Outrage expressed over lack of credibility

Former swimsuit model, WWE Diva, and Barker’s Beauty, Lauren Jones is scheduled to begin hosting the local news in Tyler, TX as part of the new Fox reality show “Anchorwoman”. Predictably people are too stupid to recognize a good thing when they see it:

NEW YORK — An upcoming Fox reality seriesabout a model-turned-TV journalist is causing a stir in the East Texas city where “Anchorwoman” is being produced.

Model Lauren Jones arrived last week in Tyler, Texas, for a 30-day stint at KYTX-TV, a CBS affiliate, that will include co-anchoring the 5 p.m. newscast today.

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Jones is a swimsuit model and actress whose credits include WWE’s “SmackDown!” and “The Guiding Light.” She has no journalism experience; the show will be about whether Jones can hack it in TV news. She arrived in Tyler a week ago and has been put through what a station official calls intensive training in how to read a TelePrompTer and report stories on her own. (Question – If it only takes a week why are there so many journalism schools? Are they implying that Jones is a super-genius who can master this complex subject matter in a very short period of time, or that reporters are incredible dullards?)
…

“One of the last sacred grounds of integrity in local television is the local newsroom, so I guess I would say I’m disappointed to see a station, much less one in our own community, that has evidently sold its integrity,” said Brad Streit, vp and GM for KLTV-TV, the ABC affiliate in Tyler.

Adds KETK-TV GM Mike DeLier of the NBC affiliate: “I see this as a stunt, and it’s a self-admitted stunt and not a journalistic endeavor.”

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KYTX station president and GM Phil Hurley shrugs off the criticism, pointing Friday to the big story on cable news.

“Journalism credibility? I think that’s somewhat amusing when all I see today on the cable news is Paris Hilton, nonstop,” he said. “This is a TV show. It’s going to be a comedy. They just chose to shoot it at our station.”

Hurley, whose station features Stormy the Weather Dog in every newscast, said it isn’t the money that’s driving him to participate. (The station and the participants are being paid to appear.)

“As the new guy in town, we saw it as a promotional tool to show a lot of sampling in our newscast,” Hurley said. But he nixed Fox’s plans to use billboards showing Jones in a bikini. (Why you idiot? Have her do the news in a bikini more people will watch)

Of course Lauren Jones is no Melissa Theuriau

but she is fairly easy on the eyes.

Lauren Jones, Melissa Theuriau, TV, Humor

This entry was posted on Monday, June 11th, 2007 at 6:59 am by Chad and is filed under Funny ... to us, Melissa Theuriau. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.