Katie Couric's Inane Question

From the Wall Street Journal's James Taranto:

"A 'High Point' Worthy of Death Valley
"Nobody cares that Katie Couric is leaving the "CBS Evening News," but we got a kick out of this passage in an Associated Press dispatch on her departure:

"'Despite the ratings problems, the 'CBS Evening News' won the Edward R. Murrow Award as best newscast in 2008 and 2009. Couric's interview with then-Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in 2008 was a memorable moment in the campaign after Palin couldn't or wouldn't answer Couric's question about books or magazines she regularly read.'

"'Even with those high points, broadcast news economics had changed markedly since she signed on with CBS.'

"If one of her two "high points" was an interview in which she asked an inane question and failed to elicit an answer, it's a wonder CBS waited this long to show her the door."

Exactly.

Katie Couric is apparently one of the few people who can easily name three main newspapers and magazines from which she gets her worldview and understanding of the world. Couric's award winning questioning:

"Couric: And when it comes to establishing your worldview, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?"
. . .
"Couric: Can you name a few?"

For a number of years now I've been getting my information and understanding of the world from, oh, 60 or 70 sources--many of them seen on my sidebar (though I don't include financial resources or RSS feeds--that's another 35 to 40). If I had to pare it down, even on a day when I'm sick I go to at least 15 or 20 sources.

Apparently Couric, the Associated Press and the people who give out the Edward R. Murrow Award haven't entered the internet age yet and still depend on a short, easily named, list of sources.