I think Sarah’s explanation was obvious and she sort of explained this at the time. It was insulting to ask her what newspapers she reads, as if she didn’t read any. But Sarah underestimated the press’s ability to be absurd. As if she never reads a newspaper.
If Sarah thought she was going to get a fair interview from Couric, she was living in fantasyland.
They wanted to criticize Sarah for not reading the Wash Post, N.Y. Times, Time, Newsweek, etc. If she said she reads the Anchorage paper only, for example, they would criticize her for her limited reading. USA Today would not be intellectual or sophisticated enough to suit Katie. Wall Street Journal would be too conservative and too focused on the GOP stereotype of favoring the wealthy, etc. etc.