All Things at Once by Mika Brzezinski

Author:Mika Brzezinski
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Books

FIVE

Turning the Page

TELEVISION IS A VISUAL MEDIUM—much more so for women than for men. This in itself is not breaking news, but it’s worth emphasizing here. In the broadcast news business, there’s a constant pressure for on-air “talent” to look good. It takes up a whole lot of our time—far too much, if you ask me. And yet, whether or not we choose to buy into it, our “look” is an important part of our package. It’s just as important as our knowledge, our insights, our ability to tell a story.

It’s exhausting trying to keep up with the latest fashions, hairdos, and makeup—not to mention paying attention to your figure. I didn’t always do a good job of managing my image, especially early in my career. A part of me didn’t know enough to know it was important. During most of my run at Up to the Minute, I looked haggard and worn and probably overweight. It was impossible not to look bone-tired. Plus, I overate to stay awake—an occupational hazard—and the fact that for most of my time there I was either pregnant or nursing didn’t exactly inspire a contemporary look. Add to that the rinky-dink lighting in our fifth-floor studio, which was more like the lighting in my fifth-grade classroom than on a network news set: fluorescent, which highlighted our worst features rather than softened them.

In small measure, at least, my relative youth and my strenuous exercise regimen made up for some of these challenges, but I now think that every month that passed on the overnight shift added years to my countenance. It was a losing proposition, plain and simple.

Looks matter. They just do. They go into the toolbox every on-air journalist must carry. It’s how we market and position ourselves on the air, and at the same time it’s also how we sell ourselves to news managers and network executives, who often use their own subjective “tastes” or perceived demographics to make hiring decisions. I learned this firsthand, a few times too many. Sometimes managers are quite blunt about this; sometimes they are vague and evasive; always, they are inclined to make the “safe” decision and go with someone easy on the eyes.

Names and connections can matter, too. For better or worse. I realize full well that I might never have gotten the call from CBS so soon in my career if I hadn’t been the daughter of the former national security adviser. My dad’s name ended up opening a few doors for me, no question. But the same name that helped me would also come back to hurt me at certain key moments along the way. In any case, it was always up to me to power my way through those doors, and to make double-sure not to overstay my welcome once I was inside. There was never any hiding from who I was, or who my father was, although from time to time people might challenge me on one of my father’s positions and

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