There's every indication that 'Anchorwoman' -- the whole premise of which counts on the hilarity of a woman, let alone a blond, busty woman, trying to seriously deliver the news -- will be a smashing success.

That's wrong. Nobody laughs at Diane Sawyer. Nobody laughs at Elizabeth Farnsworth. Nor Andrea Mitchell, Martha Raddatz, etc. Nor hundreds of women who anchor local TV news broadcasts across the country.

The "blond [sic], busty" part is what the show relies on for hilarity. There's a real problem with people's acceptance of young, beautiful women deliviering serious news, and it would be nice if you didn't obscure that by claiming its about the entire gender.

Watch Samantha Bee's Daily Show segment: "News I'd Like to $%&*":

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2053x_samantha-bee-nilf

that Rather was referring to the *news* as "tarted up," not the anchorwoman delivering the news. (And I agree with his sentiments, despite my respect for Katie Couric as a non-tarty newscastor).

President Roslin from BSG? Great example of a woman with gravitas. Others?

... for that link. Absolutely perfect.

How cute... I think it's adorable that someone would try to defend the reputation of local news. If it weren't for the professionals of our local news, how would we know about the closing of a toothpick factory? Or the local connection to a world news story? (ex. "The pilot of the crashed aircraft once went on a date with a woman who later moved to this area many years later. Here's an interview we had with the woman that hasn't seen or spoken with the pilot in 23 years.") Or how would we hear the important stories of how a local cat saved its diabetic owner by eating a chocolate bar that the owner though was carob? My god, having an ex-wrestler reporting the news is like letting some dry-drunk, service-dodging, mis-speaking, pretzel-choker run the country! Shameful! (To be clear, I don't think it's right, but it's one of the less shameful wrongs of the oh-so-many we deal with on any given day.)

The problem is not that women can not be good newscasters, it that Couric does not seem to be one.

I would be just as sceptical of Bryant Gumbel or Matt Lauer as an anchor.

With that said, I don't really watch TV news anymore unless there is a crisis or election. With the current less than stellar choices Couric on CBS is probably my third choice behind CNN and ABC. Brian Williams is painful to listen to.

And I don't speak Spanish. Hubba Hubba.

Dan Rather's critique of Katie Couric wasn't about her gender. It was about the fact that she is a lightweight, okay probably a flyweight, masquerading as a serious journalist.

Her stint interviewing celebrities and gossiping about fashion for Good Morning America makes her more suited for tabloid TV, or as Bob Barker's replacement on "The Price Is Right," than it does a position once held by Walter Conkrite or David Brinkley.

The fact that some mass media suit decided to put her in the anchor's chair is as hilarious as it is ridiculous. No one takes it, or her, seriously, which is why the program's ratings are so miserable (some of the worst on record).

They should fire the guy responsible for that idiotic decision, and send Couric back to the minor leagues, where she belongs--interviewing Paris Hilton and delivering Hollywood dirt to gossip-hungry celebrity worshipers.

Broadsheet really has to get over the Couric thing. If anything, it's the most stridently feminist women who are appalled by her perky morning-show act on what is being billed as serious news. It's just another example of what the fourth estate in the US has come to.

When Rather's comments were criticized on Broadsheet yesterday, the user comments unanimously tried to point out that Rather was obviously talking about the news show and not Couric herself as a "tart", and that the writer's lack of comprehension of the common saying "to tart up" doesn't actually reflect well on Broadsheet or Salon.

Why is Broadsheet so dead set on supporting Couric's pathetic attempts to be a real newscaster?

The scary thing is that it didn't seem like that much of a stretch to have a "busty bikini model" delivering news for them on a national level.

Reading the news does not require journalism experience. It simply requires that the person who does it be able to read. I didn't see any suggestion that the woman would be required to go out and find the news, just read it.

Yeah, the stunt is pretty gross, but it's gross not just because it objectifies women and implies that pretty women are dumb, but also because it highlights the ridiculous egos of news show talking heads.

CBS did not hire Couric to rescue their nightly news broadcast (that was merely a potential bonus). They did it cripple the Today Show and give CBS This Morning a chance to grab some significant audience share for the more profitable show.

CBS might actually end up way ahead on this deal if they can somehow move Couric off the CBS Nightly News and still keep trapped in her contract so she can’t go back to NBC. Then they can bring in someone who will actually boost ratings (man or woman).

The problem professional broadcast journalists have with a show like "Anchorwoman" is that it continues the trend of blurring the line between news and entertainment. Unfortunately, in the pursuit of ratings some newscasts seem to jump over it themselves. One hears reports of today's youth turning to late night television and shows like Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" to get their news. When you start to blur the line between news and entertainment so starts the blurring between fact and fiction.

Hard to know which is more free from serious content -- local news in general or the CBS Evening News under the new regime. Personally, I agree with Dan Rather. And other than the fact that she's not particularly good and not particularly qualified, it has nothing to do with Couric. And absolutely nothing to do with her gender.

As the the station in Tyler, sense when has being a newsreader required journalism experience? I think it's entirely appropriate that in the world of if-it-bleeds-it-leads local news that they have a freak show diversion to further entertain the masses and divert their attention away from the fact that there is little if any content on display.

Reminds me of the Don Henley song, Dirty Laundry:

We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blond who

Comes on at five

She can tell you bout the plane crash with a gleam

In her eye

Its interesting when people die-

Give us dirty laundry