Katie Couric: 'Everyone' should want to be an activist
Journalist Katie Couric argued everyone should be an activist while appearing on 'The Daily Show' on Tuesday
While appearing on "The Daily Show" on Tuesday, self-described journalist Katie Couric called herself an "activist" and said "everyone" should strive to be an activist.
The subject came up when the longtime co-anchor of NBC's "Today" and anchor of the "CBS Evening News" described the benefits of running her own media company, including the ability to discuss any topic she wants.
One topic particularly close to her heart is advocating for gun control.
"[I]f I want to talk to someone, 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 they have a fourth grader killed in his or her class or before they have a grandparent killed buying a quarter of milk, right?" Couric said, with Trevor Noah agreeing.
Katie Couric attends the 2021 A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Cure Parkinson's gala on October 23, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for The Michael J. Fox Foundation)
WAPO COLUMNIST ‘EXCITED’ THAT TOP DEMS AND ‘MANY IN THE MEDIA’ WANT GUN CONTROL
She continued, "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."
Regarding gun rights, Couric infamously took part in a gun violence documentary that deceptively edited an answer from gun rights activists in 2016.
The documentary "Under the Gun" featured Couric asking members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, "If there are no background checks for gun purchasers, how do you prevent felons or terrorists from purchasing a gun?"
Although the documentary showed nine seconds of awkward silence from the group, raw audio obtained later revealed a lengthy back and forth between Couric and the members answering the question.
Katie Couric attends the New York premiere of the film "Sully" in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 6, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz
In addition, Couric has come under fire for her memoir "Going There" for new revelations including one admission that she left out a quote from former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg criticizing people who kneeled during the anthem.
Noah brought up the Ginsburg incident when speaking with Couric.
"As a journalist, you are presenting to the public what’s happened, but you have this responsibility to present what happened in the most accurate way. How do you find this balance?" Noah asked.
"So I remember feeling, gosh, what is my obligation? Should I use everything? Should I be careful, because part of it was confusing and I wasn’t sure what she meant? So I made a decision, and I still wonder if I made the right decision. In retrospect, I probably should have just put the entire statement out and let people come to the conclusion they wanted to," Couric answered.
Katie Couric revealed in her new memoir that she once edited an answer with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to maintain the late judge’s legacy as a liberal icon. (Yahoo News)
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Couric also came under fire for reaching out to her former colleague Matt Lauer in the midst of his 2017 sex scandal and allegations that she may have sabotaged other female journalists.