It's our fault, you know

The CBS Evening News, with the "perky" Katie Couric anchoring, has been bedeviled by ratings that are lower than Bill Clinton's pants on Intern Recognition Day.

In an interview on the CBS website, someone named Linda Mason, who is apparently the vice president for standards and special projects at CBS, blames the low ratings on us, the viewing public, because

"Katie is having such a tough time being accepted by the public, which seems to prefer the news from white guys".

Yep, it's all the fault of us unwashed morons. It couldn't possibly be the obvious institutional liberal bias at CBS, or the fact that Ms. Couric just isn't very good at anchoring a news broadcast, or that she herself is guilty of showing bias, such as her decision to wear all black along with her coworkers on the Today Show the day after President Bush was re-elected. It also couldn't be the ongoing lack of accountability at CBS, either. Remember the producer who was fired for plagiarizing a commentary that Couric read on the air as a personal story of hers? Here's what Ms. Mason had to say about that little incident:

"That's something that happened a month ago, and I'd just as soon pass. We've taken – we think we have fixed the situation. "

That's some sweet transparency and newsroom accountability right there . Go ahead and just sweep it under the rug. What did we do to fix it? Why, don't worry your heads, dears. We've taken care of it, that's all you need to know. Jeez, it was a whole month ago, you know.

No, if you don't want to watch Katie Couric, then you're a sexist, unenlightened pig, and you should feel guilty and ashamed for not delivering ratings to her.

And even if Ms. Mason's charge is true, so what? If the majority of the public wants to view a certain type of anchor, then they should vote with their eyes and channel-changing fingers. After all, those eyes are ultimately paying the bills for outrageous salaries such as Ms. Couric's $15 million a year tab. (Funny how the news people always have hard hitting stories on corporate pay, but never seem to get around to examining their own high salaries.)

I wonder if Ms. Mason will take the time to read the 25 pages of comments on the website, the vast majority of which echo the sentiments here, and take some of them to heart. I doubt it, though.

Ms. Mason? When it comes to the CBS Evening News, "I'd just as soon pass".