Posted on 12/01/2004 7:26:32 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
It's the End of an Era. A momentous change.
Tonight, on NBC, one tall and handsome white male anchor with bespoke clothes will replace another tall and handsome white male anchor with bespoke clothes.
Even Tom Brokaw is a little surprised that he has been succeeded by someone who looks like the love child he and Peter Jennings never had.
"I honestly thought, eight or nine years ago, that when we left," Mr. Brokaw said, referring to himself, Peter and Dan Rather, "that it would be the end of white male anchor time."
Nah. Those guys are hard to kill off. Indeed, white men are ascendant in Red State America.
As my mom said, discussing her belief that Martha Stewart had been railroaded by jealous men, "If men could figure out how to have babies, they'd get rid of us altogether."
The networks don't even give lip service to looking for women and blacks for anchor jobs - they just put pretty-boy clones in the pipeline.
"I think we're still stuck in a society that looks at white males as authority figures," Mr. Brokaw conceded.
Bill Carter, a TV reporter at The Times, agreed: "Katie Couric may be a much bigger star and even more experienced than Brian Williams. But when the next 9/11 happens, it'll be Brian, not Katie, in the central role. The attitude still seems to be, 'We want a daddy in that chair.' "
And then there's biology. Asked why there couldn't be an anchorette as we enter 2005, Mr. Brokaw, the father of three accomplished daughters and the husband of one strong, cool wife, Meredith, replied: "You know, honestly, what happens is career interruptus by childbirth and a couple of other things. It's unfair to women that they have to juggle all this stuff, but it plays some role, I think."
At CBS, the Dan Rather look-alike John Roberts is locked in a battle with the Dan Rather sound-alike Scott Pelley to succeed Dan, and executives are considering four guys - three of them white - to replace Craig Kilborn on "The Late Late Show."
At NBC, Conan O'Brien is locked in to succeed Jay Leno in 2009, and executives have groomed Brian Williams for a decade to replace Tom Brokaw. I asked Brian in December 1995 if he was a Tom pod person. "I can deny the existence of a factory in the American Midwest that puts out people like me," he said, deadpan, looking at me with those green anchor eyes.
Roger Ailes says he has joked about Mr. Williams having too many shirts, but says he'll "do better than people think. ... He has that Tom Brokaw look of somebody every mother wants her daughter to marry."
Even if I felt like raising a ruckus about Boys Nation, who would care? Feminism lasted for a nanosecond, but the backlash has lasted 30 years.
We are in the era of vamping, self-doubting "Desperate Housewives," not strong, cutting "Murphy Brown." It's the season of prim "stay in the background" Laura Bush, not assertive "two for the price of one" Hillary. Where would you even lodge a feminist protest these days?
"You ought to call the Lifetime network or, as we say, the 'Men Are No Damn Good Network,' and protest it," Mr. Ailes slyly suggested.
I know that women have surpassed men, in many respects, by embracing their femininity and frivolity. Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer, who mix news with dish, cooking and fashion in the morning, are the real breadwinners of their news divisions, generating more ratings and revenue than the cookie-cutter men of the night.
Yet, as Mr. Ailes says, "network anchoring is still Mount Olympus." I checked around for feminist outrage, but couldn't find any. Women told me the nightly news was an anachronism, so why shouldn't the anchor be? "Caring about having a woman in the showcase or figurehead role seems so 80's," one said.
Another friend said she devotes the "one little ounce of feminist annoyance" she has left for the excess of "young fluffs" on cable news, as opposed to substantial newswomen, like CNN's bespectacled Pentagon reporter, Barbara Starr, "who looks like she could hit those generals with a handbag if they didn't give her answers."
But my pal admits that she watched Mr. Brokaw partly because he was "eye candy," and declares women at fault in this matter: "Women like to read books about men and go to movies about men. But men don't like to read books about women or go to movies about women. The only way this is going to change is if women refuse to watch men. And the problem is, women like watching men."
Uh, since when did NBC give a damn about what "red state" people want?
Maureen, try using your brain for once.
Liberals run NBC. Liberals are supposedly for the advancement of women and all races. NBC chose a white male. Not "red state" America.
Meanwhile, G.W. just replaced a black male (Powell) with a black woman (Condi) and hired two hispanics to replace two white men. These advancements made by the so called repressive and intolerant GOP President elected by "red state" voters. Does he receive credit from you for these actions? Nope. You continue to choose to live in your liberal fantasyland.
Unlike you, Maureen, I don't care what color or sex a person may be. I'm a white female and find Katie to be completely unqualified. I may have selected someone other than Williams, but do believe he is far more qualified based on his intelligence and experience. I don't hold a prejudice toward white males, toward conservative black women chosen to be SOS or a Supreme Court justice, nor towards conservative Hispanic's chosen to serve as AG or commerce secretary.
Try looking beyond race or gender.
well, for one thing, we don't elect a 'two for one" president - We elect a president to fulfill the role of president - Do the spouses of CEO's think they have a say in how the companies their spouse runs?
But seriously, ms dowdy, feminism lost credibility every time they sat silent if the woman being raked over the coals was republican and when the louse was a male democrat.
in other words, they outed themselves - or to put it another way, emasculated themselves ;o)
(and before someone calls me nasty woman-hater - I'm a mother of 5, grandmother of 15. So I like woman - and I like men - I like PEOPLE, whoever, whatever they are, for their individual qualities...which means I don't like ms dowdy)
Until your post, I'd rarely seen such flagrant disregard for The Rules.
That's your blue state networks Dowdy.
Besides. I prefer Fox News...where babes reign.
Good one!
Shocking, isn't it?
To be fair, MisterRepublican attempted to post a CZJ photo up-thread.
Close, but no cigar: Tripod doesn't allow hotlinking.
I think I understand Michael Douglas.
Pathetic.
I know I'm convinced. Virtually, every sitcom for the past how many decades has an idiot for the man/father/husband/foil. The woman/wife/mother/resident female, inevitably mocks/slices and dices/humiliates/sets up her male target. The men are, for the most part, not handsome but fat and portrayed as stupid with IQs equal to their belt size. However, let's completely ignore that staple and whine about the lack of female anchors.
This is very interesting that Mo has interviewed Roger Ailes for this column. She obviously admires his fair and balanced point of view.
My first thought is that maybe Mo would not be averse to having one of the major networks invite her to anchor their news programs. Her being so good looking and all.
He listens to Rush, has for years. It's a start.
He listens to Rush, has for years. It's a start.
He also learned from Brit Hume, heard him talking about it today on Hannity's radio show.
I guess being a liberal propagandist passes as experience now. Oh wait, excuse me, it`s all about being a "star". Yes she does have that 1000 watt smile.
Whine, snivel, play the victim. Engender even more hatred towards white men.
Maureen, you ignorant slut, you hardly set an example for your gender that networks concerned about ratings and profitability would want to splash around the airwaves. You are the 'dead raccoon' of print journalism who could exist only at the Times.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.