I don't know anyone who watches them.

Not even my extremely political parents, both born during the Great Depression. My dad used to sit down, crack open a beer, and watch Walter Cronkite when he got home from work, but that was a long time ago.

Nowadays my parents would much rather muck about in their garden.

My wife and I don't watch television at all. Our television is a commercial free movie playing machine.

I think it's pretty much the same for our kids too, with the addition of their video games.

I'm a little embarrassed to say this, but the video games I most enjoy and obsessively play go back to the 'seventies and 'eighties.