This is a long post

UPDATE: Check this out, a remix of her interview.

This is a post about 60 minutes. It’s not meant to be political, more it’s meant to show the level of discourse that exists in the US. I used to really enjoy watching 60 Minutes. I thought they did a good job of picking stories and bringing them to our attention. A lot of my fond memories actually stem from watching 60 minutes after Sunday Roast dinners with my family. We ate, then sat and watched 60 minutes. I’ve had some problems with 60 Minutes in the past, but only the manner in which they frame the debate.

And while I've had some problems in the past, I still somewhat enjoyed the show. Sunday night though, they turned a corner. It’s not that Katie Couric is one of the journalists. It doesn’t really matter where you came from, it’s what you do when you get there that matters. I was willing to give Katie the benefit of showing us she was a journalist that asked the kind of questions 60 Minutes built on. On Sunday night, she had John Edwards and his wife on. They are currently newsworthy because she just announced that she had cancer, and he announced that he would stay in the race to be President. After some chit-chat, Katie threw this bomb:

Katie Couric:
Your decision to stay in this race has been analyzed, and quite frankly judged by a lot of people. And some say, what you're doing is courageous, others say it's callous. Some say, "Isn't it wonderful they care for something greater than themselves?" And others say, "It's a case of insatiable ambition." You say?

Here’s why it’s a bomb. The technique, “some say” is a callous technique because it doesn’t give the question context. It doesn’t let the person being questioned challenged the notion of the question. Take a look at the same question with context:

Katie Couric:
Your decision to stay in this race has been analyzed, and quite frankly judged by a lot of people. Howard Dean and John Kerry say what you're doing is courageous, others like say it's callous. They say "Isn't it wonderful they care for something greater than themselves?" And Rush Limbaugh says, "It's a case of insatiable ambition." You say?

I added the names to that to show how the dialogue would be different. Someone says, “It’s a case of insatiable ambition?” and Katie Couric quotes them on 60 minutes and demands a response?

It gets worse though.

Here’s a 'question' a little later in the interview:

“Some have suggested that you're capitalizing on this.”

In this one, she didn’t even give the flip side of this. She didn’t offer up the ‘some’ who don’t think he’s capitalizing on this.

This question can’t be address with a “who would be callous enough to make that suggestion?” Because Katie didn’t offer up a who. Only the vague some.

Alas, it’s worse still. In the late 90’s, while Katie was on the Today Show, her husband was suffering from Cancer. Katie stayed working, getting support from viewers and people on the air, who probably thought she was holding up well throughout the ordeal. Fast forward to Sunday night and she says this whopper:

“Katie Couric:
Some people watching this would say, "I would put my family first always, and my job second." And you're doing the exact opposite. You're putting your work first, and your family second.

Notice, it isn’t even a question. It’s a statement. The statement puts thoughts into the viewers heads. It no longer lets the decision that john Edwards made with his wife remain a private decision. It’s one that Katie thinks viewrs will judge, and judge harshly. Even though Katie essentially did the same thing.

Katie is suggesting that if your spouse gets cancer, you should drop everything. But, I guess, only if that everything isn’t host of the Today Show.

But that isn’t even the biggest problem I have with it all. Just listen to these statements. These are opinions that John and Elizabeth Edwards have to ‘answer’.

Katie Couric:
I guess some people would say that there's some middle ground. You don't have to necessarily stay at home and feel sorry for yourself, and do nothing. But, if given a finite – a possibly finite period of time on the planet – being on the campaign trail, away from my children, a lot of time, and sort of pursuing this goal, is not, necessarily, what I'd do.

Katie Couric:
Even those who may be very empathetic to what you all are facing might question your ability to run the country at the same time you're dealing with a major health crisis in your family.

Lest you people think this is a political post, it isn’t really. It’s just a comment on the moment in time in Autumn’s life. It’s a time I feel like 60 Minutes has officially jumped the shark. Not because they have the former Today Show host asking questions. But because she’s resorting to the tired “some say” line of statements. And that means, the place that I used to think of as important is now nothing more than a magazine show masquerading as journalism.