Female news anchors

[didymus]

Why is it that male anchors can be average-looking or even less while females must be well above average to outright sexy?
All on-air men wear suits – women wear short skirts, often sleeveless scoop or v-neck blouses. When is the last time a man wore jersey on a news program?

This pattern seems to hold for cable networks (Fox especially) but also on local stations.

You might think that plain Janes would be taken more seriously than eye candy.

I am not saying these good-looking journalists are any less intelligent or competent. Maybe it’s a ratings thing.

 

[runningdude]

I am not saying these good-looking journalists are any less intelligent or competent. Maybe it’s a ratings thing.

Yes.

 

[The_Reginator]

I guess it may depend on the news you watch.
I do not have cable TV nor a satellite dish. I watch what my rabbit ears bring in.

Here in Canada what I’ve seen on broadcast TV has never included short skirts. In fact (from what I’VE seen) I never know if a woman is wearing a dress, skirt, pants, or nothing at all below the desk.

I have seen some sleeveless tops at times, but in the summer I don’t even notice. (I do not connect sleeveless with casual … I know nothing about fashion. Just this year I read that all men’s dress shirts are supposed to be long sleeved. I’m turning 56 and have never heard this before.)

Looks seem to be overly important for women. You can’t have some crusty old lady reading the news, but a crusty old man … well that used to be OK.

 

[tawny]

I agree, it appears to be all about the ratings.

 

[altms]

Any guy who watches UK’s Sky Sports News will momentarily forget to concentrate on the news.

 

[Pilgrim_333]

Sex sells and in most modern media “the news” is as much or more about selling an idea or network brand as it is about reporting the news.

 

[TEPO]

Why is it that male anchors can be average-looking or even less while females must be well above average to outright sexy?
All on-air men wear suits – women wear short skirts, often sleeveless scoop or v-neck blouses. When is the last time a man wore jersey on a news program?

This pattern seems to hold for cable networks (Fox especially) but also on local stations.

You might think that plain Janes would be taken more seriously than eye candy.

I am not saying these good-looking journalists are any less intelligent or competent. Maybe it’s a ratings thing.

Though it’s not always the case. Greta Van Susteren the scientologist from Foxes On The Record, tends to dress somewhat more modestly than some of the others I’ve seen… Just as an observation.

 

[Kamaduck]

Why is it that male anchors can be average-looking or even less while females must be well above average to outright sexy?
All on-air men wear suits – women wear short skirts, often sleeveless scoop or v-neck blouses. When is the last time a man wore jersey on a news program?

This pattern seems to hold for cable networks (Fox especially) but also on local stations.

You might think that plain Janes would be taken more seriously than eye candy.

I am not saying these good-looking journalists are any less intelligent or competent. Maybe it’s a ratings thing.

People have been conditioned to take average-looking men seriously, but almost everyone seems to feel comfortable important females (even politicians) by their appearance. So, if you ask me, the goal is boosting ratings by catering to a target male demographic. The way they do this is ultimately rooted in sexism.

I’m mainly arguing that point in terms of overall attractiveness. As far as clothing choices go, I think it’s simply that formal male outfits cover more skin than formal female outfits in most cases. I suppose you could argue that that, too, is rooted in societal sexism, but I wouldn’t really blame the networks for that.

 

[Kamaduck]

Sex sells and in most modern media “the news” is as much or more about selling an idea or network brand as it is about reporting the news.

The phrase “sex sells” doesn’t get to the bottom of it- after all, only one gender gets this treatment. The networks are obviously only interested in selling to one group, which was didymus’s original observation. They make the assumption that viewers will accept average-looking men, but that they will prefer pretty women. That is because the target audience is male.

 

[DaveBj]

The female news anchors on our local Birmingham stations are refreshingly ordinary.

Robin Meade, the morning anchor on HLN, on the other hand – let’s just say that if we were students at the same college, I’d be so much in awe of her that I wouldn’t even be able to talk to her :bigyikes:

 

[TEPO]

The phrase “sex sells” doesn’t get to the bottom of it- after all, only one gender gets this treatment. The networks are obviously only interested in selling to one group, which was didymus’s original observation. They make the assumption that viewers will accept average-looking men, but that they will prefer pretty women. That is because the target audience is male.

I don’t think the majority of the men are average-looking, while the women are extra-pretty. Everyone wants to look good on TV.

FYI, Anderson Cooper was rated as the number one “hottest man delivering the news” according to this website. queerty.com/the-10-hottest-men-delivering-the-news-20130714/ It’s a gay website though, but what else would you expect these days.

 

[Kamaduck]

I disagree. I don’t think the majority of the men are average-looking, while the women are extra-pretty. Physical appearance is just as important to the men as the women… Everyone wants to look good on TV.

FYI, Anderson Cooper was rated as the number one “hottest man delivering the news” according to this website. queerty.com/the-10-hottest-men-delivering-the-news-20130714/ It’s a gay website though, but none the less.

Insofar as didymus’s observation is accurate, I think my reasoning applies. I don’t actually watch news on TV, but when I did, I remember seeing more average-looking old men than average-looking old women.

 

[TEPO]

Insofar as didymus’s observation is accurate, I think my reasoning applies. I don’t actually watch news on TV, but when I did, I remember seeing more average-looking old men than average-looking old women.

Thomas Roberts, David Muir, Willie Geist…? according to statistics, these men are considered “hot” by some.

 

[Kamaduck]

Thomas Roberts, David Muir, Willie Geist…? according to statistics, these men are considered “hot” by some.

Do you actually need statistics to tell a conventionally attractive younger man apart from an average-looking old guy? That’s pretty funny. Yes, by all definitions I’m aware of, those three are conventionally attractive.

If you’re going to argue the point in terms of numbers, then I must look up every major American news station and pronounce judgement on the newscasters. So far I’ve confirmed that FOX News runs on 95% old guys and conventionally attractive women. I’ll look up the other stations when I have time later.

This is such a waste of time. But such is the only way to confirm my suspicions! I have no one to blame but myself.

EDIT: To be honest, I’d prefer to see average-looking everybody, or a mix of people that were put on the air for their skills and personalities rather than their appearances. It’s news, after all, not a beauty pageant.

 

[Captain_America]

Why is it that male anchors can be average-looking or even less while females must be well above average to outright sexy?
All on-air men wear suits – women wear short skirts, often sleeveless scoop or v-neck blouses. When is the last time a man wore jersey on a news program?

This pattern seems to hold for cable networks (Fox especially) but also on local stations.

You might think that plain Janes would be taken more seriously than eye candy.

I am not saying these good-looking journalists are any less intelligent or competent. Maybe it’s a ratings thing.

It’s a ratings thing. This is why they’re sticking good-looking women as TV football reporters.

In MY BOOK, however, I wish like hell that they’d go back to boring looking men with some decent journalism experience. I’m SO tired of watching the fancy hair/fancy pants&makeup chicks. Same old, same old, and of course one gets derogatory since the Chief Qualification seems to be facial characteristics.

 

[didymus]

Though it’s not always the case. Greta Van Susteren the scientologist from Foxes On The Record, tends to dress somewhat more modestly than some of the others I’ve seen… Just as an observation.

Yes, but she was never an anchor. She’s a lawyer and made her bones on TV covering the OJ trial.
Likewise, on MSNBC Rachel Maddow started in radio, then as a panelist on different MSNBC shows. Again, never an anchor.

The pattern holds pretty much for men – anchors have to be better looking than the ones on opinion shows – check out O’Reilly, Morning Joe, Mad Money.