Issues Essay
Before becoming the first woman on CBS’s even news network, Katie Couric worked her way up as an assignment editor for CNN. She then realized that the position was not as stimulating as she hoped and decided to try reporting instead. Critics rebuked Couric saying that she looked and sounded too “young” for main stream broadcasting, saying that she would not be taken seriously. Although Katie Couric is well known for her bouncy personality and her ability to connect with so many people today, her appearance has always been under severe disparagement like many other reporters. Broadcast Journalism today has a dangerous obsession with appearance. This can be discouraging for aspiring journalists today.
Imagine being denied a journalism job because of being “too pretty” and being told that no one would take you seriously. Or that your “hair wasn’t long enough,” or that your skin was “too black.” The broadcast industry seems to want “perfect” and nothing less than that. And even if these journalists receive the job at first; they are then forced to constantly reinvent themselves by staying relevant and desired by news directors and critics.
Often time female reporters are told that they are getting too old and unattractive for television and are denied a renewed contract. And then there are others who are told that they have no business being on television in general from the very beginning. This demand for perfection in this industry is alarming for students like myself because it adds to the pressure of being guaranteed a job. There’s the college GPA and degree, the resume, the experience; and to add to that there is a specific ‘look’ that is often times necessary. Sounds more like a modeling agency than a journalistic news company.
Although one might argue that viewers want to see attractive people, there are accounts where networks and critics have taken appearance too far. In fact in September