Katie Couric: Sexist Media Hurt Hillary Clinton's Chances

Adding to her comments last night in Washington — "that Sen. Clinton received some of the most unfair, hostile coverage I've ever seen" — Katie Couric has filmed a Keith Olbermann-style special commentary (called ner "Notebook") slamming the media for its sexist coverage of Hillary Clinton and claiming that the sexist coverage hurt her chances at becoming the Democratic party nominee. The Notebook will air tonight on CBS affiliates and on CBS radio, and will live on CBSNews.com.

"One of the great lessons of [Hillary Clinton's] campaign is the continued and accepted role of sexism in American life, particularly in the media....It isn't just Hillary Clinton who needs to learn a lesson from this primary season — it's all the people who crossed the line, and all the women and men who let them get away with it."

Watch the video below:

Couric's reference in the video to "mainstream pundits saying they instinctively cross their legs at the mention of her name" is specifically about Tucker Carlson, who often made such a claim while still on MSNBC during the campaign.

Last night, without naming names, Couric seemed to excoriate both MSNBC's Chris Matthews — who has come under fire for sexist remarks against Hillary Clinton — and NBC's Lee Cowan — who reportedly said he found it "hard to stay objective" covering Obama — saying, "That's your job...find another line of work." Matthews notoriously announced that he "felt [a] thrill going up [his] leg" while listening to Obama speak, and was forced to apologize for sexist remarks against Clinton in January.

Comments

[pakean3]

Dean himself agreed on Scarborough yesterday. Dean said something along the line that what was said about Hillary by tv anchors would of been said in equal tones of Obama it would of been deemed racist and the anchors would of lost their jobs..

She was made fun of. They picked on her clothes, her looks, her hair, they even went as far as to pick on her cleavage... Obama has huge ears, no one ever made a comment or a joke about them.. Even on this blog, I think it was Larry David, someone who I love, even he went way over with his remarks about her looks as a woman.. People commented about her being in the kitchen, what about Obama? Why didn't they go there with Obama? Because it would of been deemed racist.. Yet, the comments made about a woman running for office were OK and not considered demeaning.

[benne]

I wrote a "reporter," who wrote a whole story about Hillary's clothing (her pantsuit to be exact), and when I mentioned to her that she didn't care to cover what men choose to wear, she said, "They wear the same thing." Well, Obama chooses to wear a specific cut of suit that emphasizes his thin body, just as he chooses to roll his sleeves up carefully while keeping the second button closed. There are things to say about his presentation and what he's trying to say through it, but reporters will let that go unanalyzed, even as they endlessly critique what Hillary wears. Jonathan Edwards, hero of the Left, even went so far as to mention Hillary's outfit during a debate.

[LINY516]

You obviously are ill-informed.
Cartoonists and others talked and focused on Obama's ears.
People commented on Obama's looks. They were positive of course, but they commented.
They commented on Edward's haircut.
The kitchen refers to women from way back. However, Clinton herself told Obama if he couldn't take the heat get out of the kitchen.
I can go on, but you should get my point if you really want to be an honest person, instead of a rabid foaming at the mouth Hillary supporter.

[djreedps]

I had high hopes for Katie Couric as the first sole woman anchor of the evening news. I thought she might be too perky like she was on the Today Show. But it turned out she was just in over her head when she went to CBS.

That being said, I do think that Ms. Couric was correct that Hillary Clinton was unfairly treated because she is a woman. Case in point, the Hillary Clinton nutcracker which was shown on CNN among other "news" channels. But Barack Obama was and still is being unfairly treated as a black man. And even John McCain is being unfairly treated because of his age. Not every person in their 70's is mentally unfit. Whether or not McCain is incapable because of his age or because of other factors doesn't really matter to me. What does matter to me is the fact that John McCain is simply a very bad choice to be president.

Olbermann's other comments about Katie Couric unfairly taking an NBC commentator's remarks out of context to paint him as being unobjective and asking him to resign were correct. Ms. Couric needs to check her own sources before making outrageous statements like those.

So this is not an all-or-nothing argument. Sexism did hurt Clinton despite what Olbermann said, but Couric is a hack for making accusations about an NBC commentator without checking out the entirety of what that commentator actually said.

[RichardWeed]

Katie identifies with Hillary as both have lost out in competition for public approval. Just because the other contestants happened to be male does not mean mysoginism is in play.

Just for the record, as for Hillary, she could have been my choice had she not said she would have voted differently on Iraq knowing what she knows now. She and Obama were close on everything else except this one issue.

As for Katie, I just can't take her seriously telling me the news. Why couldn't CBS hire someone like Christiane Amanpour. For the same reason I will not watch Charlie Gibson.

[urfree2speak]

"Give me a break thIs whole thing is the BIGGEST fairy tale have ever seen" G-I-v-E mE A BREAK !"

[jimmy2001]

wow! someone who has undoubtedly benefited from her looks now complaining about sexism

[Chavez08]

Just to make sure I have this straight:

A 5th-rate news anchor who made millions almost exclusively on her looks claims sexism is holding women back!?

OK, got it.

[pakean3]

that is such bull. America fell in love with Katie not on her looks, when Jane was let go and the pretty one Norwood took over, NBC had to deal with the wrath of the viewers. Katie was brought in as a filler and ended up keeping the job. Don't put her down. Again, she is being put down because she is a woman. You would of never went to the looks department if this had been a man.. What is wrong with you? Only plain women can succeed and even then they have to defend their looks and be made fun of? Is this our nation? Is this American?

[mikeant50]

apparently not enough to watch her on CBS News. When she gets canned by CBS will she yell sexism. If she had been a man with such bad ratings, she would have been canned a long time ago.

[dentuso]

This is absolutely awful. Katie is supposed to be a journalist, and the one thing she decided was to pretend all evidence against her claim simply didn't exist.

Media is always harder on the front-runner. Hillllary was the front runner. To say they shouldn't be as hard on her as they have on all other past frontrunners - is sexism.

Hilllllary was ahead by as much as 50% in polls all across America in November. To submit that the media was sexist is to suggest that it was A) in existence and B) had an effect on the voters. The argument is that the media had such a profound affect on voters that America "became sexist" between the months of November and January. Huh?

Lastly, and most importantly - since there is no evidence that the media was in any way sexist, Katie would have to cite evidence from voters and the effect that the media had. Okay... White and hispanic men supported Hillary more than Obama. Non-black MEN supported Hilllllary more than 0b.ama for God's sake! How in the world can anyone with a freakin' brain take ths evidence, and cite sexism?

Oye.

[Burnsey]

I agree.

Isn't it funny, that now that Senator Clinton lost, all her fans forget her own words "They are not attacking me because I am a woman, they are attacking me because I am winning". ???

Funny thing that Clinton didn't see any sexism until she was loosing and then all of a sudden sexism was rampant. HMMM. A lot like those states that "count".

[benne]

Could you please quote Mrs. Clinton because, despite what you say, she has been reluctant to discuss sexism? Firsts, often have to put up with more than the regular guy; thus Jackie Robinson had to put up with tremendous racism, even as he never mentioned it. So too, Hillary has had to put up with some pretty bad sexism, but she could never mention it without people (like many here) attacking her. Interesting, that no one wants to discuss the specifics that Katie mentions.

[benne]

Sorry, Charlie. Katie cited evidence enough, and the fact that such remarks not only stood, but were endorsed by others, is evidence enough of sexism. We really don't need casuistical arguments simply to silence legitimate criticism.

[mahoner]

I just don't understand where all these chants of sexism were when Hillary Clinton was in the lead at the begging. When Obama was 30 points behind was he yelling racism???

If the media wanted to take her down, why did they choose her as the incumbent winner BEFORE the primaries even started??? I mean....yes, we all acknowledge there were some sexism during the media coverage. But everyone coming out and using it like some crutch as if that's the main reason why she lost is ridiculous!

What pisses me off even more is the 18 million plus voters who actually voted for Barack Obama. Why doesn't the media ask them why they chose him over her? I bet you most will say it's because OF him and less AGAINST her. Give Obama some credit. Geez!

[Fabienne]

Whether or not the accusations of sexism were true, it certainly does not do the feminist movement any good to attribute Senator Clinton's loss to sexism. I think Senator Clinton lost the race for other reasons too numerous to state here, but to attribute her loss entirely to sexism only gives credibility to the idea that women are not up to running for the highest office in the land. I would like to see a woman President and believe there are many fine women out there who are capable of doing a good job in the Presidency (though why more of them don't run for political office is a question we might begin to ask), but it seems like the first hurdle to be overcome is running a good campaign in the primary, and it is difficult to make the case that Senator Clinton did so when she entered the race with the entire media calling her candidacy "inevitable", with a large Party machine behind her, and with the most money.

[2Nurselady]

THANK YOU, KATIE COURIC! I agree! And, I do not think it was just the sexist media, but also the sexism among a few of the male candidates running in the Presidentail contest against Hillary Clinton.

We heard Barack Obama compare the very real and the very hard work Hillary Clinton did for The People of this country as First Lady to having a tea party? And, then there was his comment about Hillary Clinton when she is "feeling down...periodically...the claws come out?"

Then, we have John Edwards who stood at a podium for several minutes praising the hard work Hillary Clinton has done with regard to the issues that he has said are most important to him such as poverty and healthcare and then he turns around and endorses the only MALE candidate left in the race and one who has done very little, if anything for those same causes! A pat on the head for Hillary, "the woman," and the endorsement for the male in the race. I think that was the ultimate slap in the face.

Bill Richardson could not bring himself to endorse the woman candidate and then we have the media...good grief...the misogynistic vitriol that can be seen in the video on the internet entitled "Hillary Clinton: Mad As Hell."

Now, we have Barack Obama apparently trying to get enough votes WITHOUT US to shut us out of this race completely!

We cannot let this happen.

[Tropiholic]

It seems that so many women who have been done wrong by men have put all their anger into this "Hillary was defeated by sexism" basket. How sad is that? I can't imagine going through life so disappointed and bitter, and I'm a middle aged woman myself. Hillary lost because she ran a failed campaign and she was up against a better and more oganized opponent. Get over it and stop making excuses.

[2Nurselady]

Not true. Just google "Hillary Clinton: Mad As Hell" and you will see SOME of the sexism that took place during this campaign. There is NO DENYING IT and women no longer have to put up with sexism any longer and we can reflect our unwillingness to tolerate it any longer with our votes in November when many of us who are lifelong Democrats go to the polls and vote for John McCain because Barack Obama and the DNC are ignoring and otherwise shutting us out.

[Waltb31]

So let me get this straight. Because Bill Richardson and John Edwards did not endorse Hillary, you View this as "Misogynist sexism"? When did Obama refer any TRUE work that Hillary did as a "tea party"? Not her work in the Senate. Maybe her fraudulent "experience" argument that was debunked by her own papers? I still don't remember Obama ever equating any of Clinton's experience as a tea party. Please cite times, dates, and video.
I guess that everyone who doesn't support Obama, including McCain, Bush and Cheney is a racist!. Gee, that makes it easy.
Obama should get 100% of the votes, or everyone who votes against him is a racist!
Look; we have real problems in this country, like Americans DYING needlessly, gas approaching $5.00/gal, hard working Americans losing jobs and houses, and no comprehensive health care. These petty sour grapes must end.
If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

[dentuso]

Read you comments again. You're arguing against yourself. You're reading whatever you'd like into whatever is put out there.

As her own records show, the vast majority of the international schedule that Hillary kept after the healthcare debacle WAS, in essence, tea parties. How is that possibly sexist?

"feeling down, the claws come out". Yes. Like men never get depressed. O'bama referenced feeling down, which OBVIOUSLY means women, right? "The claws come out" is sexist. Everyone knows the feline population of this planet are all female. No one's so stupid as to believe that there are male cats. That's just dumb. They're all female. Just like all dogs are male.

Edwards endorsed one candidate over another, after it was mathematically impossible for the runner-up to clinch the nomination. He must hate women.

Bill Richardson endorsed one person over another. It must have been because of gender. It's not possible that he endorsed the candidate who was winning at the time, and it can't be possible that he was listening to voters' demand for chance, and endorsed a candidate who had no debt to Washington insiders. Can't be the case. Nope. It was because Hill.ary was a woman.

Oye.

[dentuso]

The good news? The above comment does not in any way represent the general thoughts of Hilla.ry's supporters anymore.

As my wife said, once you get over the anger of not having a woman as President, which was all but guaranteed, then you can stand back and understand that it had nothing to do with her being a woman. She and her campaign team blew it,. Plain and simple.

The reality is that everyone has now endorsed the leader of the Dem Party (even Taylor Marsh), and there are only a few straggling people who are still pretending this is about gender. 80% of Hill.ar.y's supporters now support Obama, and more wake up every day to the realities that supporting the advertised plight of one candidate whom they know only from a television set does NOT trump the needs of this country and the lives that are being lost on behalf of it.

This had nothing to do with gender, and most straight-thinking people have already figured that out.

[vsign]

Thank you 2Nurselady

We could have had Hillary and Bill back! We could have had the feeling of being safe and making progress.

Obama takes us so far back into the past - say the early 70's - the hatred of opposing groups in this country - Obama and Michelle's attitude toward white people and their revolutionary cause to change America, the hatred and distrust of women, the religious ferver of this new coalition to reject the Clintons and the proven path to progress. It is all so regressive and the DNC has shown itself so undemocratic that it is disgusting.

The voters, when given a chance, chose Hillary. Caucuses do not give voters a chance. The media's drumbeat on Hillary to get out of the race suppressed votes and did not give the voters a chance. The DNC not standing up to the threats of riots by the AA's at the convention, did not value voters. The DNC not letting the superdelegates vote independently on who would win the General, did not mirror what the voters were saying during the last month of primaries - PRIMARIES not caucuses.

The party just proved it cannot stand up to terrorism within. The Democratic Party did not stand up to the blackmail of the AA's.

Every man within the Democratic Party who stood up to the Obama maniac machine gets my praise and I will remember their faces and names.

[HopeGirl]

you are disturbed.

[JennyJay]

HILLARY - HURT - HILLIARY! She shot herself in the foot every time she turned around. . . . Katie Couric has the intelligence and insight of a freaking ROCK! Who cares what she has to say about anything! Did the media tell Hilliary to hope and wait for another assination???? Nope! She thought that one up on her own.

[olivia]

Katie is just one of the gals in the Blame Sexism for Every Personal Failure Club.

[onelife1]

Now you tell us Katie, now you want to use HRC to help your ratings.
Katie you were right in there with the guys piling on Hillary.
Is anyone still watching Couric.
Her ratings were lower than Bush's

[LongTom]

Horseshit. The media, McCain, and Obama all played hands-off with Hillary. Obama did nothing but praise her the last 6 weeks of the campaign, and really never criticized her at all, while she and Bill race-baited around the country and she said McCain was more qualified to be CinC.

Hillary was more advantaged than any candidate in primary history. To recast her mistake-prone, bone-stupid campaign as being victimized by sexism is an insult to women.

[Kirby]

Couric, although one of the best, has gotten a little carried away. First, Obama has been only a gentleman with her from day one, despite the fact that she made herself a pain in the ass to him and everyone else. In so doing, she invited negative reaction, and that's precisely what she got in return - again, negative reaction, not sexist reaction!

[InfoGiant]

Perfectly said. 55% of Democratic voters are women and Obama won despite having to play nice (see Bill's comment about the "guys ganging up on her." She tried to create a race war and a gender war, and still couldn't get elected. It had nothing to do with her gender, and everything to do with a poor strategy and very high negatives...oh, and one hell of an opponent.

http://infogiant.wordpress.com/

[dentuso]

Again - keep in mind that Hill.ary actually WON the majority of votes from non-black male voters. If there's a sexism claim, it's for O.bama. He should have screamed early and often then men weren't supporting him because he's a man, because statistically, THAT was the case.

[GemNY]

Hillary sank her campaign when she lied. Her terror over a hailstorm of bullets that never happened but made a tremendous spin.

She altered her personality to mug for the cameras and became a New Yorker, from Illinois, and Pennsylvania.... not to mention Arkansas.

Not to mention her backing then NY Govenor with his license for people here illegally program. Or her vote to authorize the war without ever taking the time to read the information she had been given.

Sexism did not tank her chances. She did.

[POINT84]

There is a story of on the front page about Fox News calling his wife "baby mama" :o
He's been called a muslim

I mean seriously I can point to more racially derrogatory aspects of the campaign than I can sexist, and my real problem with this new 'sexism is the new racism' is when you ask for a specific point, NOONE gives you an answer...700 posts and NO ONE has mentioned anything specific

[olivia]

Exactly.

[SmokinJobaman]

If your ears had been open during the campaign, you wouldn't need specific examples. But given that you want some, go check out this link: http://www.now.org/issues/media/070315hillary_media.html