Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
Several male news commentators on major networks reacted to Hillary Clinton’s DNC speech with commentary about her “shrill” voice rather than about the content of her speech, igniting a furor over the seemingly sexist remarks. The BBC’s James Naughtie ignited a backlash on the Today Programme with his remarks about Thursday’s speech by the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party. Asking aloud whether Clinton had “a bit of a woman problem,” Naughtie on Thursday said Clinton had “a slightly shrill tone” that might turn voters off. Earlier this week, NBC commentator Tom Brokaw echoed Naughtie’s comments, saying, “she’s often quite shrill and hectoring people.” PBS also came under fire for supposedly calling the presidential candidate’s delivery style “shrill” in its coverage of her historic DNC speech. Throughout her campaign, Clinton has at times faced baffling criticism of her tone of voice by American pundits. In May, MSNBC coverage of one of her speeches was interrupted so that the commentator could complain that she was speaking too loudly.