Taking a step back instead of forward

Some of our TV newscasts have been providing us with the wrong kind of “entertainment” of late, due to some on-cam news personalities’ inappropriate and thus distracting way of dressing.

The basic problem is that some of them think that they’re exceedingly beautiful or dashing, and that they’re “stars” instead of just being news readers and news anchors (which is what they really are).

So, they dress up in a “stellar” fashion, calling even more attention to their “fashionably trendy” personas.

This self-centered attitude is dead-wrong for newscasts, because their main focus should be on simply and clearly informing viewers about what’s just happened—period. The news anchor or reader should intentionally take a judicious step back instead of forward, so viewers’ focus can be exclusively on the news report.

This isn’t what’s been happening, obviously, due to the “star” news people’s distracting efforts to impress viewers with their looks and appearance.

First, a reality check: The only truly beautiful local TV news person this season is Pia Hontiveros, so the others can just relax and not try so hard.

As for the guys, there’s nobody all that handsome and dashing, so you can all relax, as well.

And now, for the distracting details: A recently sighted fashion victim we caught on a local newscast was an otherwise competent reporter, who most unfortunately decided to wear a really huge and distracting necklace of many strands of beads, which looked really “over” and “too much pa more” on her small frame.

It was an extreme example of how female newscasters just love to “decorate” themselves to “enhance” their “beauty.” This is not allowed in a news program, and TV news managers should read their “star” newscasters the riot act on this score.

Ditto for the way quite a number of TV news reporters are dressed—or more unfortunately, costumed. Some weeks ago, we were alarmed to see a female newscaster dressed in what looked like a reconfigured portion of her heavy living room curtains at home.

Not just that, the fabric was cut in a “trendy” manner, so the outfit looked like an “off-shoulder” creation—most inappropriate for a newscast, to say the least.

Must we have to endure such “off-shoulder” and “off-putting” sights, just because a TV newsperson thinks she has a lissome neck and lovely clavicle that the entire nation should admire and adore.

As for the male newscasters, why do so many of them try to look like oily mafiosi, with double-breasted suits, attention-calling neckties, hankies, lapel decor, medals and honorifics, etc.?

And those are just the “optics.” Even more unfortunate is some TV reporters’ penchant to make their reports more “colorful” and “dramatic” with all sorts of verbal flourishes, most glaring of which is the now common practice of adding an extra syllable to words (ospital-ah, airport-uh, pakikipagsapalaran-ah, etc.)

And, most unfortunate of all is some newscasters’ unwelcome insistence on commenting on and “analyzing” the news they’re just supposed to objectively report.

What are the station managers of these errant “news stars” doing? And, why are viewers letting them get away with all of this, and more, without caustic comment?