Comments

1
Well, it's a legitimate question, isn't it? If she can't make a good beef stroganoff, she might not be such a great mom. And also, how does she keep her skin so young looking in such a high profile, high stress job? Does she worry about gaining weight now that she's in this job, or do the demands it makes on her help keep her slim and svelte?
2
Did the previous GM CEO have kids? Was he as shitty at being a parent as he was at being a CEO? I mean... was he able to be a good parent while being a CEO or does it not matter since men don't have to parent?
3
You're saying this CEO got their job in a fair contest of hard work and skill? That suggestion IS offensive! Wow, CEO of GM, so oppressed. Let me cry a river while you abandon your family for MONEY! Anna: I hope you get your apology and it makes you feel better. God... Fucking Americans...
4
Beef stroganoff reference from @1:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-lookout/…
5
After his horrid coverage of the London Olympics this is actually pretty good for this glorified media whore. (no offence to sex workers who are more talented and much brighter than Matt Lauer)
6
Television is called a medium because it is neither rare nor well done.
I know morning shows are utter garbage
You really could have just stopped there Anna. They are garbage and they cater to the lowest common denominator.
7
To be fair, Lauer's father was a bike company exec and his mother was a model and divorced Matt's father. Curiously, Matt also divorced his first wife and later married a model.
8
Lauer's first wife - a television producer (probably a challenging job).
9
The basis for the first question is more legit, even if it's phrased horribly, with the weaselly "some people are speculating" phrase. Asking if it's why she got the job is low.

Barra has been tasked with rehabilitating GM's image and in her first video to the company said about the recall scandal, "As a member of the GM family and as a mom with a family of my own, this really hits home for me." She's the one being questioned by Congress and grilled by the media, so it's reasonable to question how a female CEO might change those optics.

The 2nd question is just pure sexism.
10
That's why it's called "The Boob Tube".
11
There's nothing wrong with asking sexist questions. We're all fine with Colbert asking horrible questions because we understand he's being satirical, but also because he's representing (sadly) real and prevalent points of view, and giving the interviewee a chance to respond to those points of view. The interviewee also has the chance to explain why the question is being asked from a compromised and inadequate point of view to begin with, and to suggest an alternative.

The problem here isn't that Lauer's asking sexist questions (whether he's representing his view or others) it's that the questions are boring and unproductive. So are the answers.
12
@9 phrased everything exactly how I wanted to. It is entirely fair to ask what the hiring of a specific person is saying about the company. Since she was hired in a time of crisis, mere days before she had to hit the floor of congress, it's entirely fair for Lauer to ask if she was hired to present a softer side of GM to America. "I'm a woman and a mom" is bound to garner more sympathy for the company than "I'm a white male who may or may not be married with kids."

Women are more intrinsically tied to their family in the eyes of the public. It may be a sexist patriarchal image, but it's true. GM was definitely thinking about putting women and children at the forefront of the defense of GM's crisis of killing 13 people to save a few dollars.

To ask a question about that is to question GM's level of image control.

...

I cannot defend the second question.
13
I'm confused.

What kid wants his mom at his junior prom?
14
@13: Now that is a good question.
15
@13, I pictured her taking pictures and seeing her son OFF to the prom. But, yeah, nobody wants their mom to be a chaperone, blegh.
16
Isn't Today's audience primarily comprised of people without cable or internet access who fell asleep, passed out or died while watching The Tonight Show?
18
Matt Lauer, the same class act who asked Anne Hathaway about accidentally exposing her private parts at a movie premiere, and Hathaway took him to school and trounced him.

Please wait...

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