"Anchorwoman": Fox's Latest Sexist Attempt At Humor

Posted by Richard Blair at 11:00 AM on August 22, 2007.

This post, written by Richard Blair, originally appeared on All Spin Zone

Lauren Jones: Unless you’re a pro wrestling fan, you’ve probably never heard of her. But, Fox Network is about to bring her into your living room…to practice journamalism (or something like it).

Fox News recently canceled the "1/2 Hour Newshour" show. I never watched it, and apparently, neither did anyone else. The show was designed to be a right wing version of Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show", only without Stewart, and without being, well, funny.

So, I guess Rupert Murdoch had to plug in something else into the mix. Here's the newest endeavor of NewsCorp (Murdoch's empire) on the Fox Network, which debuts tonight:

Is rookie reality program Anchorwoman -- about a blonde seductress who's taught to be an anchor at a Texas station in 30 days -- good, clean programming fun, or a grievous violation of journalistic ethics?

Perhaps both, say newsroom bosses around the country. The show is centered on Lauren Jones, a former actress, WWE Smackdown diva, swimsuit model and Price Is Right "Barker's Beauty," who was fast-tracked onto the air at CBS affiliate KYTX in Tyler-Longview, Texas (DMA No. 111). Anchorwoman premieres Aug. 22 on Fox...

Hey, a former WWE spokesmodel being fast-tracked as a news anchorwoman? Where's the feminist outrage (perhaps I just haven't looked hard enough to find it)?

No doubt, though, that this show will appeal to Fox News' core demographic. She apparently made an appearance on Bill "Falafel" O'Reilly's show last night. No word yet on whether the topic of loofahs in the newsroom was discussed.

UPDATE: "Anchorwoman" canceled after one episode! Details here.

Tagged as: fox, sexism, television, murdoch, reality tv, anchorwoman

Richard Blair is the blogmaster of All Spin Zone.