# Are Tv news readers that stupid? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2000, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tv-news-readers-that-stupid/23666 "2000-06-27T01:57:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lindsay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@lindsay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsay)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tv-news-readers-that-stupid/23666/1 "2000-06-27T01:57:17Z")
Does anyone else find this irksome? The local news will have two people to read the teleprompter. One will be a blonde gal and the partner will be a guy with short, dark hair. They take turns reading the news, boy, girl, boy, girl. Instead of paying attention to the news, I get tired of trying to follow who is saying what. Why not have just one person read the news? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tv-news-readers-that-stupid/23666/2 "2000-06-27T02:49:19Z")
yeah, a topless blonde 😉 ---
**Author:** ![argyle87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/90ced4/32.png) [@argyle87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/argyle87)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tv-news-readers-that-stupid/23666/3 "2000-06-27T04:34:59Z")
That about sums it up for me, too! ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tv-news-readers-that-stupid/23666/4 "2000-06-27T05:01:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Does anyone else find this irksome? The local news will have two people to read the teleprompter. One will be a blonde gal and the partner will be a guy with short, dark hair. > > They take turns reading the news, boy, girl, boy, girl. > > Instead of paying attention to the news, I get tired of trying to follow who is saying what. > > Why not have just one person read the news? > \*\* Because most people have the attention span of a gnat and need to see/hear a new person every forty seconds or so. In high school we had one girl who was so AWFUL that she would lean forward and squint to read the teleprompter, even if we printed the copy extra big for her. Eventually, we had the other person reading 80% of the copy. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tv-news-readers-that-stupid/23666/5 "2000-06-27T05:28:15Z")
who wants to see a topless blonde reading the news?? You’ll just have to go and live in Russia! [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/from\_our\_own\_correspondent/newsid\_803000/803226.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/from_our_own_correspondent/newsid_803000/803226.stm) ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tv-news-readers-that-stupid/23666/6 "2000-06-27T09:56:47Z")
How about putting in smooth-talking, good-looking robots instead? I’m sure they will someday. ---
**Author:** ![Mustapha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mustapha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mustapha)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tv-news-readers-that-stupid/23666/7 "2000-06-27T10:48:31Z")
You mean they haven’t already? A national tv station in New Zealand had a single newscaster format, one guy reading the main news, along with a sports anchor, current affairs anchor, etc. It was quite successful, the news anchor was very popular and won a lot of awards for his teleprompter-reading abilities. Then for no readily comprehensible reason, the PTB decided to copy the format of their main rivals and add a female co-anchor. Everything seemed fine, all the billboards went up around the country, promotional ads ran ad nauseum night and day. But the very day the switch was supposed to happen, the news anchor buggered off, without a by-or-leave. One year later, he signed up with the rival network, taking the spot of a much-loved, much-established male anchor. Ratings nosedived, the network fired the new news anchor who promptly sued for breach of contract and was awarded a landmark $5 million in damages and lost wages. The word that springs to mind rhymes with ‘anchors’… ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tv-news-readers-that-stupid/23666/8 "2000-06-27T14:22:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Are TV news readers that stupid? Well … yeah. Actually, they may not be stupid, but most don’t have much depth of understanding of what they are talking about, and have done virtually no reporting on it. Then you have guys like Dan Rather, who was once a kick-ass journalist (won awards for his front-lines coverage in 'Nam) and now I think he’s _become_ stupid, from too many years in the chair in front of the teleprompter. > [@](#): > > How about putting in smooth-talking, good-looking robots instead? I’m sure they will someday. They already have, sorta. [Meet Ananova.](http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_04.27.00/news/media.html) ---
**Author:** ![Perderabo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Perderabo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perderabo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tv-news-readers-that-stupid/23666/9 "2000-06-27T15:00:44Z")
Actually what bothers me is the way the bob and weave their heads when they talk. This might be why they have to switch back and forth…they need to give those neck muscles a rest.