I’m not that old, but I remember when newswomen used to be average looking. Now there are tons of really good looking and talented newswomen. The following are my top ten (in no particular order are):
I am continuously freaked out that the girl I took to my Senior Prom is now a correspondent for Fox News. She is cute, but has the newswoman plastic helmet hair that isn’t flattering on anyone. It is always fun though to check up on her, she was in Iraq for some time, now she appears to have the Bush beat covered. Funny, because she would have been the last girl you would imagine in a place like Iraq.
Of course, back in the 70s, when women were first getting into network news in big numbers, there were correspondents like Connie Chung, Linda Ellerbee and Jessica Savitch who were genuine hotties (and Jane Pauley was a Midwestern version of a hottie), and could actually cover news, as well.
Liz Cho is no match for Linda Ellerbee in her prime.
She married author Michael Lewis and they are raising a family in the San Francisco Bay Area. She writes stuff from time to time, but mainly works as a mom.
I think part of it might be that there are more newswomen now than there used to be (more networks, more local stations with more newscasts, more on-scene reporters, and more opportunities for women), and so you’re more likely to find one or two, or in your case, ten, who tickle your fancy.
[sub]I could probably come up with a list of my own, but it wouldn’t be the same list.[/sub]
CNBC and MSNBC lead the “pretty anchorwoman” category in my book. A year or two ago CNBC even went across the pond with Emma Crosby reporting on the international markets. I don’t know where she is now, but CNBC needs to bring her back.
In television, it’s all about market share and competitive advantage. These things follow a predictable progression.
If CBS hires a hottie, NBC and ABC follow suit with their own hottie new hires.
When CBS’ hottie wears a black leather jacket chosen by focus group and wardrobe consultants, so does the competitions’ hotties.
When CBS’ hottie bares her over square inch of her thighs on The Tonight Show, so will the other hotties.
When CBS hires even perkier young hotties who read the news while wearing lip gloss and theatrical cosmetics, slit leather dresses, saline implants and other surgical enhancements, it becomes the norm for television. Did you catch CNN’s promo for new hire Paula Zahn a few years ago–the one that touted her “sexiness” and was accompanied by the sound of an unzipping dress? Can’t quite imagine that happening to dowdy ol’ Uncle Walter.
One high-level television executive speculated two years ago that the (male) network leadership seeks to fill its stables with an exotic collection of “trophy women”–the kind of gals that Joe Sixpack has zero chance of catching himself, yet can fantasize about while she’s reading the latest casualty report from Iraq.
