Katie Couric's Sarah Palin Interview Wins Cronkite Award (VIDEO)

Katie Couric has won a Cronkite Award for her revealing, multi-part interview of Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

The Cronkite Awards have been presented biannually by the USC Annenberg School for Communication, in honor of CBS News legend Walter Cronkite, since 2000.

Couric won her award in the category "Special Achievement for National Impact on the 2008 Campaign." In the awards announcement, judges called Couric's interview with Palin a "defining moment in the 2008 presidential campaign," and described it as "extraordinary, persistent and detailed."

The interview — in which Palin spoke about Alaska's proximity to Russia and was unable to name a single national publication that she read — was an instant classic, and would be parodied on "Saturday Night Live," with Tina Fey playing Palin against Amy Poehler's Couric.

ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" also won a Cronkite Award, for its "On the Trail" series.

"Judges praised the incisive and compelling nature of the reports, as well as [Stephanopoulous'] thorough preparation," the announcement said.

Watch Couric's full award-winning interview with Palin below:

Comments

[schicklett3]

Katie Couric did the world a favor by exposing Palin for what she really is.
Thank you Katie!

[sababa]

haha it never gets old.

[DandaPanda]

you betcha!

[toocoldout]

Was it Katie who did that or Charlie Gibson? Polls showed Sarah's popularity tanking after the Gibson interview and well before the September 24/25 Couric interview:

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/09/16/palin-s-favorability-ratings-begin-to-falter.aspx

[DandaPanda]

in hindsight, she was even more out of touch than I gave her credit for...the line about how Americans are waiting to see what John McCain does and not Barrack Obama is just so stew pid

[Mattyhorn]

A fitting award - this interview perhaps single-handedly revived Ms. Couric's standing as a semi-serious broadcast news anchor.

Even fire-breathing GOP cynics concede that the McCain-Palin ticket peaked immediately before this interview and went steadily downward thereafter.

Great job, Katie!

[Sigger]

Couric asked good straight forward questions with no inflection one way or the other. On the other hand, the Palin response of "I read all of them" revealed herself as a fake. Well deserved reward for Couric and well deserved humiliation for Palin.

[toocoldout]

Well the economy tanked shortly before the interview. That's what caused the republican ticket to decline as Americans did not want to re-elect a party that was in the white house during an economic disaster. There's no evidence that this interview hurt the republican ticket; on the contrary it may have helped them by lowering expectations for the VP debate.

[Vivianite]

Umm. No.

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

"It's always something." Actually, many things brought about the Republican lose; many things. In fact, more things than the Republicans have eyes to see or ears to hear, or the will to fix.

[mclyn]

BIg Surprise!! My respect for the "mainstreet" media is gone after the show they put on during the presidential election. The bias they showed is still continuing today...enough already! This award should go to real reporting, that is factual and honest.

[AndThenOneDay]

I've never been a fan of Couric. But she did the country a service by exposing a relative unknown as a vapid neophyte. She was the running mate of what would have been our oldest president, so questions of her competence had to be focused on.

Those were not 'gotcha' questions. Palin turned them into a minefield all on her own. I'm sure Couric herself was surprised that the woman couldn't give a simple answer to the question 'what papers do you read'. That's a softball question, and Palin turned into a metaphor for her visible unreadiness.

She lost conservatives after that interview. It was a window into a disturbingly incomplete person. TV seldom achieves such moments, however much they make you personally cringe.

[gbkc]

I was about to post a similar thought, I didn't watch the initial interviews because I was sure there would be no substance to them. Who could have forseen just how incompetent Palin was. I shudder to think what would have happened if she became VP

[Lurker50]

where is the dishonesty in this interview?

[Freesia2]

Oh Katie was factual and honest. She asked honest questions and let Palin spin "facts" she made up airly. Sarah lying. Getting caught out. Lying again. Giving a long stream of "word salad" and smiling triumphantly as though she'd actually said something. As though just saying words is sufficient.

I just watched this again. Got a cup of coffee and thought I'd take the interview for another drive. I had to shut it off midway. It's not just that Sarah Palin talks like a 16 year old cheerleader, which she does, it's that in every question Couric is asking a point blank question and Sarah proceeds to her trip herself. Katie's not doing anything to her. The question about the financial crisis alone say it all.
She bluffed and snarked and didn't blink. She tried one bluff and when that didn't work she just tried another and fell flat again. It was like watching someone slip on a banana peel over and over. That she keeps throwing down on the ground herself.

She's a con artist. She had no idea what she was talking about about - well anything. And John McCain risked us to her. I'll never forgive him and hope Arizona votes him out of office.

[GermanGoodness]

Word Salad! Priceless! I hope you don't mind if I s teal it.

[bedfordny]

Funny I never heard one complaint about MSM from the 'rights' while Bush was in office.

What bias do you speak of? Couric asked Palin questions and she fumbled her way through them because she: a) didn't understand them b) didn't have a clue how to answer them c) was angry about the content and simply refused to answer them because she felt disrespected in some fashion

If (a) and (b) are correct you should consider yourself and your country very lucky that we did not elect a woman one heartbeat away from the presidency who exhibited such ignorance and lack of comprehension on so many levels.

If you believe (c) is correct this shows a woman who believes "gotcha" is around every corner and if Couric can throw her for a loop, imagine her in a crisis situation when a clear head and thick skin is a requirement.

No splicing, dicing or editing did her in.
The honest fact is that Palin was not ready for the national stage as clearly indicated by her own incoherent babble.

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

But. but, but, she's a "good Christian." If she can help drive the witches out of Alaska, just think what she can do for the real America.

[GoCards1978]

I wouldn't characterize any question Katie asked as "gotcha." Palin refused to honestly answer even the obvious ones. She appropriately criticized the Supreme Court decision in the Exxon case in June yet chose not to reaffirm her own statement when given the opportunity. Katie Couric may not be the best news anchor but her one-on-one interviews are consistently spot on. I believe she earned the Cronkite award because she did us all a huge favor by exposing the true Sarah Palin - a single issue governor who was incapable of assuming the office of the President.

[Graham Strouse]

Look, I'm not going to say that Katie Couric is a great news presenter. Frankly, when she's staring at a teleprompter, she doesn't look all that much better then former sports reporter Sarah Palin. But Couric has always been a superb interviewer. She gets people to say what's on their minds; or in this case, what was on Gov. Palin's glutinous blob of oatmeal. Couric is at her best one-on-one and she was superb with Palin. Maybe Couric/Palin isn't Frost/Nixon, but maybe that's only because this time, the reporter nailed the political lunatic BEFORE the damage was done. Katie Couric may not be a great news anchor, but she bloody well earned this award.

[Avigdor]

I think this award should be shared equally among the entire media. Not just Couric, but everyone, did the best they could to get Obama in the White House. Of course the $750 million didn't hurt either, but the smug condescension toward Palin was essential. That question about what she reads was indeed the tipping point. Palin was so stunned and angered by the inference that people in Alaska are so backward that they must not read any books, that she couldn't even answer. This revealed that she just wasn't ready for prime time mutilation. The entire media should get kudos - it was very effective in demonizing Palin and probably succeeded in ruining her political life. She didn't go down as easily as George Allen, but still, she went down, and in the end that's what matters. I expect to see many more such attaboys as you all congratulate one another on a job well done, while the fruit of your labors shows in the headlines every day. Who would have thought that America could fall from her pedestal in such a fast and furious manner? It's truly breathtaking. Congratulations to Couric. And to all of you who helped her. The Change you have brought to America is truly "historic." Your children and grandchildren may never forgive you.

[ScenicKing]

What paper do you read, wasn't a trick question it was one of those questions that an interviewer uses to gleen something about someones personality or analytical style. The fact that Palin had to think so hard about her answer and then ultimately backtrack with a non answer says a lot more about her than had she simply thrown out anything "The ADN", "Guns and Ammo weekly" whatever.

If you are really trying to draw a parallel between Palin's ultimate demise and America's you may want to run out and get more tin foil. With all of the things that came out about Palin at the very least she is someone who has ZERO intellectual curiousity and she will throw her own children under the bus to advance her political agenda (see her lack of response when an abstinence only group raked her daughter over the coals). I for one want to be inspired by my leaders not mystified when then can't reconcile simple facts.

[montecarlo408]

Obama survived Hillary Clinton, Rev. Wright, Ayers, and white supremacy. I don't think the media gave him anything. The money he raised came from people like ME, and Palin should have followed the old adage: "It's better to be thought of as a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubts."

[lmnop13]

Your fear m ongering didn't work during the election, and it certainly won't work now. The only thing you guys are doing is scaring the bejeebus out of each other with your doomsday rantings.
How anyone can find the question, 'what publications do you read?' too difficult to answer is beyond me. It was Sarah who rephrased Katie's question during one of her many post election interviews, stating she asked, 'what kind of magazines and newspapers do you guys read up there in Alaska?' No one really knew Palin, maybe we were all just curious about her personality, not trying to back her into a corner with such a benign question. But, her answers sure were telling.
Please stop blaming everybody else for your disappointment in America. I doubt my children or grandchildren will blame or refuse to forgive me, as if I orchestrated this whole thing myself. This 'crisis' was in play well before President Obama took office.

[trisha08]

......"it was very effective in demonizing Palin and probably succeeded in ruining her political life"

Huh?

Sorry, the MSM didn't ruin Palin's politicial life. They just revealed who she is.....someone who should have never been on a national ticket for the White House.

President Obama was just asked the same question the other day about what newspapers he reads. So wake up. It itsn't a trick question or a question to infer that Alaskan's are backwards. It's a question that is asked pretty regularly when getting to know someone....."what do you like to read?".


Nice try at the blame game.

[toocoldout]

You can't blame the media or this interview for hurting the republican ticket. It was inevitable they would lose given the unpopularity of Bush, the unpopularity of the war & the economic crisis. This interview may have cost the republicans a few votes, but given that they lost by 8 million votes, it was not at all significant in the grand scheme of things. And don't forget that for every reporter with a liberal bias, you have the right wing talk radio machine and the Rupert Murdoch media machine showing a conservative bias.

[teeniechino]

Every reporter has a liberal bias? Stereotypical and simplistic. Kindergarten mentality.

However, it is proof that it doesn't take much to brainwash someone by repeating and repeating what you want them to believe.

[Liberalforsure]

You betcha!

[EthylRosenberg]

Ms. Couric did us all a huge service by outing Palin conclusively as a perky no-nothing whose mouth stalls at the end of her talking points.
And she did so by conducting a respectful interview that would have tried the patience of any serious journalist.
Katie you go girl!

[EducatedObserver]

So, are we expected to deduce from this award, that Perpetual Miss Congeniality has now completed her rebranding as a Serious Journalist?

While few will conclude that Mrs Palin is an intellectual heavyweight, the pairing of the governor with the erstwhile Today Show co-host for which the award was given, must count as one of the most trenchant examples of "the blind leading the blind" on record.

[Warmglobe]

I am not sure what weight a Cronkite award has. It seems like a version of the so called "Profile in Courage" award where lefty do-gooders pat each other on the back. Courick is no journalist but yet again few who claim to be actually are these days.

[Exexecution]

Atta boy, lefty do-gooders. Way to stop those righty do-badders.

[trisha08]

Couric is no journalist? Really?

You are the expert because..................................????????????????


What is your criteria for a "journalist"?

[teeniechino]

If you thought Ms. Couric was "leading" anyone, then you didn't understand the interview, Mr. Erudite.

[Suzanne525]

Your comments show that you know nothing about Couric's credentials other than the conservatives' "love to hate Couric" talking points.

She started her career as a reporter, was a Pentagon correspondent and covered the Gulf war.
Can't imagine what kind of journalism would be more "serious" than covering a war.

Talk about blind. If you could see, you should look in the mirror.

[Troutboi]

Katie made it into the Political/Media history books. And rightfully so. She did a great job.

[cornagainstsorcery]

It hurts my brain.

[jdiary]

I've always said that this interview helped turn the election. The award is well-deserved. Couric was probably just frightened about the possibility of this woman being one frail heartbeat away from the presidency and felt people needed to know. She deserves a Pulitzer in journalism.

[cornagainstsorcery]

But that implies Couric set Palin up. I don't think that is the case. The questions weren't so incisive. Palin just can't hack it.

[VOTER]

Agree.

[pghperson]

It seems as though it IS all about "gotcha journalism," Governor Palin. Katie got ya. And called ya and raised ya. Thanks Katie for doing a service to voters. And for blinking.

[trubluelefty]

This is not an example of some sort of amazing journalism which Walter Cronkite did as he exposed the truth about Viet Nam but it was an interview which I believe Katie Couric but a great deal of thought into. She spent enough time wtih SP to know that she could ask a few simple questions and show the lack of knowledge of this woman. I do believe that some people who just could not be for Barack Obama for some reason might have been sitting on the fence thinking, well maybe but this was a moment in time when people knew that they would never get the right answers. Gibson's questions were revealing likewise. The Republican convention had given Sarah the impression that all she need do was wink and slander and she would get big laughs and votes. I never watched her 'interviews' on Faux but I think Katie did the American people a great service and deserves the credit she is getting. I would be interested in hearing Cronkite's opinon and bet I can guess what they are.

[Cid]

$20 says Gov. Palin adds 'co-recipient of the Cronkite award' to her resume.

[petrosbasileus]

Well, she would deserve it... This was such a beautiful performance, it couldn't have been better had she tried. Credit where credit is due, Cid.

[Perla]

Congrats to Katie. She did us an important service in creating the conditions for SP to demonstrate just how vacuous she is.

But it's just too painful to watch again.

[toocoldout]

But in a way that helped the republicans because it lowered expectations for the VP debate.

[EthylRosenberg]

Pain plus time equals comedy!