The Guardian rounds up the best comments, questions and answers from our recent live chat on tomorrow's journalist – what tools and skills will they need to survive and thrive?
I was inspired by reading this article about how men don't fancy funny women, which was has been making its way around Facebook, despite having been published back in 2006.
It brings up the point that funny women are, in general, not found to be attractive to men in general, but let’s clarify this now; in general, that is to say that the majority of men to not fancy funny women. Average Joe. Dave and Terry. Most, but not all men.
But I knew this to be true anyway - men really don't like being out-quipped by a woman, and one need only glance at the world of television especially to notice that while the majority of men in it are at best average looking and gifted with big personalities, most women are very pretty, very friendly but ultimately boring and not that witty. Women on news programmes conform to this in my view unfortunately; undoubtedly intelligent as their profession as journalists demands, but looks-wise there aren’t exactly any Martha Gelhorns.
Of course this is because television is as much about the picture as what the picture actually tells us, and everyone would rather be presented with a pretty picture of bad news over a Trunchbullesque news reader informing us that everyone will soon be unemployed.
There is no doubt that Fiona Bruce with her ample supply of milf factor has become something of a sex symbol in a typically male industry while retaining her dignity – no mean feat – but essentially she plays the role of the highschool cheerleader mixed with library bookworm; she says and does very smart things while being very beautiful and performing professionally but it all comes across as rather dour.
I’m not saying the news should interject the headlines with punch lines, but Alistair Stuart, John Snow and Jeremy Thompson and the like all come across as chaps you’d rather enjoy having a pint with and who may just be wearing board shorts behind those desks. Male news readers are forces of personality; women news readers are forces of attraction.
It does make sense and it is a formula that works, but overall it is a bit of a sad reflection of the latent sexism that lingers on in our society. I for one would quite like to see a much more aesthetically average but personalityally pleasing form of female newscaster take the centre stage who hints at her out of hours personality rather than someone who turns up to work, cracks up the sexiness then goes back home. I want a female newsreader that is more relatable as a person than as a fantasy. Someone, perhaps, a little bit funny.
