Jerry Springer's ogling at female news anchors just really PISSED ME OFF!

[dalloway]

Mind you, I am a huge Air America Fan. I was also willing to give Springer a chance when they put him on, and had grown to somewhat like him on the radio.

However, this morning, he really ticked me off He spent WAY TOO MUCH time contemplating how drop-dead gorgeous most of the female daytime new anchors are and how it is another example of the producers' strategy to water down the news value.

Mind you, I am not here by any means to defend the news shows and their trading in of real news for infotainment. But I STRONGLY OBJECT to the measures Springer is applying (he ran a compilation of all the mistakes these female anchors made over a 90 minute period, implying that their looks were directly proportional to their talent).

THE FACT OF THE MATTER is that women in any profession, especially one as public as a TV anchor, have unrealistic expectations of looks that are for their sex alone. Remember when Amanopour (sp?) was put under pressure to "look better" on TV? What a double standard!!! Expect talented journalists to put as much care to their looks at to their reporting and then criticize women journalists who look good, imply that they are less than qualified.

IF PEOPLE LIKE SPRINGER COULD FORGET ABOUT THEIR DICKS WHEN WATCHING THE NEWS this wouldn't be an issue.

For goodness sakes! Women could care less what an anchor looks like.

Jerry went so far as to agree with a caller that said those shows were best watched with the sound off. Jerry suggested that people turn off the sound and listed to him on the radio while checking the ladies out.

Come on guys!

That's it for me and Jerry Springer--we're through.

AAR--please bring back that guy who subbed while Jerry was on vacation. He ROCKED!

Anybody else catch this? Anybody else offended?

I'm leaving for vacation shortly so can't babysit this thread, but please keep it going so that AAR know this is bull*.

[NYCGirl]

1. So what you're saying is that Jerry is right? I agree.

No. Not offended.

[merwin]

2. Seems like his position is spot on (to me at least)

It's not the women in the job that hire themselves. It's the producers that are hiring the drop dead gorgeous women. I'm not saying viewers don't have unrealist expectations, but it does seem to me to be a calculated effort by producers to go for looks over talent in order to gain viewers.

[ThreeCatNight]

3. That's the way it has always been ....

since TV started.
I can remember the days of weather "babes".
If anyone has ever heard of Angie Humphrey, you will know what I am talking about (and you are old too! :) )
It may sound crass, but if I have to hear bad news upon more bad news, I don't mind if the vessel is pleasing to the eyes.

[mattclearing]

4. I wonder how the KOEB feels about this issue. n/t

[jobycom]

5. Well, once I get past your snub of men and the assumption that we

all think with our dicks, I agree with you completely. If he makes comments like this to a co-worker, she can sue him for harrassment.

I gave Springer the benefit of the doubt when he first came out. I figured he was just pandering to the masses, trying to bring our POV mainstream. But I've changed my mind on that. I don't think he gets it. He may get it that Bush is a liar and a murderer, but I don't think he gets the whole Democratic picture.

As for men and their dicks--it's a lot more complicated than that. Sometimes we look at attractive women and think nothing sexual, the same way we'd stare at an attractive painting or a landscape. The problem is the conditioning. We all (both genders) have been conditioned to think of men as the standard, and women the also-rans, the co-eds, etc. Men are supposed to do these jobs, women are allowed to do them. No one talks about why Dan Rather is hired, but they analyze why a woman is hired. Her looks, her talent, whatever. Women are still, to the American mind, women. They can work, they can stay at home, they can be attractive or talented. But their main identity is their gender. Men are not seen that way. Dan Rather is a journalist, who happens to be a man. The cute, perky anchor on CNN (i haven't watched tv news in so long I don't know any names) is a woman, who got a job as a journalist. That's how too many people see it, without realizing that's what they are doing.

That's what we've got to fight. Not dicks. Well, different kinds of dicks, anyway.

[dalloway]

11. thanks for that thoughtful, articulate post.

I don't mean to be harsh on men at all.

Why I think I was most offended was NOT b/c he is likely right that there are a lot of attractive women newscasters, but because it was EXACTLY THIS TYPE OF OGLING of them and his insensitive comments that ACTUALLY probably does make looks a characteristics in hiring. If you like the way she looks, fine. But by public gawking like he was doing he does nothing to help the situation. And to imply if she is beautiful that she must be less qualified drives me insane.

I'd love to live in a world where the beauty of our minds is more discussed that the size of our boobs or our great make-up jobs and plastic surgery.

And many men are exactly like that--my husband included. Those are the ones the smart women want to be with.

[samsingh]

6. actually

the minute you tell a man not to think about his dick - you generally make him start to think about his dick.

its a very funny and complex organ.

[txaslftist]

21. Astute.

[CitrusLib]

26. Complex? Not hardly.

No pun intended. :evilgrin:

[EnfantTerrible]

7. I heard the show also

My immediate reaction was similar to yours... then I remembered that this is Jerry Springer!

Do we not remember his television show? He's a ring master... He just revamped his shlock format for a new market: Liberal Radio.

He's not worth the ire IMO.

[dalloway]

12. That was also part of my disappointment.

I expect better from AAR.

[EnfantTerrible]

18. Nebbish shock radio!

Brilliant. :sarcasm:

[Beelzebud]

8. The only problem is. He's right...

It's not sexist when it's the truth. Why do you think Fox News has larger number of "babes" than journalists?

Christiane Amonpour is a real women, and a real journalist.

Nora O'Donnell, and her ilk are just there to be a pretty face that lies to you.

[CatWoman]

9. You know, night before last

Mike Malloy was making the very same observations.

[EnfantTerrible]

19. He also said that Faux News

Had a tongue-cheek-approach to it's programming.

[LSK]

10. Malloy was making a similar point the other day

I guess you should be mad at him too.

[dalloway]

No. Somehow I don't think Malloy would have had the same

tone. It was the tone and condescension that ticked me off. I'm not necessarily saying he isn't right. I'm just saying that if I don't want to turn on the radio and listed to an old man and his male callers gawking over newscasters when what I'd rather hear is some real info like the latest on the Able Danger cover-up or Fitz's investigation.

Springer wastes too much air time with crap like this.

[LSK]

16. go listen for yourself

http://www.whiterosesociety.org/Malloy.html

August 24 broadcast. About 20 minutes into the broadcast.

I think he said, go ahead, call me a lookist.

[dalloway]

17. I don't think Malloy would have, as Springer did,

"I think I'll cancel my subscription to Playboy and just watch the shows with the sound turned down."

or something pretty close to that.

THAT is the stuff offending me.---

[Snotcicles]

22. You should have called his show and express your feelings to him

One thing I know about Springer is he would have welcomed your comments.
He probably would have agreed with you and apologized.

[dalloway]

24. couldn't. no cell phone. on the way to vacation.

I will email them though

[LizMoonstar]

13. Not necessarily true that women don't care how their newsanchors look...

Peter Jennings was one good-lookin' dude.

[rniel]

14. I expect them

to replace all the female news anchors with playboy bunnies. I expect this to be complete within the next 2 hours. GET ON IT PEOPLE!! NOW!!

[steve2470]

15. If all the TV networks hired REAL female journalists with brains and

talent, I'd be willing to wager a few hundred bucks that the "babe quotient" would go down. We all know what the game is.

[Dr Fate]

20. They all have long blonde locks & big ta-tas. He is right. n/t

n/t

[txaslftist]

23. It's surf appeal.

When I'm channel surfing and I hit a hot babe, I pause. Can't help it. I pause when I hit a James Bond movie. I pause when I see guns flashing or explosions. Or a really cool car. Or anything WWII or Civil War related.

I don't even think about it, but there it is.

It doesn't take me long to see that it's Faux news and accordingly vapid Republican whore-spew, but I pause.

Sadly, I would not pause for someone who looks like Martha Stewart (although curiously, I do pause when I see her face, just because her fall from grace was such a fantastic illustration of government overreaching and abuse. Her redemption an reinvention of self should be equally spellbinding -sorry, off point).

[I concur]

25. ...he's a pig!

He proved it when he had his television show.