CBS Chief: Rather Comments Were `Sexist'

[CatWoman]

NEW YORK — 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."

http://www.accessatlanta.com/entertainment/content/shared-gen/ap/TV/CBS_Couric.html

[BOSSHOG]

1. I believe dan hit it on the head

CBS execs don't like to be exposed. I have to chuckle at the she's been on the air (only) nine months, give her a break. When I was on an inspection team in the Navy, we found a command's particular department totally fucked up. The Chief in charge said, hey, I've only been here 18 months.

I'd suggest Dan's comments were accurate, not sexist. The hiring of katie, on the other hand, might be construed as sexist.

[WiseButAngrySara]

26. I have to agree with you, but I must admit that I've NEVER

been a fan of Couric (I can't stomach her 'phoniness') and I am a major fan of Dan Rather. The remarks were honest IMO, as that is what Rather is. And how long has the impeachable chimp been in office, the first time selected by an unprecedented coup by the SCOTUS, and the second time elected by Diebold cheating machines and voter disenfranchisement? And what does the newly elected 'democratic' congress do? All of them, one by one 'turn the other cheek.' Katie is there for the same reason Rather was fired and B* is still in office. Shame on all of corporate media.

edited: Mispelled SCOTUS ... Freudian slip; spelled SCROTUM

[Uncle Joe]

2. Katie is just a symptom of a much deeper problem with network news,

and it didn't start with her. While I agree with Rather's assessment that the news has been dumbed down and tarted up, this is across the board and has been going for well over a decade, at least back to the O.J. trial. It was O.J. all day, every day for breakfast, lunch, dinner and the midnight snack, I don't believe anything else happened on the planet at that time.

[JuniperLea]

45. I agree completely.

In Los Angeles, a well-known female anchor, Marta Waller, handled the OJ marathon. She was great. I think someone like Marta, or Linda Ellerby, would be a far better choice for female anchor.

[Uncle Joe]

48. I like Linda Ellerby, Lara Logan or Christiane Armanpour,

I believe them to be accomplished journalists with a fine degree of journalistic integrity.

However it makes no difference who sits at the anchor desk if the owners and CEOs of the MCM insist on dumbing down and tarting up the news. All with the motivation of brain washing the American People in to behaving in a certain way, just as Pavlov's dog.

[JuniperLea]

66. Brain stem reactions...

And aimed at men, like men are the only people interested in the news. It's like voting for a president who you could have a beer with, instead of one who is uber smart.

[Uncle Joe]

68. Yes,

however, I not referring to the gender of the anchor so much as the news it self, myopically focusing on the trivial, superficial B.S. of the day, ignoring substance, especially if the substance doesn't support their preconceived notions or agenda, hyping and magnifying fear beyond it's logical implications, giving a political leader a five second snippet out of a speech and then spending several minutes spinning what the leader just said, too many times I've seen them cut off a leader just as they were making their point in a too effective manner for the pundit or interviewer's taste. The amount of actual news a viewer receives on a network news broadcast is disgraceful, just more commercials pushing legal drugs, brain washing and a sprinkling of news to serve as a fig leaf.

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. Me thnks Les protest too much. n/t

[hobbit709]

4. Truth hurts

[BlooInBloo]

5. I'm all for giving her a break. Fire her.

[MadBadger]

11. If they were smart, they wouldnt fire her

They would make her the anchor of "The Early Show."

[BlooInBloo]

16. Oh jeez. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

[MadBadger]

19. Well, have you seen the ratings for The Early Show?

Just as pitiful as their evening news. So put her where she actually did well, in the morning.

[AngryOldDem]

65. How about the WEEKEND "Early Show"?

Trying out easy-to-make souffles and introducing musicians in the Second Cup Cafe. Sounds like just the gig for Katie.

[CatWoman]

12. wrong break.

how about her arm? :evilgrin:

[BlooInBloo]

14. lol! I'm a man of peace. Just canning her suffices for me. :)

[gollygee]

6. The use of the phrase "tarting it up" was sexist

but he's right that she wasn't fit to be an anchor. That had nothing to do with her gender. There are certainly many much better female newscasters.

[hlthe2b]

21. Well, there are plenty of "pretty boys" among male newscasters

that, had they been hired, could likewise have been accused of "tarting it up," I'd guess...

Bottom line, she's the wrong woman for this job...

Now, Christiane Armonpour, that would be one heck of a choice!

[gollygee]

25. "could have been"

but for some reason that doesn't seem to happen very often.

[hlthe2b]

31. Rather's never been immune from strange aphorisms....

and silly folksy metaphors. But, I think his heart is basically in the right place...

Couric IS totally out of her league when compared to true journlists and reporters among the best in the biz--take Christiane Armonpour or Lara Logan, for instance. She's way out of her league for this particular job... One needn't be sexist to say so.

[gollygee]

38. She's out of her league, but she didn't "tart" anything up

she made the news more like Entertainment Tonight and less like real news. He didn't have to use the word "tart" to make that point.

[hlthe2b]

40. as I said... Rather stuck his foot in his mouth....

but that doesn't make him wrong. I'm as big a feminist as the next, but I credit those men who speak the truth--even if they occasionally need to be corrected on their use of terms...

I believe, when he used the term, "tart it up," he meant brought a superficiality to the broadcast--and I totally agree.

[gollygee]

43. Sounds like we're basically on the same page

Bad choice of words, but that doesn't make the gist of what he was saying incorrect.

[annabanana]

62. Right. . He wasn't talking about Katie. .it was the NEWS that was

"tarted up". . Sometimes you have to give older guys a little leeway when it comes to what used to be casual expressions...(but not more that once per 'expression' - the guy's not dumb)

[triguy46]

29. "Himbos" n/t

[triguy46]

32. self delete

[hlthe2b]

36. ok, I had to....

:rofl: "himbos"

[WiseButAngrySara]

33. I don't agree that it was sexist. She looks like a tart and

acts like an airhead. He called it for what it was. They chose her rather than Rather for one, and chose to 'tart it up'. Their mistake. Have never watched her except on the Edwards interview and that proved to me that I was absolutely correct in my instincts about why I haven't and never will watch her.

[gollygee]

37. How does she look like a tart?

She looks like a woman. A tart is defined as a prostitute or promiscuous woman. I've never seen her dress like that. If he'd said she made the news slutty or whorish, would that have been ok?

[ellisonz]

50. That is clearly not the intent in this case, but even if it was it'd be true and appropos.

Per merriam-webster:

Rather's obvious usage:

Main Entry: tart up
Function: transitive verb
: DRESS UP, FANCY UP <tarted up pubs and restaurants for the spenders -- Arnold Ehrlich>

Main Entry: 1tart
Pronunciation: 'tärt
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English teart sharp, severe; akin to Middle High German traz spite
1 : agreeably sharp or acid to the taste <a tart apple>
2 : marked by a biting, acrimonious, or cutting quality <a tart rejoinder>
- tart·ish /'tär-tish/ adjective
- tart·ly adverb
- tart·ness noun

Main Entry: 2tart
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English tarte, from Anglo-French
1 : a dish baked in a pastry shell : PIE: as a : a small pie or pastry shell without a top containing jelly, custard, or fruit b : a small pie made of pastry folded over a filling
2 : PROSTITUTE

"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."

Per the rules:

While specific words are not automatically forbidden, members should avoid using racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise bigoted terminology. This includes gender-specific terms such as "cunt," "whore," "slut," "skank," or "pussy," and terms with homophobic derivation, such as "cocksucker," which are often inflammatory and inappropriate. A common exception that is permitted is the use of words like "whore" or "prostitute" in cases where public figures or the media do favors. (For example: "Fox News is whoring for the GOP again" or "Tom DeLay is a prostitute for corporate interests.")

;)

[WiseButAngrySara]

51. To begin with overdone make-up, bleached hair, sexist dress ...

but then there is the definition I had in mind, not you, taken from a post below....

tr.v. tart·ed, tart·ing, tarts Chiefly British
To dress up or make fancy in a tawdry, garish way. Often used with up.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tart

[TahitiNut]

67. Agreed. But for many, ANY criticism of Couric is bound to be 'sexist.'

After all, there's no valid defense of her incomptence so that's what they're left with. Nevermind that she's benefited (and CBS has benefited) from her choice to exploit her appearance and cartoonishly 'girlish' demeanor, the sword of sexism is only supposed to cut one way, right?

:shrug:

[LiberalHeart]

54. Katie's a lot of things, but I don't think "tart" is one of them...

When I first read Rather's comments, I wondered why he chose that word and assumed that it would become the talking point, despite the wisdom of his other words.

[Ganja Ninja]

64. There was an attempt to use her sex as an attraction to viewers.

Remember the photo shopped picture they used of her where they thinned her down? So while she wasn't doing the tarting it was a factor CBS tried to exploit.

[tridim]

7. I knew that would be the response.

Hey Les, he said much more than "tarting", why are you ignoring that?

[blondeatlast]

8. Would they give Walter Cronkite that kind of a break if he sucked? Idiots.

CNN is tarted up too, regardless of the gender of the anchor.

I pity you youngsters--we had NEWS back in the day...

[triguy46]

9. If the guccis fit...

So, other than that, he doesn't contest that the news of the MSM and/or CBS is 'dumber'? I would have thought he'd be more defensive of the content questions than KC relative tartiness or lack there of. She's too much like my sister to be very tarty. If Katie is a tart, then the bar is veeeerrryyyy low. Does he stand by CBS as a 'tart-free' programmer, free of titillation, sensation and other ratings magnets? methinks the woman doth protest too much, or something like that.

[ThomCat]

10. It was sexist. He may have a very valid point, but using

gender-loaded language doesn't help his argument.

[Jacobin]

20. She IS a tart.

And I'm a bastard, not a bitch.

why can't words be descriptive anymore?

[truebrit71]

46. "tarting it up" does not count as "gender-loaded language"...

...sorry, but it just doesn't.

It may have in the past, but in THIS century "Tarting it up" has bugger all to do with gender.

Leslie Moonves, the same rocket scientist that cancelled 'Jericho', until the fans of the show bombarded CBS until they were forced to change their mind.

Couric has all the gravitas of a cheerleader, and none of the looks (how's THAT for gender-loaded language ;-) )

[MadBadger]

13. He is right and is not being sexist

I bet you Diane Sawyer would do much much better if she was the anchor because she would do a more serious newscast.

[Benhurst]

27. They could have given the job to Lara Logan. She's young, beautiful, smart and a damned good

reporter.

Katie Couric was never anything but a "personality."

Rather is right about her.

[flamingyouth]

15. Her newscast is abysmal.

I don't turn on the news to find out what's so great about America, I want to actually get the news. It's no accident CBS News is No. 3 in the ratings.

However, "tarting it up" - not the best choice of words, Dan.

[blondeatlast]

17. All news has been "tarted up," regardless of the gender of the "on-air personal;ities."

Katie's horrible, period.

[triguy46]

34. Local news is just as bad, a race to the bottom...

The content of local tv news and their never ceasing musical chairs to insure no one over the age of 27 is qualified to read the promptr is a daily reminder of how the media views their audience.

I've been at a state university for 15 years and have watched marginally literate, lazy, simple minded TV communications graduates get grabbed up by local media outlets. They weren't bright when they were here, and have not improved with time.

[Supersedeas]

35. Stewart skit: News I'd like to f&*k -- only Katie fails the threshold test there too

[brentspeak]

18. Moonves is kind of like Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. at the New York Times

A corporate incompetent who's turned a once-vibrant news organization into a toothless, D.C. establishment PR platform.

[kikiek]

22. I agree with Rather. I don't interpret his comments as sexist. Actually the comments of the

CBS chief appear sexist. He assumes that because Rather said the news was dumbed down and tarted up it had to be in reference to women. I took it to mean the news itself that CBS is choosing to report is dumbed down and tarted up, and I don't believe those words describe women.

[Mabus]

23. One way of bypassing the substance of Rather's points

I didn't find the comments sexist. I think Dan hit a bulls-eye on this one.

[Warren DeMontague]

24. How about this: Can I just say she sucks?

Is that sexist?

[triguy46]

28. I've known tarts. Tarts have been my friends. Katie is no tart...

However, she has to be in a dream world. I gave her 4 days. And on that day she had Limpballs on to do what she referred to as comments from voices around the country or some such tripe. 4 frickin days for her to give a nationwide audience to limpballs. That was the end of her credibility with me.

[Dinger]

30. I Repeat, If CBS Had Any Nads (They Don't), They'd Hire Dan Back

So, I think CBS might consider me for their anchor!

[Johonny]

39. I find Moonves remarks sexist

So only women are Tarts and only women Dumb the news down.? Frankly isn't Moonves in charge of the show so Dan was really talking about him not Couric.

[Radical Activist]

41. Its about Couric, not all women.

Rather's comment is absolutely correct. CBS wouldn't be subject to that kind of criticism if they had hired a serious female reporter who was qualified for the position, of which there are many. Maybe the fact that they picked Couric over less pretty but better qualified women is sexist.

[JuniperLea]

42. CBS is sexist for putting her there...

She isn't qualified!!! I'm with Dan on this one.

Give her a break? What? Nine months isn't enough to judge if people like her or not?

Remember Linda Ellerby? I think she would have been great in that spot. I'm sure if I thought about it I could come up with a great short list of women who would be far more qualified and much better in that spot... no titillation factor, but that's not what people are looking for. People want someone they feel they can trust to give them good information. And they want hard news in that time slot.

Egad... I'm so sick of this society. Isn't it time for a flood so we can start over again? Oh, wait... that is sure to piss off people who think God is infallible... oh wait... wrong thread... been quite a day... sheesh!

[endarkenment]

44. Dumb it down, tart it up, is what they did.

Sorry, but Dan just said what the plan was for Kouric as news anchor. Everyone inside the business knew it, Moonves just want to play the pc card to save some face for his info-tainment disaster over at what used to be called CBS News.

[Hidden Stillness]

47. They All Are, As It Happens

Yes, I think Dan Rather is a sexist, by destroying a great opportunity to make a great point about what has happened to the media and "news" by using sexist language only applied to women. I also think Les Moonves is a sexist, who once responded to a group of women from the corporate world, journalism, and feminist groups, led by Martha Burk, to discuss CBS's treatment of women employees and women generally by its programming--by refusing to meet with them, take their calls, or anything else. Froze them out permanently like they were annoying shit. Women have precious few friends in the male corporate world, and this whole response to Rather is a phony, unfelt routine. The talentless Katie Couric, by the way, is another Republican operative sexist. They have never given opportunities to real women journalists since the days of (the few ever hired, even for a short period) Linda Ellerbee, Shana Alexander on "60 Minutes" for a while during the '70s, the early pioneer Nancy Dickerson on NBC--that's about it.

[zalinda]

49. From the Free Dictionary

tr.v. tart·ed, tart·ing, tarts Chiefly British
To dress up or make fancy in a tawdry, garish way. Often used with up.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tart


Rather is right, and it's not sexist, unless you see it that way. It's in the eye of the beholder.

zalinda

[Oeditpus Rex]

52. You can't expect to wield supreme, executive power

just because some watery anchorperson threw a sound bite up at you!



:popcorn:

[librechik]

53. ha ha ha ha ha. Fire Rather! That's what you said, way back when

You just had to protect your Bushie! No Matter what!

Do you like those Katie ratings?

Guess not!

Until CBS starts telling the truth and doing real news again, like when we had Cronkite, Moonves will be an ineffective laughingstock.

[WiseButAngrySara]

56. YES! Exactly so. I'm SICK of these B*-loving Pro-Israel

faux news people who slant the truth by completely avoiding it! That is NOT journalism and people are not quite as dumb as they think. The news should be about our soldiers dying and innocent Iraqis people dying and not about f*wad Hilton.

[OzarkDem]

55. CBS is such a bastion for promoting feminism

NOT.

Nothing burns me more than when these corporations wave the banner of "feminism" when it suits their needs, then go back to discriminating against women in the workplace 24/7.

[Matsubara]

57. His comments were not sexist. They were right.

Although the "tarting up" of the news was not exclusively Couric's fault - she was never suited to that kind of newscast in the first place. The people who put her there ought to be ashamed.

"She's been on the air for nine months," Moonves said. "Let's give her a break."

Couric had a 5 year $60 million+ contract from NBC, and now an equally lucrative one from CBS - I'd say she's gotten her share of breaks.

VIDEO: Couric talking about people dying in storms, her makeup and her salad:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mD0qx6_Uua4

[Pastiche423]

58. Pasqual said that?

[Vidar]

59. Good for Rather

[peekaloo]

60. less tart and more like a souffle. all light and fluffy and full of hot air.

:silly:

[WinkyDink]

61. Men don't get to decide if a woman has been treated in a sexist way.

Women do.
IMO, Moonves has debased the reality of sexism, in order to excuse the failings of a plain and simple pathetic on-air "personality".

[kmla]

63. Les Moonves is an idiot....

Even I could see that when Dan was referring to "tarting up' the news, he wasn't referring to Katie Couric. He was referring to the running of lightweight 'fluff' stories that would appeal to the least common denominator of those that watch the news.

Now everyone is acting like Dan called Katie a tart. Which he didn't.

He should have called her a lightweight twit. Because she is.