BRIAN STELTER (HOST): Two other storylines this month stand out to me, given that it's Women's History Month. I don't think this was a coincidentally-timed project, right? You all wanted to launch it during this month.
JESSICA BENNETT: Of course.
STELTER: At the same time, we're seeing more attention on the systemic inequities in newsrooms for women. You look at many of the stories about this #MeToo movement in the last six months have been about newsrooms, about harassment in newsrooms, there's even more stories to come on that. And then there's this reaction from conservative media that I have to ask you about. Tucker Carlson over on Fox is doing a special series this month called “Men in America.” And look, I think that would be great in April, but don't you think he's just trying to troll people by doing it in March?
BENNETT: I did have to ask myself when your producers called me for this whether they were, in fact, trolling me.
STELTER: We're not joking. It's real. He's doing it all month.
BENNETT: You're not joking, you're not joking. And the thing is, Tucker Carlson is not wrong that men are, to some extent, in crisis. They do have higher rates of suicide. Women are graduating in higher numbers from college, we are going on to receive more advanced degrees. But the fact of the matter is, men then go on to enter their first jobs out of college and they make 20 percent more salary, on average. Something that Tucker has completely dismissed. And they're entering into a world where men still run things. They probably don't have to face sexual harassment. They don't have to claim #MeToo. And so the idea that men need more attention, I think maybe misses the point.
STELTER: I think it would be wonderful if he did “Men in America,” and then “Women in America” too. My issue is with these media silos where we only hear one side of the stories.
BENNETT: The reality is, this is not a zero-sum equation. We can talk about women and men. And in fact, talking about men and masculinity in the larger context of the #MeToo movement is really important. How do we think about masculinity? How are men responding? How are men reacting? But, you know, to do it during Women's History Month and then not acknowledge it as such, a little bit troll-y.
STELTER: I think he knows what he was doing.
