Newsbabe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Newsbabe or Infobabe is a term used by media critics to describe a female television journalist whose appeal is based largely on their physical appearance and sex appeal rather than delivery or presentation of news and journalistic qualities. The term is a broad one since it has also been applied to female broadcast journalists who are involved in entertainment, sports, and business journalism as well as female weather forecasters and pundits such as Ann Coulter. Although the crossover appeal of women in the news business as media celebrities has existed since Barbara Walters first gained success in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the fact that many female journalists in broadcast news had this type of appeal over decades such as Connie Chung, Jane Pauley, Katie Couric, Deborah Norville, and Diane Sawyer among others, it was not until the rise of 24-hour Cable news channels and the Internet in the 1990s and 2000s that the trend of low-profile news presenters acquiring significant fan followings began to take shape. It has been argued by many that longtime CNN personalities such as Lynne Russell and Bobbie Batista were precursors of this trend but the late 1990s and early 2000s saw the phenomenon reach higher status on the Internet as Fox News and MSNBC began to challenge CNN on cable television. CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo gained such nicknames as the Money Honey and EconoBabe during the height of CNBC's boom from 1998 to 2001 and quickly became that channel's most popular personality during the Tech Boom of that period and still remains the most recognizable face on the network despite its decline in ratings from 2002 up to the present day. The rise of the Fox News Channel led many of its daytime anchors and reporters to gain a fair amount of recognition on the Internet with Laurie Dhue, Juliet Huddy, Kiran Chetry, Brigitte Quinn, and E.D. Hill gaining fanbases among others. During her years at CNN Headline News in the late 1990s up until her departure from CNN in 2005, anchor and reporter Rudi Bakhtiar became one of the most highly searched names on the Internet in general and remains a favorite among her fanbase as she moved to the Fox News in 2006 though it could be argued that she is not as popular now as she was during that period. CNN Headline News morning anchor Robin Meade is also a favorite among Internet Message boards and was named Playboy's Sexiest Newswoman in 2005. MSNBC has also had its fair share gain followings. During her tenure at MSNBC from 2000-2004, Ashleigh Banfield became the most recognizable face on the network as well as the Internet. Chris Jansing, Amy Robach, Natalie Morales, Alison Stewart, and Contessa Brewer have also gained Internet fanbases as well as NBC News personalities Norah O'Donnell and Campbell Brown. CNN anchor and corresspondent Heidi Collins is also a favorite of Internet message boards.
[edit] Criticism of the term
The term infobabe to some in the news industry along with many other critics has been seen as derogatory, implying that the female news presenters and reporters are merely just showpieces or "eye-candy". While some female journalists have found comments about their looks are flattering, others have felt annoyed by having such status and that they are not being taken seriously.
The industry in general has also been criticized on hiring women journalists for looks rather than reporting skills. In 2002, CNN pulled an ad that had aired on the network, marketing Paula Zahn as sexy and featuring the sound of a zipper, after complaints that it was a sexist portrayal of a serious journalist. Fox News has also been heavily criticized by some as deliberately exploiting sex appeal of the female anchors and correspondents.
During their stints on the MSNBC program Imus in the Morning, Contessa Brewer and Amy Robach were constantly ridiculed by the crew of the show as being nothing more than replaceable "newsbunnies". This ultimately led both of them leaving the show, despite staying after complaints by some viewers that MSNBC was compromising journalistic integrity by allowing harassment from the show's cast. The New York Post revealed that Brewer referred to host Don Imus as a "cantankerous old fool" .
