Election's Media Winners, Losers

Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Campbell Brown 'redefining broadcast careers'

(NEWSER) - The world of television news can be a journalistic proving ground during tumultuous times, and three women have bubbled to the top of the white-guy-dominated realm. Vogue takes a look at one veteran and two up-and-comers who have caught the mag's eye:

• Katie Couric—After months of ridicule and low ratings as the new CBS Evening News anchor, she's basking in a post-election glow. "I feel relieved and happy that I was in charge of a presidential election for a major network and actually did a good job," she says. "That's sort of a feather in my cap."

Couric wonders why Palin wouldn't answer reading question

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin’s non-answer to Katie Couric’s question about what periodicals she reads still has the CBS anchor puzzled. Couric visited with David Letterman last night, and he quizzed her about why post-election interviewers haven’t asked the VP wannabe about her non-response, Gawker reports. Meanwhile, Letterman has a theory: “She was afraid of offending people who don’t read.” More»

From Couric to Brown to Maddow, women have kicked butt in '08

(NEWSER) - This has been a banner election cycle for women, thanks to the Clinton and Palin candidacies and the heavy play given to "traditional 'women’s issues'" like health care. Maybe that’s why glass shards are falling from the ceiling around TV newsrooms, writes Rebecca Traister in Salon. “Anchor chairs were crawling with women,” Traister writes, with three in particular—Katie Couric, Campbell Brown and Rachel Maddow—emerging as stars. More»

Buttoned-up righties may be easier to mock, but some say it's gone a little too car

(NEWSER) - Comedy is taking a prominent place in the US election, and may be leaning even more leftward than usual, the Boston Globe reports. Tina Fey and David Letterman have brought the highest ratings in years with mockery of Sarah Palin and John McCain. And Jon Stewart, a savage critic of conservatives, always thrives in election years. Is there something liberal about comedy? More»

Race for the White House proving a comedy goldmine

(NEWSER) - No matter which candidate ultimately surges ahead, political comedy is emerging as the clear winner in the presidential race, reports the New York Times. Tina Fey's dead-on parody of Sarah Palin has triggered a huge boost in viewership for Saturday Night Live. The Colbert Report and the Daily Show have canceled vacations to keep the jokes coming and the ratings soaring. More»