RADAR ALERT:
Katie Couric Must Be Disciplined

Last week, it was discovered that Katie Couric physically assaulted a subordinate editor for using a word in a news story that she could not pronounce. A unidentified witness to the event said that Katie Couric slapped a fellow male editor in anger "over and over and over again on the arm". (http://nymag.com/news/features/34452/index6.html) "It had seemed like a joke at first, but it quickly became clear that she wasn't kidding".

Couric grudgingly admitted to the assault in a New York Magazine article: "I sort of slapped him around," Couric admits. "I got mad at him and said, 'You can't do this to me. You have to tell me when you're going to use a word like that.' I was aggravated, there's no question about that." (http://nymag.com/news/features/34452/index7.html)

CBS has not yet disciplined Katie Couric for an act which, if the perpetrator were a male, would have probably resulted in immediate termination. This sends the message to all CBS employees that workplace violence by women is acceptable.

Many large corporations have adopted "zero tolerance" workplace violence policies. Many Human Resource consulting firms recommend it, to prevent personal disagreements from escalating to serious violence in the workplace. "Zero Tolerance" is the one way corporations can protect themselves from lawsuits. We believe that CBS runs a great risk of future problems and lawsuits by permitting women to initiate physical altercations with male employees. In a large corporation, it is only a matter of time before an altercation spirals into serious violence.

The facts of violence between men and women dictate that CBS must take an aggressive stance on this problem.

• Men and women are equally likely to initiate and engage in partner aggression.¹
• In about half of all cases, the aggression is mutual, meaning that there is no clear-cut initiator of the altercation.²
• Although women are more likely to be harmed, males represent 38% of those who suffer an injury from partner aggression.³

Just as Paris Hilton and Martha Stewart were held accountable for their misdeeds, Katie Couric must be held accountable for hers. In Couric's case, she must be held to the same standards of professional behavior that male employees are held to. Katie Couric must be disciplined and the public informed about the actions CBS has taken.

We encourage everyone to do the following:

1. Contact CBS headquarters in one of the following ways:
   1. Call 212-975-4321 and leave a message for CBS President Sean McManus, requesting that Katie Couric be properly disciplined for her act of workplace violence,
   2. Mail a copy of this alert to Sean McManus, CBS Television Network, 51 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019, or
   3. Submit a copy of this alert by going to http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.shtml. Where it asks "Regarding:", select "CBS Evening News".
2. Send a copy of this alert to your local CBS News station. Go to http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/31/utility/main517034.shtml, click on the link for the station in your area. When the new page appears, select Edit > Find On This Page, and search the page for either "contact" or "feedback" to find out how to contact them.

Date of RADAR Release: July 16, 2007

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R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence. http://mediaradar.org