This got me curious, so I read a few of the articles it has sparked, including discussions with other women in the TV world. Nothing surprising: what we have are a bunch of people in need of a reality check. For example, this comment: "It's a little sad that TV's most successful women aren't free to wear the clothes they find comfortable."

Hello? Your job is to provide a public face for your employer. Bank executives wear suits, television show hosts dress like they're going to the opera, neither is particularly "comfortable". Your employer has a say in how you dress. If you refuse, you will either be moved to a different position or fired.

There is, however, an unspoken subtext in all of this: Men look distinguished when they go gray, women look old. There are quite a few men around 60 working in prominent television positions. How many women? Ann Curry is turning 56 this year. She is starting to look old, and HDTV makes it hard to hide with hair dye and cosmetics.

interestingly ann doesn't want to burn any bridges, or she would call this what it actually is - ageism.

a_random_guy is precisely correct about that...

but you really can't have the argument if the person isn't willing to go for the jugular.

And if we had that argument, THEN we would have to confront the double standard.

And then what? Would anything change? Ann made it to a surprising age, really. Very few actresses make it that far, and even fewer models. Facing the fact that she is selling her looks and not her brain, as sad as that truth is, she had quite a ride.

So why is she holding on to what isn't any longer?
She could become a professor, or any of a million other things in the industry.

Or she could stand up and talk about the age thing.

But soft pedaling it, doesn't get her much.
ALTHOUGH If you were preparing the battlespace to sell your book about being a woman of a certain age, to other women of a certain age, this would be a good way to do it.

She's a smart cookie, perhaps that is what this is about.

The men in our family are genetically favored, they don't usually show any grey untill well into their late 40's-50's. I, OTOH, started going grey when I was 16, and Miss Clairol became my Bff.

In the '80's some idjit that didn't have the wits god gave a tree stump talked my mother into letting her grey hair grow out, and get it styled in a really pathetic old lady style. That night we went to dinner, me, Dad and Mom, and the Hostess asked my Dad if his "Wife and Mother" would prefer smoking or non.

I laughed myself fuzzy. She dyed her hair the next day.

"ridiculously high heels"

If I got paid boatloads of money I would wear ridiculously high heels....oh wait I wear them now. But they could be YSL Trib TOOOOOs instead of my bourgeois Steve Madden. With this economy I might have to go into the plebeian trenches and get Forever 21 shoes. Ugh!

I can't believe she wore clogs.

I dont get t.v. women that complain about being tossed aside for the younger gal. Remember thou thosseth aside the older gal in your day too.

BTW I dont think Curry got kicked out because of her looks. Matt Lauer totally hated her ( i hear she was whiny) , audiences were mildly amused by her, etc.

P.S. (Dontcha love how those smiley sweet wholesome T.V. people like Lauer are huge jerk offs) (Not to say Curry was any better)

Ageism, in a double edged sword kind of way. Most women who become anchors get thehighly desired job 10 years before their male counterparts. Long before they "paid their dues" or gained the experience and reputation to deserve the lofty position. THe ageism and sexiness helped their careers greatly. Now, years later when the other edge of the blade occurs, making room for the next younger model, come the complaints about ageism and sexism. The same ageism which gave them the plum job in the first place.

It is the same 30 yr career, just that women get it ages 25-55, while men get it 35-65.

a_random: "There are quite a few men around 60 working in prominent television positions."

Many of them balding?

Purplepen: "If I got paid boatloads of money I would wear ridiculously high heels..."

Me too.

I call horsehockey on the ageism thing. Diane Sawyer is going to be 67 this year (in December, look it up, you think I'm kidding), and she's anchoring ABC's World News. She replaced Charlie Gibson, even! Baba Wawa was hosting specials right up until last year, and she's even older. No, something else is going on here. Ann pissed somebody(ies?) off, is my guess. Either that, or NBC was looking to get rid of her even before that, for some other perceived (or not) misstep on her part. Sad, but there it is.

And I'm with Ppen. Gimme lotsa dough, I'll wear the highest heels ya got. Might break a leg, but still...

Isn't TV (and movies) all about "looks"?

So, now one who isn't willing to play the game is going to complain because they don't like her "looks."

Just how naive are some folks?

Ann Curry didn't get fired because of age-ism (I think she looks great for 56), she got the boot because she is a TERRIBLE anchor. She flubs her lines on a daily (if not hourly) basis, can't ad lib to save her life, is the worst interviewer EVER, and has no chemistry with Matt Lauer. Have you ever seen her in an interview with someone who lost a relative recently, where her voice gets all whispery and dramatic, and she leans forward and touches their knee and says in a mock-sincere tone "It must be SO difficult for you right now..." Makes me want to BARF.

I always figured these anchors were dressed head to toe by stylists.

But I don't believe Curry was dropped because of her hair or her age; I think it was a "Hail Mary" to get the ratings back up, and she was the latest variable. I believe they dropped even further without her.

I do find the double talk amusing. I have found that the very people who complain about their appearance being a factor when they lose their job didn't mind it being a factor in their favor when they landed the job to begin with.

Now whether considering looks in hiring is ethical or not is a seperate discussion, but should not be complained about by the very same people who thought it was fine when they were the ones benefitting from it over possibly better yet less attractive candidates.

Joe kinda already beat me too it but they never seem to complain when their looks land em a job ten to fifteen yrs before men do

I don't think summer students at Disneyland get paid much more than minimum wage, and for that money they're expected to walk around in Donald Duck suits all day. So if NBC is forking over millions, they can ask for a nice dress & heels.

"Men look distinguished when they go gray, women look old"

I don't know anyone who rocks gray hair better than Emmylou Harris (64 in this pic):

http://www.colbertnewshub.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Emmylou-Harris.jpg

I wouldn't wear ridiculously high heels for a buttload of money. Why possibly permanently fuck myself up AND be uncomfortable at the same time? No amount of money is worth that.

Well, I suppose if it were enough money to pay for the inevitable foot surgery...

Curry was paid an estimate $10 Million to leave. And she's still complaining?!

Any wonder why so many of our youth are entitlement babies? Look at their role models. :-(

How hard is it to wear high heels while sitting for a few hours on a sofa? It's not like she's a waitress or a nurse or in another profession where she's on her feet for 8 hours. And most jobs have some sort of dress code. I'm most comfortable in my pajamas and yet my employer won't let me wear them to work. Unfair!

I know you are taken, but I love your looks and your attitude. Heels maker women look great.

"...you can ask me to wear a leash and bark like my terrier."

While wearing high heels? I ... I'm going to need some alone time now. Excuse me.

There is a double standard. There are two sexes.

Men get better looking with age (Sean Connery) women just get older.

Fair? No. Is life fair? No.

If this were radio it probably wouldn't matter.

But on television, you don't watch people that you do not want to look at. Pretty people make it on t.v. less than pretty people only make it on when a specific role calls for one.

Some women do hold on to presentable and, dare I say, dignified and distinguished good looks for years, others, not so much. And when that happens new blood gets put into place. A 10mil severence is nothing to complain about, she needs to quit whining.

Quite frankly I watch the Today show because they generally have the hottest female anchors. I could walk by any of the male anchors on the street and not notice them.

I no longer watch the Lame Stream Media for actual news. I adopted the Dirty Laundry view of the LSM back when I was in the military (80's & 90's). I was reading the classified after action reports of foriegn activities at the same time the LSM was on CNN. About 70% of it didn't match.

Since then with the advent of talk radio, internet, and other sources -- I look at the LSM to give me an idea of what to maybe question the current agenda being pressed by the left.

The rest is all eye-candy. Curry was never that great. That is why Viera was brought in when Couric left, instead of the usual promotion from "news desk" to anchor.

Curry never could hack it. And there are rumors that Lauer is boffing Guthrie, but Curry kept her legs closed.

Side note related to using the internet as a source:

Amy,

I sent you an e-mail about the ammo purchases by the Fed. Don't bother posting it. The purchase was real, but it was a normal cycle purpose. I was fooled and didn't ask questions.

I still question why the Social Security Administration needs agents with arrest powers and carrying a firearm, but they do practice with hollow points instead of the normal FMJ rounds. That is another story.

"I don't know anyone who rocks gray hair better than Emmylou Harris (64 in this pic)"

No, that is a heavily retouched photo of Ms. Harris, making her look 22, as such is more a cartoon than a photo of Ms. Harris.

Try this instead: http://www.wfuv.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/fuveleven_node/audioarchives/photos/Emmylou%2520Harris.jpg

That is what 64 looks like.

My first thought was "Who's Ann Curry?"

Holy shit I used to know her brother in law and his wife!

Am I the only one who thinks gray hair is sexy? I keep encouraging women to not cover up the gray. Well kept gray is the best.

Am I the only one who thinks gray hair is sexy? I keep encouraging women to not cover up the gray. Well kept gray is the best. -- ZombieApocalypseKitten at August 29, 2012 9:27 PM

I don't mind snow on the roof as long as the hearth is very warm. But she needs real expectations between steel rods and pig iron. ;-)

If she was sitting on a couch just demand a fucking coffee table which hides shot of the feet and slip off the shoes