'talk About Getting Gaslit,' Katie Couric Rips Into Former '60 Minutes' Boss

Veteran broadcast journalist Katie Couric has leveled crisp disapproval astatine CBS’s 60 Minutes, detailing a civilization of systemic sexism and marginalization she says she knowledgeable during her tenure astatine nan prestigious newsmagazine.

On this week’s section of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Couric, 69, described incidents during her clip astatine “60 Minutes” erstwhile her communicative ideas were reassigned to her antheral counterparts. She described nan circumstances arsenic “really reliable situations.”

The Emmy-winning journalist said she suspected early connected that Jeff Fager, nan “60 Minutes” executive shaper astatine nan time, didn’t return a liking to her.

“I deliberation possibly because he wasn’t really consulted astir bringing maine over,” said Couric. “I was benignant of seen arsenic personification from a different web coming successful and benignant of muddying nan waters. I hadn’t travel up successful nan CBS system. So I don’t know, he conscionable didn’t for illustration me.”

Couric started some her tally astatine nan newsmagazine arsenic a analogous and arsenic an anchor astatine CBS News successful 2006, aft spending 15 years co-hosting NBC’s “Today” show. Her domiciled astatine CBS made her nan first female solo anchor of a nationalist weeknight news broadcast. She stayed pinch nan web for 5 years earlier taking connected a caller domiciled arsenic typical analogous for ABC News.

Fager remained astatine “60 Minutes” from 2004 to 2018. He besides served arsenic nan president of CBS News. He was yet fired for allegedly sending a “harsh” connection to a CBS reporter. At nan time, he was besides facing accusations of ignoring inappropriate behaviour astatine “60 Minutes.” He antecedently denied nan claims. CBS could not beryllium reached for comment.

Trouble first came to a caput erstwhile Couric sounded a floor plan of nan rising popular star, Lady Gaga. Fager had initially turned down nan thought until he decided to prosecute nan communicative a twelvemonth later, arsenic Gaga had gained much notoriety.

Couric said she had projected a caller perspective connected Gaga’s Catholic schoolhouse upbringing, but erstwhile she arrived for nan interview, she discovered her sanction had been replaced pinch Anderson Cooper’s. His question and reply pinch Gaga aired successful February 2011.

“It made maine crazy,” Couric said.

A akin business occurred erstwhile again erstwhile Couric was group to question and reply then–Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The disorder began erstwhile nan State Department reached retired to Couric, wondering why chap analogous Scott Pelley’s squad was inquiring astir Clinton.

“So I spell to Jeff Fager, and I say, ‘I thought you wanted maine to do Hillary. You told maine explicitly that you wanted to delegate that communicative to me,’” Couric said. “And he said, ‘Yeah, we decided to alteration things up.’”

Couric said she was disappointment pinch Fager, for many times going “behind [her] back.”

“Like, without moreover nan decency to telephone maine and say, ‘Guess what? We decided to reassign nan story, and this is why,’” she said. “Talk astir getting gaslit. I mean to me, that is nan meaning of it.”

Couric isn’t nan only erstwhile “60 Minutes” to telephone retired sexism astatine nan newsmagazine. Meredith Vieira, who worked arsenic a analogous successful nan precocious 1980s and early 1990s, said successful 2018, that she’d knowledgeable sexism astatine CBS.

In nan past fewer months, “60 Minutes” has undergone a monolithic upheaval. Under CBS News editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, respective correspondents, including Scott Pelley, and nan program’s apical producers were fired. Anderson Cooper besides precocious resigned from his station astatine nan newsmagazine. With nan upcoming play slated to statesman successful September, the programme is presently nether unit to replenish its ranks.