January 18, 2008 | Media, Misogyny, Politics

WMC Response to NBC Following Chris Matthews Apology

The following statement is attributed to Carol Jenkins, president of the Women's Media Center: "The Women’s Media Center appreciates Chris Matthews’ public apology for his ill-conceived comments about Senator Clinton on January 9, 2008. We hope it serves as an illustration of the damaging effects of sexist language in our society, especially when it emanates from powerful media. WMC has protested to NBC in the past about incidents involving Matthews. The network’s latest embarrassment, coming just as its Don Imus episode was fading, could have been avoided, if our concerns had been taken seriously from the beginning. "This incident, though, speaks to the larger issue that women are not fully represented in our media: when networks—in the year 2008— still cannot seem to find women to anchor serious political programs. That every lead anchor for every network’s campaign coverage is a white male, suggests the work of inclusion is not being done. That every Sunday morning talk show—where what is news is decided—is hosted by men; that every late night show that gives us clever interpretation of the news is hosted by men; and where women behind the scenes still seldom hold veto power over blatant sexist behavior— it means that we have a media that is dysfunctional. "We must address this grave imbalance and begin the real discussion of how we fix our media so it is truly representative of the audience it is mandated to serve. That is exactly what we aim to do at The Women’s Media Center. Through our outreach and advocacy work on behalf of women in the media, and in particular our new Progressive Women's Voices Program, the Women's Media Center seeks to make women active and powerful participants in our media." Following is a copy of the letter sent to NBC on January 17 by Gloria Steinem, NOW, the National Women’s Political Caucus, the WMC, and the Feminist Majority.

January 17, 2008

Steve Capus President, NBC News NBC Television Group 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112-0037 Dear Mr. Capus: During the controversy surrounding Don Imus' racist and sexist remarks this past spring, you acknowledged that, with Imus, “there have been any number of other comments that have been enormously hurtful to far too many people. And my feeling is that ... there should not be a place for that on MSNBC. This is about trust. It's about reputation. It's about doing what's right.” We commend your acknowledgement that NBC has a responsibility to demand appropriate conduct and dialogue in its programming. That is why we are writing to you concerning comments made by Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s Hardball, that demonstrate a larger pattern of overt sexism when discussing women. During an appearance on the January 9 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, Matthews said of Senator Hillary Clinton, “the reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around” and that “[s]he didn't win there [New York] on her merits.” Matthews has referred to Clinton as a “she devil,” compared her to a “strip-teaser” and called her “witchy.” He has referred to men who support her as “castratos in the eunuch chorus.” He has suggested Clinton is not “a convincing mom” and said “modern women” like Clinton are unacceptable to “Midwest guys.” Matthews’ sexism is hardly limited to his comments about Clinton; such rhetoric is just the latest in a string of sexist attacks he has made against prominent female political figures.

During coverage of the New Hampshire primary, he said that Clinton is the only viable woman presidential candidate “on the horizon.” He couldn't think of a single female governor eligible to run: “Where are the big-state women governors?” he asked. “Where are they? Name one.” In fact, several of the states that currently have women governors are comparable in population to the states in which the male presidential candidates serve or have served as governor.

In November 2006, shortly after the Democrats took the majority in Congress, Matthews asked a guest if then-presumptive Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was “going to castrate Steny Hoyer” if Hoyer (D-MD) were elected House Majority Leader.

During coverage of a presidential debate last spring, NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell was compelled to remind Matthews that Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) wife, Michelle, is a Harvard-educated lawyer after he focused obsessively on her physical appearance.

During the Imus controversy you expressed a hope that “we don't squander this remarkable opportunity that we have to continue this dialogue that has taken place, to continue the dialogue about what is appropriate conduct and speech, to continue the dialogue about what is happening in America. I think we have, as broadcasters, a responsibility to address those matters.” In the middle of a heated election season where, for the first time, we have both a female candidate and an African-American candidate vying for the Democratic nomination, “appropriate conduct and speech” is more important than ever. Matthews’ history proves that when discussing prominent female figures, he is prone to overt sexism rather than civil political discourse. We appreciate your taking the time to address our concerns and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Gloria Steinem Activist/Author	Kim Gandy President The National Organization for Women
Lulu Flores President The National Women’s Political Caucus	Carol Jenkins President The Women’s Media Center
Eleanor Smeal President Feminist Majority

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