I have always tried to defend Katie Couric—she’s not stupid, she’s not goofy—but there is something about her that is just not to be taken seriously. The variations between Couric and Rachel Maddow of MSNBC are innumerable, but I will keep it simple.
In a 2011 New York Times phone interview, Couric said, “But I’m sort of a serious working girl, so I’ll be happy when I figure out my next move.” After being given such a coveted position in media—hosting the evening news is the most serious piece of work in her entire career—doesn’t the word “girl” totally negate “serious?” She continues in the interview, expressing how she feels about her position as the first female anchor in nightly news, “ I’m disappointed I couldn’t help with the ratings more. I’ve been No. 1 and I’ve been No. 3. It’s more fun to be No.1.”
This is the second time, since I’ve been following broadcasting, that I have witnessed a network try to name a woman as the culprit for their failed ratings—Ann Curry in 2013 was dragged through the news circuits as NBC and Today Show executives blamed her for their slip to no.2 in morning television. A teary Curry publicly took the blame. This is one of the reasons I believe describing yourself as a “girl” when you’re a woman is problematic language. How are men supposed to treat us if we are not as earnest about ourselves and careers as we should be (or as our male counterparts)? Can you imaging Rachael Maddow referring to herself as a girl? What about publicly crying on television because MSNBC held her liable for falling ratings?
For those who may feel that I am being petty, I looked up the phrase “working girl,” and found something interesting. The term has two meanings—1. Euphemistic term for prostitute; 2. A young woman who is employed—Couric was neither one at the time she referred to herself as a “working girl.” She comes from the world of soft news and she carried that persona into the evening news, which perhaps led to her demise. Rachael Maddow counteracted that, which is why she is greatly needed in the media.
Maddow is wildly popular on MSNBC—one of the most successful shows the network has. Is she successful because it doesn’t take many viewers to make a cable show a hit or is Maddow taking a raw, dourly political and feministic approach to reporting the news that the public is thirsty for? Admitting to both would not be unfair to Maddow, for she has surpassed merely being competent. Maddow, like Couric, injects humor into her show, but it isn’t a soft humor. After watching The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, I turn the station feeling a little more smarter. It’s a humor that makes other women smart and feel good about being a woman. 
Here is Katie Couric interview Lil’ Wayne, a man who makes the bulk of his money calling black women bitches and ho’s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntL7HjQsqUg
Rachel Maddow spends none of her time introducing her audience to artists who are at the root of disenfranchisement of a race and debasement of an entire gender. She keeps her foot on the neck of republicans and continues to correct the untruths of her network and political rival, FOX News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWMqwOOxJL4
Works Cited:
Lawton, Heather, http://www.examiner.com/article/curry-may-receive-10-million-and-feeling-not-good-enough-after-leaving-today
Collins, Gail, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/opinion/21collins.html
Urbandictionary.com
Thefreedictionary.com
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