I'm watching 60 Minutes, and I notice a new correspondent, Lara Logan. Her report is on the Airport Road in Baghdad, and she has some good questions for the military personnel and civilians affected by U.S. efforts to secure that very dangerous passage. There was some harrowing videotape of a bomb being identified, inspected, and defused, and of raids into civilian homes to search for insurgents -- one unsuccessful, one successful.But I found myself distracted from the quality of the questions she was asking and the information she was gathering by her great attractiveness and alluring South African accent. These things are superficial and irrelevant to her skill as a journalist. And I know perfectly well that news readers are selected for their attractiveness, but I'd always assumed that the actual journalists writing the stories were picked for their incisiveness, quick intelligence, and cynicism. So it was disarming to watch rather intense video of military operations and interviews with military commanders, and be saying to myself, "Damn, what a babe!"
By the way, the program is actually quite good tonight -- Logan's story about the Airport Road, a biographical sketch of Neil Armstrong to plug his new autobiography -- incestuously, published by Simon & Schuster, a member of CBS's corporate family -- and an interview with Tom Brady, whose games are typically broadcast on CBS. (Armstrong and Brady seem like really cool guys.)
Ms. Logan is apparently a good journalist. She's been reporting on the situation in Iraq for a long time and knows a lot about what's happening there. If she were less attractive, I'd have had an easier time focusing on that tonight. Next time I'm watching 60 Minutes, I'm going to try to focus more on what she's reporting than on what she looks like.
TL, does your spine hurt from the backward-bendover you're doing to be charitable to this mediocre former swimsuit model? Your feminist conscience pangs, while commendable, are misplaced here. Don't feel guilty about being distracted by her sex appeal -- that's why she got the job. Her reporting skills are apparently adequate, but no better than many thousands of others stuck in the minor leagues. 60 Minutes II dropped a more respected, but older, female reporter, Carol Marin, to bring on "34D Lara" (another classy British press nickname).
ReplyDeleteShe distracts you probably not because of her attractive facial features, but because of the sexualized, glamorous (for 60 Minutes, at least) way she presents herself. For instance, compare the style of her bio pic to that of the other 60 Minutes reporters'. Doesn't it look like a perfume ad? She was reportedly reprimanded by military officials for wearing skimpy outfits and flirting aggressively to manipulate male soldiers in the field.
If this were 15 years ago, I would think the ridicule was motivated by sexism. But there are other attractive female reporters who somehow manage to cover Iraq as journalists, not babes.
P.S. Rumor has it there are topless photos of her floating around on the Internet. Happy hunting!
Somehow, I knew this post would draw your attention, Nancy. I'm cynical enough to think that you are right, though -- Morley Safer just isn't as easy on the eye as Lara Logan.
ReplyDeleteNext, you'll be apologizing for letting Pamela Anderson's cleavage distract you from her mighty abilities as a thespian.
ReplyDeleteMorley Safer has nothing to fear. It's the women, not the old white guys, who have to constantly look over their shoulder for the new bimbo du jour. I like a young, pretty face as much as you do, so why aren't the grizzled male veterans getting pushed out in favor of guy candy ... ?
Well, at least there's Dan Abrams. Nepotism is his ace in the hole, but he's still not hard on the eyes.