‘Affirmation Instead of Information’: Katie Couric Talks Role of Media in Election at IOP Forum

Katie A. Couric, an award-winning news anchor who formerly hosted NBC’s Today Show and CBS Evening News, said she was “in the denial stage” of grief following the 2024 presidential election at a Thursday Harvard Institute of Politics forum.

Harvard Kennedy School professor Nancy R. Gibbs moderated the discussion, during which Couric discussed the election and the media’s role in shaping public opinion and politics.

According to Couric, many voters found themselves blindsided by the election because of what she called “an extremely fragmented media environment.”

“I often say mass media has become an oxymoron,” Couric said. “We’re being fed algorithmically certain content that is giving us affirmation instead of information.”

Couric said she also fell victim to the media echo chamber, despite her extensive media experience.

“Despite the fact that all signs were pointing to a Trump victory, I think I kept thinking, ‘Well, you know, this democracy issue is really going to have an impact on voters. Abortion rights will really have an impact on voters,’ because this was the kind of material and content I was ingesting,” Couric said.

“I’m still processing what happened and why it happened, and trying to understand it,” she said.

Couric also described Trump’s election as a consequence of the public’s willingness to overlook what she called flaws in Trump’s character.

“It’s very hard to separate the man from his policies,” she said. “People don’t seem to mind, that if they think his character is flawed — and I think this is what you saw in the election — they believed his policies were better.”

Couric said that the selection of particular information to paint a narrow narrative is a more prominent issue in right-wing media environments, though she said “you could say the same for liberal outlets too.”

“They’re not hearing about the fact that Donald Trump still insists that the election of 2020 was rigged,” Couric said. “I think they’re getting very cherry-picked news and information, particularly, I think, from conservative outlets.”

In an interview following the forum, Justin D. Dunning ’28, who attended the event, said he was “interested to see her take on the recent election and media and politics.”

“She didn’t stay in the status quo — she kind of forged a path forward in the media,” Dunning added.

Sona R. Hawkins ’28, who also attended the event, said Couric’s work ethic was “really inspiring” during an interview after the forum, pointing to her ongoing work “to advocate for women and women’s rights.”

Couric ended the forum offering advice for those pursuing careers in journalism.

“It’s such a great profession because every day you learn something new,” she said. “You have an opportunity to help change hearts and minds.”