Does a Woman TV Journalist Have to Be a Looker?
Christiane Amanpour: Striped Shirts, Fake Fur and Gravitas in Sarajevo
Does a woman have to be a "looker"...or just plain "perky", to succeed as an anchor or reporter in the rough and tumble world of network or cable TV? There is still a double standard: older male anchors often stay in their roles far longer than women unless the women are well-established. That’s a bias the industry continues to reckon with. So, yes, appearance does play more of a role in this visual industry than it should, especially for women.
However, despite the industry’s ageism and “lookism” some anchors and reporters like Christiane Amanpour, Rachel Maddow, Lesley Stahl, Judy Woodruff , Katie Couric, Gwen Iful, Andrea Mitchell and Barbara Walters have succeeded through their journalistic strength, and intelligence , not their beauty. Appearance fades into the background as their authenticity, gravitas and storytelling skills create trust among viewers.
Nora O’Donnell? I often cringed while watching her anchor CBS Evening News Hour as she preened and displayed her high heels and slinky “gams” ( legs) for viewers.
You can view an interactive history of “Women in Broadcast History” on Google’s Arts and Culture site which includes numerous video clips and oral histories.
My hero, Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international correspondent, is a case in point. In the 90’s I watched her on CNN as she risked her life daily to report from Bosnia. She inspired me to pursue a career as a photojournalist . She wore one of two striped shirts for each of her stand-ups I’ve been told. When she was cold she donned a battered ski parka trimmed with fake fur, that had a hole burned into it by acid that leaked from a battery, she once told Mike Wallace at 60 Minutes. Standing before the camera she leveled her eyes straight at the audience, feet firmly planted on the ground, clad in Dr. Martin boots, not high-heels. Occasionally she wore a scarf to soften her look. She has gravitas, a deep voice and is a tough interviewer. She offers wisdom, experience and authority—not glamour.
Here’s a hilarious send-off she did for Colbert as a war correspondent doing an investigative report of his “Late Show”studio. Do watch it!
Men can look grizzled and tired but women on air must be blonde and petite? Heaven help them if they have “bad hair”. There are some exceptions… but far too few.
Well, I do have to admit that if there were any advice I would offer Amanpour, it would be to “ditch your 60 Minutes safari jackets!" ( Did you know that during the Vietnam War Hong Kong tailors called them TV suits?) Otherwise Amanpour's "look" suits me just fine. But what some embrace as authentic and real, network suits may shrug off as " rough" or not " telegenic" enough for an anchor.
The New York Times once reported that two economists, Markus M. Mobius of Harvard and Tanya S. Rosenblat of Wesleyan University, ...reported on an experiment they ran that tried to undercover the root causes of the so-called beauty premium. A prepublication version of their paper "Why Beauty Matters," was published in the March 2006 Economic Review.
Since a successful 2021 battle with ovarian cancer and now reporting from a studio, Amanpour now seems to favor wearing a wig and her cheeks have been plumped out. However since joining her PBS news show, “Amanpour” Harper’s Bazaar figured she was worthy of a fashion review.
As chief international correspondent for CNN, Christiane Amanpour, 51, has covered events and wars in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Iraq. But recently she chose to visit uncharted territory: a fashion shoot for Harper's Bazaar. After all, gowns and stilettos are not typically part of Amanpour's workwear. She is more accustomed to her iconic style of safari jackets, shiny hair with heavy bangs, and the fierce intelligence that is her most prominent feature. This fuss-free look evolved out of necessity while she was working in conflict zones and deserts. But with her new show, Amanpour, debuting in September and airing weekends on CNN, the British-born, Tehran-raised journalist will be spending more time in her glossy adopted hometown of New York.
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/a396/christiane-amanpour-headline-fashion-0809/
A Lady Who's Paid Her Dues in Spades
This much is sure. Packed with integrity, Amanpour has worked her way to the top with solid hard work and bravery. She was born, Christiane Maria Heideh Amanpour, in a West London suburb as the daughter of an Iranian Shia Muslim and Roman Catholic mother and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor of arts in journalism. She was housemates with John F. Kennedy Jr. while there.
Kindly Correct These Myths If They Are Wrong
After that, she started her career at CNN in the late 1980s, initially toiling behind the scenes in obscurity as an entry level desk assistant, producing reports and gathering news as one of the numerous minions at CNN's International desk in Atlanta. Her bosses denied her repeated requests to get out in the field.
So I was told by those who worked close to her, in 1989, while on vacation in Europe, taking a break from her desk job, Amanpour rushed to Berlin just as Germans began to pull the Wall down. When Amanpour phoned her bosses at CNN from the scene they really had no other choice but to assign her to the story. There were no other CNN correspondents around.
All the rest is broadcast history as this obscure news desk assistant...a " little foot" who was at the right place at the right time... quickly became a mighty and courageous " Big Foot" who risked crossing snipers' free firing zones in Sarejevo to get the story right.
Click here to view a video of Amanpour’s 40-year career with CNN.
Amanpour gained a reputation for her fearless reporting during the Gulf and Bosnian wars and from other conflict areas. Sometimes her reports during the Siege of Sarajevo were emotional as she dodged snipers’ fire and watched genocide unfold first hand . Some Saturday Night Quarterback newshounds such as Stephen Kinzer of The New York Times, in 1994, criticized Amanpour's general coverage of the Bosnian War. He questioned her objectivity, saying that many of her reports favored of the Bosnian Muslims to which she replied,
“There are some situations one simply cannot be neutral about, because when you are neutral, you are an accomplice. Objectivity doesn't mean treating all sides equally. It means giving each side a hearing.”- Christiane Amanpour
A Guy’s Guy?
Some pundits call Amanpour "a guy's guy." Say what? Not this gutsy and talented reporter. Amanpour clearly remembers her humble beginnings on CNN’s International desk and feels the responsibility to bring other women along. She’s a real life role model for those who hope to follow along a less-traveled and higher road.
Sure, she swears like a trooper along with the best of the guys. And get this! When I on an assignment as a producer for CNN covering an earthquake in Columbia, I worked with one of Christiane’s former camera operators from her days in Bosnia. He told me that she she often carried the “sticks” ( tripod) to assist her crew . Does that make her a man? In fact, in Bosnia, Amanpour often worked with an all- female crew.
Don't believe me? Try to get somebody to say something bad about Amanpour.
No chance.
Marie Colvin
Perhaps newsrooms honchos should look to Marie Colvin for a model of how TV reporters should look…battle hardened, without hair spray. Women print journalists don’t have to wear make-up. Colvin was an incredibly brave American print reporter killed in the line of duty, her final assignment, the war in Syria. Previously, she lost the sight in her left eye while reporting on the Sri Lankan Civil War. She worked for the British newspaper The Sunday Times from 1985 until her death.
RIP. Only the brave die young.