15 Women We Want To See Moderate The Presidential Debates

Politics

15 Women We Want To See Moderate The Presidential Debates

11:45 am, August 2nd | by Laura Simmons

It’s almost that time again — election time. And that can only mean one thing: Presidential debates are coming our way. And here’s why you should be concerned: There’s only ever been one female presidential debate moderator. Twenty years ago, in 1992, Carole Simpson from ABC news moderated the George Bush Sr. and Bill Clinton debate. And since then there has been no female presence on the debate panel.

Here at The Jane Dough, we found this statistic astonishing considering the amount of smart, successful female journalists working today. So we put together a list to highlight how many qualified women there are and how ridiculous it is that they’re not getting picked to be debate moderators — yet. We also found that we aren’t the only ones upset with this trend. In fact, three teenage girls have created a petition for a woman moderator in the 2012 presidential debates and they are hand-delivering it to the Commission on Presidential Debates and the Democratic and Republican National Committees (Go girls!). With that in mind, here’s our list of highly qualified female journalists who we believe would be perfect moderators in the 2012 presidential debates.

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1.1) Gwen Ifill

Gwen Ifill is a moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" as well as senior correspondent to PBS "NewsHour". Her past experience includes moderating two vice-presidential debates between Dick Cheney and John Edwards, and Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. We think she's ready to cover presidential debates this time around.

. Image from PBS .

Information from PBS Washington Week .

2.2) Christiane Amanpour

CNN's chief international correspondent is also a great pick for a presidential debate moderator. An expert of international affairs, Amanpour knows exactly what questions to ask the candidates about foreign policies.

Image from CNN .

Information from CNN Anchors/ Reporters .

3.3) Rachel Maddow

Rachel Maddow is the host of her MSNBC show, "The Rachel Maddow Show"- the most successful show MSNBC has ever launched. Her background in public policy and politics makes her a strong moderator for the 2012 presidential debates.

Image from NBC .

Information from NBC News .

4.4) Erin Burnett

Erin Burnett hosts CNN's "OutFront." Her investigative reporting skills could come in handy.

Image from CNBC .

Information from CNN .

5.5) Andrea Mitchell

NBC's Andrea Mitchell hosts the "Andrea Mitchell Reports" segment, which focuses on in-depth interviews. Mitchell is also NBC's Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent. Her ability to hold informative, personal interviews could make her an asset.

. Image from Mediaite .

Information from MSNBC .

6.6) Diane Sawyer

Diance Sawyer is a household name in American journalism and she is currently news anchor for ABC's "World News." She is also ABC's go-to for election news coverage. With an impressive background in covering presidential elections and in-depth interviews, Sawyer would be a perfect moderator for the 2012 presidential debates.

Image from abc .

Information from ABC .

7.7) Candy Crowley

Candy Crowley hosts CNN's "State of the Union" show, which focuses on political issues as well as global diplomacy policies -- all very relevant for the presidential debates.

Image from FishbowlDC .

Information from CNN .

8.8) Chris Jansing

MSNBC's Chris Jansing is the host of "Jansing and Co." Her investigative reporting would give her an advantage if she were to be a presidential debate moderator.

Image from NBC .

Information from NBC .

9.9) Rehema Ellis

Rehema Ellis is a NBC news correspondent who covered a number of major news stories and also has shown a focus on the American educational system. Her news savvy -- coupled with her experience as a journalist -- will make her a good choice for moderating the political debates.

Image from NBC .

Information from NBC .

10.10) Katie Pavlich

Katie Pavlich is a news editor for Townhall.com. Definitely one of the more conservative women on our list, Pavlich would bring good questions to the debate.

Image from Red Alert Politics .

11.11) Michelle Fields

"The Daily Caller" reporter, Michelle Fields, is another woman we would love to see moderate the presidential debates. Her passion for citizen journalism, which captures raw and real moments would ultimately make her perfect for the job!

Image from The Jane Dough .

Information from Q&A .

12.12) Ann Curry

NBC's Ann Curry is one of our favorite reporters at The Jane Dough . With an impressive background in journalism, Curry has experience reporting on national and international news.

Image from LA Times .

Information from NBC News Today .

13.13) Katie Couric

Katie Couric is arguably one of the most well-known female news anchors in America. Reporting for networks like NBC, CBS and ABC news, Couric has an impressive resume of hosting and co-anchoring shows and even developing her own talk-show "Katie" on ABC. Besides being the first solo female news anchor of a weekday evening news segment "CBS Evening News", Couric is smart and savy and would definitely bring a strong presence to the presidential debates.

Image from Mediaite .

Information from Bio True Story .

14.14) Brooke Baldwin

CNN's Brooke Baldwin would make another wonderful presidential debate moderator. With her experience in breaking news coverage and investigative reporting, Baldwin possesses the required skills necessary for premiere moderator.

Image from Mediaite .

Information from CNN .

15.15) Suzanne Malveaux

Finally, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is on our list for women we would like to see moderate the presidential debates. Malveaux has worked in CNN's White House unit for over a decade. Enough said.

Image from Politico .

Information from CNN .

Featured photo of Gwen Ifill via Wikipedia commons.

Anonymous

What, no Megyn Kelly. That’s a travesty! I noticed you did manage to squeeze 2 Conservatives into a list of 15.
Anonymous

I was going to say the same thing.
Anonymous

How does investigative journalism help with moderating a debate?

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