Meet the Real Katie Couric

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Denigrating "Divisive" Talk Radio

"Some people are very concerned about talk shows, radio talk shows in general, of course. Most of them around the country have a decidedly conservative bent. The rap that some people give them is that they reflect the views of a very vocal minority, the extremists in this country, and don’t really reflect the true nature of political debate in the United States. And, as a matter of fact, they tend to be quite divisive and sort of have a bad, a negative impact on the country."
— To Oliver North, March 13, 1995 Today.

Real Bias Lies With Viewers

 Matt Lauer: "You will get a lot of e-mails that’ll say, ‘You were too light on that conservative.’ You’ll go and file down your e-mails, you’ll find people who say, ‘You were too hard on that conservative.’ It’s all in your point of view. It’s much less, I think, our point of view than it is the point of view of the person watching the interview."
Katie Couric: "That’s true. I think really that it is sort of a Rorsach test....I think that people really see...what they want to see from their particular frame of mind, or the prism from which they’re watching the program, or the interview. And I think actually, that’s an excellent point, Matt."
— NBC’s Today co-hosts during an appearance on MSNBC’s Donahue, September 18, 2002.

One Is Bedtime Reading, the Other Is Fish Wrap

 "Ever since the Civil War...Americans have been reading a magazine called The Nation. It’s always been a platform for speakers who have been ahead of their time. This morning we’ll look at a new book that reminds us how important that platform has been."
— Previewing a segment on the far-left publication on Today, October 22, 1990.

"Since 1865, the magazine The Nation has billed itself as an independent publication of politics and culture. What it has really been all these years is a safe haven for writers, activists and journalists whose thoughts and ideas in their time were anything but safe....The editor of The Nation, Victor Navasky is here this morning to celebrate [The Nation’s 125th anniversary]. Good morning and congratulations....The themes through the years have remained fairly consistent. Tell us about the kind of causes that the magazine has championed....There’s such an impressive roster of literary figures. Why do you think they found this format so appealing?...Victor Navasky, thank you very much. We hope the magazine will be around another 125 years."
— NBC’s Today, October 22, 1990.

vs.

"You do, though, Mr. Brock, have some innate biases, don’t you? I mean, The American Spectator is an ultra-conservative magazine. And it seems as if you are an advocate for Justice Thomas in the book. Is it really fair to call yourself an objective journalist?"
— To then-American Spectator contributor David Brock who was on the May 3, 1993 Today to promote The Real Anita Hill, his book undermining the sexual harassment charge made by Hill against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

7:15: Katie Shows She’s Clueless

 "There’s an article in the Style section of the Washington Post this morning. It says you’ve logged 26 years of personal minutiae, filling 4,400 two-by-three inch notebooks, color-coded by season. An example: ‘12:17' — this is when you made the announcement — ‘Ascend stage, stumble, regain balance; 12:18: Applause, ‘Where the Streets Have No Name,’ plays (U2); 12:19: Clap, wave; 12:20: Adjust tie (red, white stripes); 12:21: Double thumbs up; 12:22: Sing along with National Anthem, right hand on heart.’ What, what do you do this for?!"

— Interviewing Senator Bob Graham on Today, May 7, 2003, unaware the article she was quoting from was a spoof of the presidential candidate’s diary. (With WMV video clip/MP3 audio)

vs.

"Last Wednesday, Washington Post Style writer Mark Leibovich wrote a takeoff of Sen. Bob Graham’s eccentric habit of recording mundane details of his life in color-coded notebooks. It was — let’s say this in capital letters — A PARODY. But the joke apparently was lost on NBC’s Katie Couric, who read the notations that morning to the newly declared presidential candidate on Today....Graham said it was ‘absurd’ and that he hadn’t yet made the previous day’s entries. An NBC statement said only that ‘Katie followed up on a story in the Washington Post regarding the Senator’s daily log.’ Yes, that’s true."
— Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz in a May 12 article explaining Couric’s goof.

She’s Very PC, but Katie Can’t See

 Katie Couric: "Time magazine’s Person of the Year issue hits news stands today and this year it honors the American soldier. Jim Kelly is Time’s Managing Editor and veteran war photographer James Nachtwey was embedded with the Army’s First Armored Division in Baghdad and took the remarkable images in this week’s issue. He was also wounded while on assignment. Gentlemen, welcome, good morning, nice to have you both. I was so, I have to say, just personally, I was so pleased to see this....Tell me why you all decided to honor the American soldier? Wondering why there’s no woman on the cover, too?"
Time’s Jim Kelly, pointing to cover: "This is a woman."
Couric: "Oh, there you go. Oh, sorry....I couldn’t tell because of her helmet."
— Exchange on NBC’s Today, December 22, 2003. (With WMV video clip/MP3 audio)

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