Well, here we are again, another Sunday morning of the political chat shows has passed, among them are the standard 90 percent of hair dyed questioners and those providing answers, putting forward their very best appearance of fakery as perceived, purely designed to place them in their most favorable demeanor of light and by extension, forever tainting their questions and answers, along with any opinionated remarks, proving again, that their master is not truth telling, but truth in a pleasing advertising packaging as in new and improved,  the mastering of the art of illusion and with all of the above faking certitude, simply by looking good as so much advertised spec and shined goods on display.

Why we will never see a forty-five-year-old Lisa Ling with gray hair, nor a forty-five-year-old Rachel Maddow, nor a fifty-five-year-old Laura Ingraham, nor a forty-seven-year-old Megyn Kelly not even a sixty-three-year-old Gayle King, it’s because they all appear on American televison, wait, Gayle King? for another reason… This is not an outing, all the above is publicly researched knowledge… The marketing of female American television personalities, not even trusted journalists, just will not allow it… and that’s that…

When I was in elementary school, first grade, to be exact, a picture book was handed out designed to teach, shapes, colors, letters and numbers, toward the end of the book, considered the advanced stage were pictures of people in occupational uniforms, policemen, fireman, for us to identify their kind of work, jobs. I imagine just such a book for today’s first graders, with the added request for them to design some uniforms for an occupation they see very often, like a female televison journalist. They would begin with, shoulder length streaking blond dyed hair, long false eyelashes, elaborate prepared smoky eyes, red tinted cheek bones and greasy fire engine red lips. I think these kids would have had to have been watching too much televison, to come up with just such detailed descriptions, televised news that’s news, broadcasted on televison daily…

Throughout the many stages of aging during a life time, description categories changes, we all start out as age enhancers, ask any toddler their age, the reply may be, I’m five and a half, gladly remaining for a while because in most cases, children’s admission fees are lower for most entertainment events and meals. Then somehow, the urge to be older starts to interfere, to be older can mean to be able to date, buy beer, or drive a car, all categorical stages on the road to adulthood. Before the final stage, there is the age of denial when we start dying our hair, seeking all sort of facial chemicals employed to reverse the natural look of aging.

A few years ago, actress Huong Hoang sued Internet Movie Database over their revelation of revealing her true age claiming that that information caused her harm, that “in the entertainment industry, youth is king”. As an aside, the true age of an actor is insignificant, if the actor’s role playing is believable, perception rules the day. Which brings me to the point of this post. Politician’s and televison news readers seem to be going way out of their way to alter our perception of them by appearing younger than they truly are by the use of hair dye, which begs the question, to what end do they engage in this false perception. News reading, and political reasoning coupled with hair dye heaves to a fake insignificants, when what one would hope for is the wisdom of age, even if only in appearance, would be prized of higher value than the ignorance of a youthful appearance.

Every once in a while, an old marketing shell game is played before our very observant eyes, a miner product ingredient is altered, then a new campaign is embarked upon in spanking new packaging with or without the claim, new and improved, much like today’s old male televison journalists appearing one day minus the years of gray hair we have grown accustomed to seeing, what was once old is now new again, not really, just an old fart in youngish looking hair dye, or a young fart, in never aging hair dye. The end game is the same, deceit, as if television journalism is more accepting from a youngish than an oldish person reading the same stories. Just how shallow is the thought of us the televison viewing public, the answer is, a complete and sometimes a very inconclusive certainty.  

Next post in this series, female news contributors in clownish make-up…

“In a perfect world”, everyone will look the same, no, in a fake world everyone will dye their hair, the proof of sort was clearly seen at the 2018 Emmy Awards telecast, wait, wrong again, try looking in the televison newsrooms on every network, where its least expected, then on to the Congress for more of the same…now you’re “got the ticket”. The opening song was all about diversity, too bad for women in high heels was not excluded, is very much the norm, has been forever where ever women are paid to gather.  

I think I know what the death of the last televised award show will look like, this show, as the entertainment industry keep trying to reinvent it, it has already been perfected, when all that was needed was to watch and learn how it was done in the 1960’s, copy it, repeat it, again and again. There were times when I didn’t even know what was going on, who was who, I am noted for my hatred of banners on television, but boy, did this show urgently need some. I kept asking myself, who are these people and what show are they on or in?

However, a little credit should be reliantly given to the program producers, they did try to correct the error of their ways toward the end, by then I’m sure many viewers, like myself was about to, call it a night and try to forget what had just been seen, at the very least until the next announced award televised show, hoping a copy of this posting had been pasted on the walls of the 2019 planning meeting.

Anyone of any gender scheduled to appear on any one of the many Sunday morning political chat shows, after spending a night of ruffled hair in their sleep, politician or journalist, can expect to have their hair perfectly coiffured by the make-up artist in resident before broadcast, but the real preparation for this appearance began days before with an ‘no holds barred’ intense session of hair dying, seemingly designed to convey an appearance of being much younger, why?   

All those June graduate students that took a minor course in journalism, then pursued a career in other professions, decided to now seek a career in media journalism, have found few opportunities at the entry level in print that was once the gateway to all levels of journalism, are no longer available do to that segment of the industry recent down trends, are now making the rounds at all the televison networks. The females are shocked at being asked at interview; how do you fair in a swimsuit? Wait a minute, before you get your dander up, must know that all the newly hired female television personalities, including if not chiefly those in pursuit of a career in televison journalism, seem to be of a certain type, if the swimsuit question seem inappropriate, how about changing the question to, ‘in blond dyed hair’. So, what of the males, that once had some comfort knowing, ‘not us’, are immune, only to learn that these days, hair dye is very much in their future too. Television journalists are being turned out cookie cutter style by the networks, that when one or two stand out from the norm, its news and a shock to the senses, but that don’t happen very often. Qualifying journalistic skills was once all that was a must for those seeking a career in television newsrooms, those days are long gone, the question remains, ‘how do you fair in a swimsuit’?