"The Worst Sexist in the World"
Campaign

By: Taylor Morgan
July, 2008

THE ISSUE

What She Said: On the June 10th airing of her Notebook, CBS anchor, Katie Couric, at long last voiced her outrage over the sexist treatment of Hillary by the mainstream media throughout the 2008 primary election by saying, "One of the great lessons of [Hillary Clinton's] campaign is the continued and accepted role of sexism in American life, particularly in the media....It isn't just Hillary Clinton who needs to learn a lesson from this primary season — it's all the people who crossed the line, and all the women and men who let them get away with it.”

 

How He Responded: On the June 11th episode of Countdown, Keith Olbermann responded to Couric’s legitimate outrage by blasting her: “It is sad that Ms. Couric could not have emulated [Cowan] and separated the hype from the news in her own promulgation of the nonsense that Senator Clinton was a victim of pronounced sexism.”  Apparently, Olbermann believes the charge of sexism is “nonsense.”  He finished this soliloquy by pronouncing Couric “The Worst Person in the World” for simply daring to speak out against this unfair treatment.

 

We concur with Couric’s assessment of the media coverage of Hillary and her campaign during the primary election, and are also outraged that any news pundit would dare to dismiss the accusation of “sexism” as nothing more than “nonsense.” Given that multiple studies of the media coverage of the primary election have clearly showcased a bias against Hillary, with MSNBC—Olbermann’s own network—receiving the worst rating for “unfavorable” coverage of Hillary during the election cycle, we believe that Olbermann owes it to his audience to accurately reflect upon Couric’s charges and give a professional and unbiased rebuttal. His cursory dismissal of these charges demonstrates not only that he lacks professional ethics, but that he is undeniably, and most profoundly,sexist. 

To get more informed, review the following stories:

• Olbermann Slams Couric for Saying Clinton “Received Some of the Most Unfair, Hostile Coverage I’ve Ever Seen.”
• Olbermann Backlash Fueled by Declaration of Katie Couric as “Worst Person in the World.”  

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Let’s heed Couric’s advice and not “let them get away with it” anymore; let’s stand up for the one woman in media, Katie Couric, who dared to speak out against this reprehensible sexism. Throughout the primary election cycle, Hillary supporters have tried to protest Keith Olbermann’s sexist treatment of Hillary by writing or calling MSNBC and demanding that he be censored, but have received no reaction from the sexist network, which has let his offensive speech go unchecked for months. Similarly, boycotting the network has had little, if any, effect. Therefore, HelpHillary.org has decided that the best way to combat Olbermann is to fight fire with fire.
Because Olbermann likes to give out awards so much, we thought it was high time that he became the recipient of his very own award:

Below are three simple things you can do to take action. We encourage every Hillary supporter to do her very best to get the word out about Olbermann’s good fortune. In short, we want to plaster the internet with the “news” of Olbermann’s award and allow the world to see him as the “Poster Boy” for modern sexism that he truly is.

1. Write Countdown and MSNBC at the following addresses congratulating Olbermann on becoming the first recipient of this annual award:

   
   Countdown: countdown@msnbc.com
   General Letters: letters@msnbc.com

   Use the Following Sample E-Mail Text or Create Your Own:

   Dear Mr. Olbermann,
   
   I’m writing to congratulate you on winning HelpHillary.org’s “The Worst Sexist in the World” Award. You should be extremely proud of this award because it recognizes the singular achievements of the one person who has worked harder than any other in the whole world to keep sexism alive and thriving in the media. In short, I’m writing to let you know that your efforts to set the woman’s movement back, and particularly to limit women’s political opportunities, have not gone unnoticed.

   The work you do on each Countdown episode is a testament that often those who consider themselves the most enlightened, are truly the most depraved.

   Sincerely,

   [name]

2.  Display either of the three images below proudly on the home page of your web site or use as an avatar for your profile on Facebook, MySpace, Meetup, Linked-In or other soc-net:

 

Directions:  (1) simply click and select “save image” to the directory of your choice, then add the image to your web site or blog or (2) replace your profile image at any social networking site. To have an even greater impact, forward the banner to other web sites or your friends and associates and request that they display it on their web site or use it.

3. Boycott MSMBC and, especially, boycott Keith Olbermann’s program, Countdown.

 

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