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So, last night marked a huge turning point in the struggle for American equality: Someone with ovaries read from a teleprompter all by herself. After the jump, a highly selective look at how our nation's critics responded.


Alessandra Stanley, in the Times, finds Katie "subdued," calm and competent. The psychologist in Alessandra can't help but speculate that Katie is "perhaps a little spooked by all the fuss over her appointment." Stanley also notes that "[Correspondent Lara] Logan's arresting screen presence also helped deflect attention from Ms. Couric's much scrutinized appearance (fitted white jacket over a black sheath dress)," which is a nice way of pretending to eat one's cake and have it too.

Stanley raises an eyebrow at "CBS executives[' complaints] that Ms. Couric is being held to a cattier standard," which is pretty rich coming from someone who once mocked her "peremptory voice and clickety stiletto heels," and claimed that "'Today' has turned her popularity into a Marxist-style cult of personality. The camera fixates on Ms. Couric's legs during interviews, she performs in innumerable skits and stunts, and her clowning is given center stage even during news events." Yeah, no cattiness there.

Over in the paper's Op-Ed section, Maureen Dowd goes to the "let's juxtapose current politics and popular culture" well for about the millionth time, claiming that both the president and Ms. Couric were on TV last night "trying to prove they were a man," and giving the edge to Katie. (No wonder she can't find a new husband! It's hard for professional women these days.) Maureen (and, oddly enough, we more or less agree with her) dismisses CBS head Les Moonves' comparison of Couric to Jackie Robinson with a curt, "Jackie Robinson represented a revolution; Katie Couric represented a promotion.." She goes on to say that, "The sad truth is, women only get to the top of places like the network evening news and Hollywood after those places are devalued," another sentiment with which we agree, considering we said pretty much the exact same thing four months ago.

At Marketwatch, our good buddy Jon Friedman was less enchanted, finding her too cute by half and the show too self-centered. "She dropped the ball," Friedman declares, and "made me cringe" (just like we do!). "Her voice lacked the passion of, say, Dan Rather and the quiet assurance of, say, Bob Schieffer," both of whom have, you know, testicles which provide bass. Jon was particularly upset with Couric's request that the audience suggest a sign-off statement, an irritation that seems somewhat amusing when you consider that he ends every one of his columns with a question for his readers. Jon is "rooting for Couric to be a big success because change is good in our society. But she has a long way to go." Indeed. Why can't a woman be more like a man?


Reuters found "Couric's cuddly news a big disappointment," Dylan Stableford thought her eye-makeup made her look like a whore, and Dan Rather may not have watched at all.

We're in Dan's camp on this one.

For the New Face of CBS News, a Subdued Beginning [NYT]
New Themes for the Same Old Songs [NYT]
Couric's debut was a journalistic nightmare [Marketwatch]