All the News That's Fit to See? The Sexualization of Television News Journalists as a Promotional Strategy

Abstract

SUMMARY This formative investigation employed framing theory to content analyze the nature and extent of sexually appealing newscasters primarily on cable news programs. Overall, 62% of segments contained journalists with “high” sex appeal, and these were predominately female. Specifically, these journalists were physically attractive, suggestively dressed (e.g., open blouses, tight-fitting skirts), and filmed in ways that accentuated these features. Female newscasters on Univision's Primer Impacto, who double as models on its website, always exhibited “high” sex appeal compared to 93% of newscasters on MSNBC, 49% on Fox News, and 39% on CNN.