#1
Posted: 4/6/06 at 2:41pm
We've all oded on this "shakeup" at Today, View, CBS. But though it's easy to be cynical, and kvetch about Katie's gummy grin lacking gravitas, Merdedith's back slapping camaraderie with the freshly pruned and stapled Star Jones, or the already low ratings that make the 6 o'clock slot a time warp arena for "achievement..." I think the bigger story is age, not gender.
TV is a brutally youth-obsessed medium, and as someone just on the other side of mid-life act-break, like Meredith, I think it's telling that a 52 year old woman is replacing a 49 year old, the 49 year old making network history. How pundits leaped to predict an Eve Harrington-like ascedency of someone like, say (the admittedly capable) Campbell Brown. Maybe we've moved past Norville-esque blonde is better promotions. It's at least gratifying to see experience(s) honored. You may argue about the breadth and depth of that experience, the too-well-known personal side of the personalities, the mysteries of "weight" on camera ... but these two women have put in time, and rather than be replaced by lineless faces that look more WB than Black Rock, have earned coveted spots.
Their age is being perceived a distinctive, edge--a plus here, by suits and audiences alike. In today's world, where executives and "talent" are both routinely fired at 50, this constitutes a success story for us boomers.
TV is a brutally youth-obsessed medium, and as someone just on the other side of mid-life act-break, like Meredith, I think it's telling that a 52 year old woman is replacing a 49 year old, the 49 year old making network history. How pundits leaped to predict an Eve Harrington-like ascedency of someone like, say (the admittedly capable) Campbell Brown. Maybe we've moved past Norville-esque blonde is better promotions. It's at least gratifying to see experience(s) honored. You may argue about the breadth and depth of that experience, the too-well-known personal side of the personalities, the mysteries of "weight" on camera ... but these two women have put in time, and rather than be replaced by lineless faces that look more WB than Black Rock, have earned coveted spots.
Their age is being perceived a distinctive, edge--a plus here, by suits and audiences alike. In today's world, where executives and "talent" are both routinely fired at 50, this constitutes a success story for us boomers.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
Updated On: 4/6/06 at 02:41 PM
