Former CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric stopped by The Daily Show on Comedy Central on Tuesday to promote her podcast, latest book, and declare “everyone should be an activist” for gun control.
Couric told host Trevor Noah that being a podcast host allows her to be her own boss, which means she isn’t forced to follow basic journalism ethics:
if I want to talk to someone, Trevor, for half an hour, even 45 minutes, an hour about gun violence and why nothing has been done to reduce gun violence in this country, I can do it. I'm 65 years old, I'm the boss of me, I run my own show and I can speak out about the need for sensible gun laws, and I can be an activist, and everyone should be an activist before—before-- they have a fourth grader killed in his or her class or before they have a grandparent killed buying a quart of milk.
Noah agreed that one “Speak out before as opposed to afterwards,” to which Couric again expressed gratitude at being free from being forced to pretend she is a down-the-middle journalist, “Yeah, so I feel incredibly liberated doing what I'm doing, and I have a daily newsletter that, you know, I can turn my lens on the issues that I think are important, and really talk about them. So I'm having a ball, basically.”
Not having a podcast hasn’t prevented Couric from being an activist before, specifically on abortion. Before claiming everyone should be a gun control activist, Noah hyped her podcast for “really, in-depth stories about the—the-- diminishing access to healthcare for many women around the country. Obviously, thanks to, you know, abortion restrictions.”
While Couric finally feels free to be her true liberal self, a fair question to ask is just how many other journalists and anchors are in the same position she used to be in?
This segment was sponsored by Sleep Number.
Here is a transcript for the June 14 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
6/14/2022
11:38 AM ET
TREVOR NOAH: When—when-- you look at your journey; you've gone back into journalism in a different way. For instance, on your podcast, you know, you’ve been covering, really, in-depth stories about the—the-- diminishing access to healthcare for many women around the country.
KATIE COURIC: Right.
NOAH: Obviously, thanks to, you know, abortion restrictions—
COURIC: Yeah.
NOAH: -- around the U.S. as a whole. Why did you go back into it and what are you trying to reveal to Americans they may not already know?
COURIC: So, I just did a six-part podcast that’s being dropped in the next, the second one is being dropped tomorrow on, called “Abortion: The Body Politic.” I feel like there's so much information coming at us a fast and furiously. I’ve always really appreciated the opportunity to connect the dots and let people understand sort of the arc of history and how we got where we are, and those are the things I'm just really passionate about.
And with modern media, you know, you can say all you want about social media and the ills of social media, but it does allow you to, like brands do, direct to consumer access.
NOAH: Yes.
COURIC: When January 6th happened, I called Mary Trump. I think I was the first, if not, you know, I was one the first, if not the first interview she did and it's gotten, like, well over 3 million views on social media. So disintermediation, as they call it, allows me to just go directly to news consumers without working for "the man."
And—and-- basically, you know, being the boss of me, and if I want to talk to someone, Trevor, for half an hour, even 45 minutes, an hour about gun violence and why nothing has been done to reduce gun violence in this country, I can do it. I'm 65 years old, I'm the boss of me, I run my own show and I can speak out about the need for sensible gun laws, and I can be an activist, and everyone should be an activist before—before-- they have a fourth grader—
NOAH: Right.
COURIC: -- killed in his or her class—
NOAH: Right.
COURIC: -- or before they have a grandparent killed buying a quart of milk.
NOAH: Right.
COURIC: Right.
NOAH: Speak out before as opposed to afterwards.
COURIC: Yeah, so I feel incredibly liberated doing what I'm doing, and I have a daily newsletter that, you know, I can turn my lens on the issues that I think are important, and really talk about them. So I'm having a ball, basically.
