Female News Presenters

The first image that I have chosen to look at is of Betty Nguyen a News Presenter for CBS. She is the woman to the left of the picture and is an attractive young woman who is wearing a short skirt which is cut above her knee, this is supportive to my point which is that women who work on TV appear to be over sexualized and have to appear in a certain way for their audience.

Before becoming a network anchor and correspondent for CBS News, Nguyen anchored the weekend morning edition of CNN Newsroom. She spent six years at CNN covering major news events including the earthquake in Haiti, presidential elections in Africa, hurricane Katrina, the death of Pope John Paul II, and went on an undercover assignment in Myanmar. Prior to that, Nguyen was an anchor at KTVT-TV, the CBS affiliate in Dallas, where she covered numerous breaking news events, including the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Nguyen began her career as a morning anchor and reporter at KWTX-TV, the CBS affiliate in Waco, Texas. Although Nguyen has a long history in broadcasting, I feel that she has to appear in a way that pleases the male eye and although she is an impressive journalist and Anchor, her appearance is just as important to her job role.

There was recently a case where ESPN sportscaster Tony Kornheiser was suspended for slandering 47 year old news presenter Hannah Storm, he criticised her for wearing clothes that were too revealing for a woman of her age. This supports my suggestion that there is a certain ideology for a female news presenter not only do they have to do a good job, but they also have to be aesthetically pleasing to males.

This is an image of Barbara Walters, the first ever female American news presenter who amongst much controversy at the time in 1961 was given a TV role on The Today Show.

The reason that I have selected this image is because it shows how even in 1960, women had the same appearance as they do in today's news, they again not only had to be good at their job, but also had to look good for the camera.

In her autobiography, she describes this era before the Women's Movement as a time when it was believed that nobody would take a woman seriously reporting "hard news" and this was because of the idea that only men could present the news as women were not equal and shouldn't do the same jobs as men.Which perhaps explains why women have to appear as if they are about to walk the catwalk for the news, to please men.