Couric: ‘Not My Job’ To Critically Report On Iraq, ‘Unless Something Is Really Egregious’
Couric: ‘Not My Job’ To Critically Report On Iraq, ‘Unless Something Is Really Egregious’
Recently, CBS anchor Katie Couric traveled to the Middle East for a “heavily promoted week in the war zone,” reporting the situation on the ground from Iraq. Her reporting was superficial and uncritical, airing several “puff pieces” mouthing Bush administration talking points.
This week, Couric spoke at the National Press Club with host Marvin Kalb to discuss “Democracy and the Press.” Couric explained that her goal in Iraq was to appear neutral and avoid “a Walter Cronkite moment,” as she put it:
Is it my job to go over and say this war is terrible and withdrawal is necessary? I don’t necessarily think that is the case. … I don’t necessarily feel that [I should pass judgment] unless there is a clear cut factual element to it. … I have never really saw it as my role, unless something is really egregious and without question wrong.
Kalb rebutted Couric’s assertions, charging that she offered only neutered judgments about the status on the ground and missed an opportunity to critically assess the situation in Iraq:
You offered only one judgment about the war. And you cushioned that by the way. You said, “There are definitely areas where the situation is improving.” Fine. But you then asked nine questions, nine important questions about Iraq. But you didn’t even make an effort to answer them. … You have been there. You’re an anchor every night. You’ve seen the material that flows into you. Surely on some of those nine issues, you must have had a strong feeling.
Watch it:
Couric tried to defend herself, using an example of when she “came down hard” on a man several years ago for making racist statements. But with respect to Iraq, she maintained: “I think you need to be careful though quite frankly on coming down on certain positions when it’s unclear.”
In addition to her implicit assumption that there is nothing currently “egregious” or “unclear” about the war, Couric’s efforts at neutrality are ironic. In her attempts to avoid a “Walter Cronkite moment,” she spewed Bush administration talking points. “You do see signs of life that seem to be normal,” she reported from Iraq. “It really is a trend.”
Ultimately, Couric made a case for staying in Iraq, denying reality and undermining her desired impartiality.
Cliff Shecter has more on Couric.
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54 Responses to “Couric: ‘Not My Job’ To Critically Report On Iraq, ‘Unless Something Is Really Egregious’”
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No one asked you to “pass judgment”, Katy. All we asked is that you objectively report the facts…you know…like a journalist.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:04 pm“…Is it my job to go over and say this war is terrible and withdrawal is necessary? I don’t necessarily think that is the case…”
Yes you stupid twat. As a journalist it is your job to do precisely that.
Every journalsit in this country must arise to the level of a Cronkite or a Morrow, otherwise they are nothing but tools of the administration
September 28th, 2007 at 3:04 pmJust smile, honey…
September 28th, 2007 at 3:06 pmNo wonder she’s tanking.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:07 pmCBS has had to travel some distance to move from Edward R. Murrow to Katie Couric. Apparently Katie doesn’t think that investigative reporting has any relevance in today’s journalism. Taking your news content from the easiest source available (which is the propaganda that lands in her lap) and looking photogenic while delivering it is all that matters.
What a pity. Murrow must be rolling in his grave.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:07 pmSumner decides, you report. And Sumner decided long ago that he was throwing the weight of his company behind GWB and the GOP.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:09 pm“You’re an anchor every night.”
Yup, she’s an anchor tied to CBS’ ankles.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:09 pmWhy would anyone respect an airhead like Couric? She’s the Little Darlin’ of the GOP and a lying sycophant…not to mention an obsolete, tired former newscaster.
But check this out: McHenry is going down the tubes - big time! One more crim of the GOP is outed.
http://pageoneq.com/ news/ 2007/ US_Congressman_owned_home_with_another_man_took_DC_tax_deduction_while_voting_in__0928.html
September 28th, 2007 at 3:11 pmSince we know that Katy agreed to “pimp for Bush”, there’s little else noteworthy to say about her…..she is what we’ve always known her to be….let’s get on with the latest GOP “scandal du jour” then…..
September 28th, 2007 at 3:12 pmCBS News website recently changed it’s page layout and format,
September 28th, 2007 at 3:15 pmit looks nearly identical to CNN now.
Couric’s face is nowhere to be seen.
She’s not even worth disliking.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:16 pmIt is a shame she accepts money for what she does. That makes her a member of the world’s oldest profession except for one thing. Most of her co-workers contract to only one John at a time. She screws millions of Americans every time spreads her clap (trap).
September 28th, 2007 at 3:16 pmLeave that poor lil’ fluffer alone. Is she any more guilty than Brian Williams, or any other talking head. They’re paid to read the prompter, just like your local news anchor is.
When we have these problems, “the management” is usually the fit target of blame, not “the help”
September 28th, 2007 at 3:17 pmCouric is NOT a journalist.
She is a newscaster.
She reads whatever is put on the teleprompter. She is nothing more than a talking head. I wouldn’t expect actual journalism from such a person.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:17 pmOh lord. She is completely ridiculous.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:17 pmShe says she doesn’t want to have a “Walter Cronkite moment”.
Not to worry, ditzball, you’ll never even come close.
Next time anyone gets a chance, listen to the Don Henley song
“Dirty Laundry”
It’s Katie to a T.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:24 pmIronic that she talks about Walter Cronkite. When he was anchor, CBS actually carried mostly news. Now a typical CBS newscast is 5 minutes of news and 25 minutes of puff pieces. Heckuva job, Couric!
September 28th, 2007 at 3:24 pm…her goal in Iraq was to appear neutral and avoid “a Walter Cronkite moment,†…
God forbid a TV journalist would want to be like Walter Cronkite. That statement just floored me. He’s only the most trusted man in America.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:28 pmJust to butt in with a story about a journalist who is worthy of the title, turns out David Shuster was right about the facts he laid out Marsha Blackburn with after all. The soldier he named was from her district, according to the DOD’s own identification papers.
Will MSNBC apologize to Shuster now?
/end off topic
September 28th, 2007 at 3:32 pmKatie,
Here’s a thought for you.
Iraq is THE number one issue in the United States right now. What else is MORE important?
Since you are saying that it’s not your job to critically report on Iraq unless something is REALLY egregious, why should we even turn on your program? We’ll just listen to the tripe that the administration and the Pentagon issue.
Agree with everyone else. No wonder her “news” program is going down the tubes.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:35 pmErgo: I get paid to not offer my real opinion.
Its okay katey, I understand, your career comes before truth.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:35 pmCaption Contest:
“This Vulcan Mind Meld thing doesn’t seem to be working.”
September 28th, 2007 at 3:35 pmYep…why she is tanking, indeed…
Should’ve never left the morning gig…
September 28th, 2007 at 3:36 pmErgo: I get paid to not offer my real opinion.
Its okay katey, I understand, your career comes before truth.
Seems to be a conservative mantra these days…
September 28th, 2007 at 3:37 pmback to celeberty interviews and soft human interest stories, you useless little girl
September 28th, 2007 at 3:44 pmSeems to be a conservative mantra these days…
Comment by mark — September 28, 2007
And this, as a Christian, I do not understand.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:44 pmThe Miss News 2007 Pageant Q&A
Miss CBS, What is your greatest hope for the world?
World Peace, with just enough war to keep it peacful.
Miss FOX, What is your greatest hope for the world?
World Peace, by killing all the terrorists with oil before they kill us.
And the winner is….
September 28th, 2007 at 3:44 pmI know I want to comment on this, but for some reason I find myself sitting here shaking my head unable to type anything. She is truly mind numbing.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:46 pmWhy do they keep referring to it as war? It is not America at war with Iraq, we are referees in a civil war.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:46 pmThe war is on terror of all races, of all extremists, of all colors, nationalities and races?
Why has the people on this lonely planet circling a star in a vast unknown universe so at odd with one another?
September 28th, 2007 at 3:47 pmNot a Murrow, Sevareid, Wallace, or Cronkite is she? More like Crusty–just in it for the money?
September 28th, 2007 at 3:52 pmher job is as a whore that speaks english. she is paid to say every thing and do it just right. there is no room for emotion in the boardroom.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:58 pmit is an automaton.
We cannot even explain the reality in which we exist, be you a physicist, atheist, Jewish, Muslim or Christian and yet we fight and war over money, which is but material and oil, which is but more materialm which in turn becomes power, physically, mentally and politically?
Good God [Actions/Karma/Yin-yang] may our leaders stop the bickering and allow the people a thousand years of peace without the crisis management? May we the people have peace? Will our elected servants, our leaders, do our bidding?
If not, are the leaders, our servant, willing to walk unto the field of battle and fight one another, as in the war of the roses?
They instead engage in a pseudo intellectual battle of sanctions and fear that result in violence and war, not for them, but for the salus populi which they have taken an oath to protect?
What the hell is wrong with mankind?? Why is we have evolved so far as to make incredible weapons but have devolved in caring? Is money that important that we must forego caring during our short lifespans?
September 28th, 2007 at 4:04 pmCan we get Walter back out of retirement?
And I would still use a flag as a blanket and jump her bones for old glory. :-)
September 28th, 2007 at 4:07 pmKatie can’t seem to get her story straight. She’s taking a page from the Bush administration’s handbook.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:11 pmStop talking, hun.
Please.
Just quietly go home and spend time with your kids. Lord knows you’ve got all the money you’ll ever spend.
Go on, it’s best this way….
September 28th, 2007 at 4:13 pmA Walter Cronkite moment.
What a weird piece of vocabulary, and what a weird definition.
Did the circle she runs in define ‘a Walter Cronkite moment’ as ‘a moment when a newscaster steps over the neutral line and passes judgement on an issue’?
If that’strue, newscasters are Ckonkiting every day of the week and twoce on Sunday mornings.
But is that what she thinks of Walter?
For me, a Walter Cronkite moment is listening to his calm, even voice, nonetheless bursting with excitement, following John Glenn up into space.
And covering JFK’s funeral in that same voice, never choking, never wavering, as strong as history.
Did she get this little phrase from other ambitious journalistos? Better not have a Cronkite Moment, buddy…it’s a quick way to lose the top spot?
Somehow I doubt it. I can’t see newscasters dissing Walter.No, I think the only people who I think would think of a Walter Cronkite moment as coming out against the war are those cases who belived we would have won in Vietnam except for the hippies and liberals.
In short, the Bush Administration.
I would bet she got that phrase directly from a ’senior administration official’ warning her real friendly-like–and she, duly chastened, agreed wholeheartedly.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:32 pm.
It’s not Couric’s job to be The Journalist…
When she’s paid to be The Propagandist.
.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:32 pmWhy has the people on this lonely planet circling a star in a vast unknown universe so at odd with one another?
Comment by Xisithrus — September 28, 2007 @ 3:47 pm
Money.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:36 pmRegarding the photo, any idea who’s holding her elbow, making her jaw flip and flop?
September 28th, 2007 at 4:37 pmThis woman is a disgrace to her profession. She claims that it is her job to be neutral while ignoring the fact that in the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 she proclaimed “Navy Seals rock!”, which was not exactly an ode to neutrality. Her concern should be to seek out the truth even if the news she uncovers happens to be contrary to what the government is telling the American people. As historian, writer and social activist Howard Zinn stated in his biography “You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train.” A film of that same title dealing with Zinn’s life can be seen this weekend on Link TV.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:38 pmCouric short line.
I haven’t got a clue.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:45 pmShe is NBC’s Dana Perino, she’ll lie in a second. I have not, or will ever again, watch CBS weekly night news with her as anchor. She does what an anchor is supposed to do, hold everyone down. Les could have done more.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:54 pmKatie was given the job because of her continued support of the White House. She went over the top with Michael Moore even when the facts spoke to truth. Any guest who spoke to truth about the White House lies she could do the spin/blame/lie to convince her viewers she was right. Smart move on the Bush Administration’s part as they got once honest Journalist to spread lies yes this Cheney used the Nixon play book and up dated it. It worked well and Americans are still buying the lies.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:59 pmCouric is CBS’s version of Suzanne Malveaux, who is very conservative and sticks to GOP talking points whenever she hosts “The Situation Room.”
September 28th, 2007 at 5:58 pmGo powder your nose, Colic.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:30 pmCouric doesn’t believes she should be doing any journalism - well that explains that crap-bomb of a theater show she puts on every night!
September 28th, 2007 at 8:31 pmWho knows? Maybe Katie Couric is auditioning to replace Dana (”Too Much Cappucino”) Perino, should the latter not seem sufficiently convincing in her shilling for the Bushies.
As long as Couric continues to engage in such shameless cheerleading, viewers possessing any degree of intelligence will look elsewhere for a closer approximation to the actual news (which, by the way, is on the endangered species list in this country), and she will be reduced to doing late night infomercials.
One can only hope.
September 28th, 2007 at 8:39 pmGood grief, what an embarrassment to women and journalism.
September 28th, 2007 at 9:57 pmmy mind is boggled by the idea of someone thinking a “Walter Cronkite Moment” is a bad thing!
& dont forget the nasty emails her staff sent out defending her “reporting”!
September 28th, 2007 at 10:39 pmSomething egregious and wrong?
An illegal invasion, 4,000 US troops killed, over a millions Iraqis killed, a trillion dollars spent.
But Couric sees nothing wrong during her dog and phony show. For $ 20 million to read a teleprompter, I’d play her game of see no evil also.
September 29th, 2007 at 6:37 amCouric is the worst mistake cbs has ever made. BRING BACK BOB!
September 29th, 2007 at 10:47 amTWINKIES, that’s what we call them in the TV industry. Teleprompters with lipstick. Mindless, ignorant, narcissistic shills and whores for the military industrial entertainment complex.
Wind-up Barbie and Ken dolls that primp and pimp for ratings. You see these clowns all across America on “Hard-hitting Eyewittness News Teams”. Cloned, branded and pre-packaged with glossy teeth and hair helmets that beg you to believe their pre-packaged, cloned and branded lies that are brought to you by…GE, The Rand Corp., Exxon and my very favorite Haliburton. Not to mention, MERCK, Johnson and Johnson and every other drug dealer on the planet.
Our greatest enemy to truth besides the criminal government is our criminal corporate controlled media. These whores are the under-belly of the beast-system that is destroying our freedom and liberty as a nation. Their treason is willful and glutonous and cowardly.
Half-truths, that is the best you will ever get from them on any important subject. The other half will be spin and will have been spun by the Pentagon. Richard Perl the neo-fascist/zionist spy for Israel gave a press conference at the “Pentagram”, I’m sorry I meant pentagon in 2004, bragging to the controlled press slaves how “Every word you print or speak in the press is controlled by us, at the pentagon” the zionist pig spewed into a gagle of microphones as he chuckled with glee. That was was aired on CSPAN.
Television was not invented to enlighten you or educate you but, to hypnotize you into a mindless state of acquiescence and complacency.
NO NEWS ANCHORS WERE HARMED, MUTULATED OR OTHERWISE INJURED IN BRINGING YOU THIS IMPORTANT NEWS BREAK. Now back to our regularly scheduled bull shit. Goodnight and good luck.
September 29th, 2007 at 7:19 pmFIRE WHISPERERS
AS A “CROWDED THEATER” OF MORE WAR
PASSES
THE CONSTITUTIONAL KINDLING POINT OF CURTAINED RAFTERS,
THE ARM-CHAIRED VOICE OF TALKING-HEADED PUNDITRY
OFFERS “TO THE MASSES”
SERIALLY-MODULATED WARNINGS OF DANGER LESS RIGHT NOW THAN “DOWN-THE-ROAD”. YES, YES OF COURSE CONCEDING, EVEN POINTING OUT THE “OBVIOUS” ACRIDLY PARTISAN POLITICAL VAPORS, PODIAL-SULFEARIC FUMES, BUSHELZEBUBONIC ‘INFLATULATION’,
WUTHERING MARTIAL GASSE$…etc (IT’S A MESS…
…BUT…
THEIR CREATURE-COMFORT-ZONED
RED-HANDED PARSE-GIVEN TONE
CARRYING POWER’S BROKEN WATER OF UNBORNE BLUE “SMOKE” TO BUY TIME FROM THE PAST UP,
WITH NOT ENOUGH OR TOO MUCH
SHAME OR PRIDE (TOXICALLY “UPHOLSTERED” WITH THE PROTEAN SECURITY THAT ONLY FAUX DEBUNKINGS OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES CAN PROVIDE), MOST GINGERLY “DISINCLINED ON CONTACT” TO “TEST” FOR EXAMPLE: THE “IN$IDE TOUCH” ($OFT AS A DEAD CANARY’S BREAST)…
AND ALL THE WHILE, ALL THE WHILE NEOCONDESCENDING IN UPBEATEDLY CHIPPER YET …SOMBER… ADMONITION.
(AND WHAT THEN MOVES THEM TO EVER YELL, WHEATHER AGAINST OR FOR,
SEEMS NEVER TO BE THE RIGHT THING…)
WON’T ASK, WON’T TELL
TRUTH TO POWER
Healthy for the Media,
Good for Democracy–
Bad for “Our Due” Mind$et
Public Servants
MORAL MULTI-TASKING:
~A Question of Courage
in a Measure of Character~
~For the Asking!
A HARDENING SELL
…FEELING “PUT-UPON”,
ANNOYED TO SO NEED REMINDING THAT:
“IT IS A NEWSPAPER’S DUTY
TO PRINT THE NEWS AND RAISE HELL.”
–Wilbur Storey, Statement of the aims of the Chicago Times, 1861.
ARTIST GENERAL’S WARNING:
The Dog that won’t HUNT?
~Gets BaaWow-Wuh
~WAGGED~
“Artist General’s Warning:
Recu$al question could be bad for Bush’s political health…
The question is this:
Will you agree never to accept any personal profits flowing from any military action you authorize or promote?
… Who knows, maybe mainstream journalists might even begin questioning why a war cabinet of Texas oilmen lied their way into occupying some of the most oil-rich regions of the world. Or maybe that’s asking too much. ”
–Steven T. Jones, San Francisco Bay Guardian
reposted @: http://www.kyndmusic.com/ 2006/ 07/ 01/ artist-general-warning-recusal-question-bad-for-bush/
September 30th, 2007 at 1:07 am