Katie Couric calls out former boss at CBS’ ’60 Minutes’
Veteran broadcast journalist Katie Couric has leveled sharp criticism at CBS’ “60 Minutes,” detailing a culture of systemic sexism and marginalization she says she experienced during her tenure at the prestigious newsmagazine.
On this week’s episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Couric, 69, described incidents during her time at “60 Minutes” when her story ideas were reassigned to her male counterparts. She described the circumstances as “really tough situations.”
The Emmy-winning journalist said she suspected early on that Jeff Fager, the “60 Minutes” executive producer at the time, didn’t take a liking to her.
“I think maybe because he wasn’t really consulted about bringing me over,” said Couric. “I was sort of seen as somebody from a different network coming in and sort of muddying the waters. I hadn’t come up in the CBS system. So I don’t know, he just didn’t like me.”
Couric started her run at the newsmagazine as a correspondent and as an anchor at CBS News in 2006, after spending 15 years co-hosting NBC’s “Today” show. Her role at CBS made her the first female solo anchor of a national weeknight news broadcast. She stayed with the network for five years before taking on a new role as special correspondent for ABC News.
Fager remained at “60 Minutes” from 2004 to 2018. He also served as the chairman of CBS News. He was eventually fired for allegedly sending a “harsh” message to a CBS reporter. At the time, he was also facing accusations of ignoring inappropriate behavior at “60 Minutes.” He previously denied the claims. CBS could not be reached for comment.
Trouble first came to a head when Couric pitched a profile of the rising pop star Lady Gaga. Fager had initially turned down the idea until he decided to pursue the story a year later, as Gaga had gained more notoriety.
Couric said she had proposed a fresh angle on Gaga’s Catholic school upbringing, but when she arrived for the interview, she discovered her name had been replaced with Anderson Cooper’s. His interview with Gaga aired in February 2011.
“It made me crazy,” Couric said.
A similar situation occurred once again when Couric was set to interview then–Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The confusion began when the State Department reached out to Couric, wondering why fellow correspondent Scott Pelley’s team was inquiring about Clinton.
“So I go to Jeff Fager, and I say, ‘I thought you wanted me to do Hillary. You told me explicitly that you wanted to assign that story to me,’” Couric said. “And he said, ‘Yeah, we decided to change things up.’”
Couric said she was frustrated with Fager, for repeatedly going “behind [her] back.”
“Like, without even the decency to call me and say, ‘Guess what? We decided to reassign the story, and this is why,’” she said. “Talk about getting gaslit. I mean to me, that is the definition of it.”
Couric isn’t the only former “60 Minutes” to call out sexism at the newsmagazine. Meredith Vieira, who worked as a correspondent in the late 1980s and early 1990s, said in 2018, that she’d experienced sexism at CBS.
In the last few months, “60 Minutes” has undergone a massive upheaval. Under CBS News editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, several correspondents, including Scott Pelley, and the program’s top producers were fired. Anderson Cooper also recently resigned from his post at the newsmagazine. With the upcoming season slated to begin in September, the program is currently under pressure to replenish its ranks.