![theatlantic:
Foxy Ladies: Why One Network Applies So Much Makeup
Of course, TV news shows have always put a premium on appearance, more so for women than for men. And it’s hardly a revelation that some networks place more pressure on women than do others: C-SPAN has no makeup room at all, just a collection of powder compacts that guests can use if they are so inclined. At MSNBC, Rachel Maddow is known to prefer minimal makeup, while other anchors want more, and the artists oblige with a range of choices, from neutral tones to berry hues. Bloomberg TV tends toward the corporate aesthetic; CNN favors a professional style that makes women and men look crisp, as if they have been ironed. As for Fox, suffice it to say that there is a YouTube montage devoted to leg shots of Fox anchors, who are often outfitted in body-hugging dresses of vibrant red and turquoise, their eyes enhanced by not only liner and shadow but also false lashes. A Fox regular once commented to me that she gets more calls from network management about her hair, clothes, and makeup than about what she says. “I just think of it as a uniform,” she said of her getup.
Read more. [Image: Charles Ommanney/Getty]
A truly surface-level issue with some beneath-the-surface implications.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m99y7vzjkn1qcokc4o1_500.jpg)
Foxy Ladies: Why One Network Applies So Much Makeup
Of course, TV news shows have always put a premium on appearance, more so for women than for men. And it’s hardly a revelation that some networks place more pressure on women than do others: C-SPAN has no makeup room at all, just a collection of powder compacts that guests can use if they are so inclined. At MSNBC, Rachel Maddow is known to prefer minimal makeup, while other anchors want more, and the artists oblige with a range of choices, from neutral tones to berry hues. Bloomberg TV tends toward the corporate aesthetic; CNN favors a professional style that makes women and men look crisp, as if they have been ironed. As for Fox, suffice it to say that there is a YouTube montage devoted to leg shots of Fox anchors, who are often outfitted in body-hugging dresses of vibrant red and turquoise, their eyes enhanced by not only liner and shadow but also false lashes. A Fox regular once commented to me that she gets more calls from network management about her hair, clothes, and makeup than about what she says. “I just think of it as a uniform,” she said of her getup.
Read more. [Image: Charles Ommanney/Getty]
A truly surface-level issue with some beneath-the-surface implications.
» Those numbers were enough to beat the Nielsen ratings almost every major cable news network — including CNN, MSNBC, and CNBC — leaving Fox News as the lone out-performer with 803,000 viewers. The folks at UStream don’t seem to think it was a fluke either. “This speaks to how much more sophisticated social media tools are getting on the web,” said company spokesman Tony Riggins, adding, “Consumers are adapting technologies to get news now from sources like Ustream.”
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The End of an Era: Although Microsoft abandoned MSNBC’s cable-news network back in 2005, the company has maintained a partnership with NBC in relation to MSNBC.com. Now, The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz is reporting that NBC is set to purchase Microsoft’s share of the news site and plans to rebrand it as NBCNews.com. Chief executive Charlie Tillinghast is expected to remain in his position, though he and roughly 300 other employees will likely move off of Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington campus. No word on how this might affect affiliated sites like Newsvine or BreakingNews. source
(Update: TVNewser has taken exception to Kurtz’s claims of having any sort of “exclusive” regarding the future of MSNBC. Kurtz has responded on Twitter, telling followers that “Obviously there’s been reporting that NBC-Microsoft divorce might happen, but the news is it actually *is* happening.”)
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Fareed Zakaria and Bruno Mars look a lot alike, according to Mediaite’s list of cable news doppelgangers. Among the major differences we see: One can write an article about the dangers of using grenades in war zones, and the other would catch a grenade for ya.
Ever watch cable news? You’ve seen this guy. This redhead has been on all the major cable news networks and has filled up tons of ads with claims that his company will solve your tax problems. (It’s even in their logo!) Ironically, TaxMasters has had to file for bankruptcy protection as the result of a $200 million fraud settlement. The big three cable networks are on the hook for a loss, too — the company owes CNN $2.6 million, Fox News Channel over $938,000 and MSNBC nearly $260,000. What? You mean you can’t trust a guy with a beard?
Watch and enjoy Touré’s complete takedown of Piers Morgan.
In a lot of ways, Touré and Piers are arguing for different schools of journalistic thought here — both with separate sets of supporters and detractors. Piers is concerned about objectivity in this clip, while Toure clearly comes at this with emotion and a fight for “the truth.” In a lot of ways, they’re arguing the party lines that their networks sell. Personally, I think both got hits in. Both looked good at points. Both looked bad at points. But the real story is over here, not in this video, where strong personalities overshadow the story. — Ernie @ SFB
My general impression is, whenever they have me on, it’s to criticize the American government. Of course, that’s no big surprise because that’s pretty much what I do. That’s how I make my living. But I did start to wonder after a while what they were saying about the Russian government.Reason Senior Editor Jacob Sullum • Discussing his appearances on RT, formerly known as Russia Today, a network that, despite its ties to the Russian government, has gained a following among liberals and libertarians for its willingness to question U.S. foreign policy. The New Republic’s Jesse Zwick talks to a variety of serious journalists and pundits who have shown up on the network — some who are willing to get airtime anywhere, others who say RT treats them more fairly than other networks — along with some who choose not to go onto the network. “I have friends who I highly respect who have done RT, but the network also features guests who I would put in the conspiracy-theorist camp,” said one liberal journalist who chose not to give his name. We’ve had our opinions on RT in the past — not particularly positive, admittedly — but what do you guys think? Do you trust their coverage? (via Matt)
Here’s a mockup of the Web site for Atlantis Cable News, the fictional network at the center of Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming HBO show, “The Newsroom” (no relation to the ’90s Canadian dramedy of the same name). The show, starring Jeff Daniels and Jane Fonda, will be a bit of a harkening back to past Sorkin shows, taking a similar approach to “Sports Night” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” but applying it to an MSNBC/Fox News-style cable news network. Will be fun to watch. (h/t Poynter)
Cenk Uygur Joining Current TV
Current TV has claimed another former MSNBC host: Cenk Uygur, who previously hosted “MSNBC Live,” will host “The Young Turks” ahead of Keith Olbermann’s “Countdown,” the network announced Tuesday. Reuters has more.
This is a very smart move for Current; Cenk’s departure from MSNBC was a frustrating move at the time, because he was one of the network’s biggest-rising stars for a while. Certainly more worth your time than Al Sharpton. Him and Keith Olbermann make a fairly dynamic duo as far as liberal talking heads go.
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It would be nice to think that the rapidity of the official reaction had to do with legitimate disapproval. Actually, it is a reflex quickened by practice because what cable news now calls political journalism is set up to produce just this kind of ‘television moment’ and its attendant swirl of attention-getting faux controversy.L.A. Times columnist Tim Rutten • Offering a room-clearing take on the whole situation with Mark Halperin and “Morning Joe.” To put it simply, he doesn’t think it’s actually any sort of controversy of the real kind, but instead an opportunity to create a conversation-of-the-day moment. (Which Halperin’s quip successfully did, by the way.) It’s an idea that started with Fox News but has kinda expanded from there. There’s even a site dedicated to this idea. And well, you know, he’s right. But it makes good TV, and that’s all that matters, right? source (via • follow)
‘Less jobs, more Weiner,’ media pleads: This is the sort of thing that, after what’s already been a very overblown frenzy over the scandal (and today’s resignation) of Anthony Weiner, serves as an instant representation of what’s frustrating us right now. What makes this even worse is that Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly and stridently called for Weiner’s resignation. As the Democratic Leader, that condemnation is part of what Weiner seemed to feel forced his hand. Is there really even anything left to ask her about this? source
Good read of the day: New York Magazine has an interesting profile up on Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes. The main crux of the article? By increasing Fox’s ratings, he may have also cost the GOP the election in 2012. (Oh also, the network’s divorce with Glenn Beck was messy.)
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