PressEthic

I love seeing women reporters in war zones, but why are successful women always subjected to stereotypical criticisms? The November 23rd New York Times article “War Zone ‘It Girl’ Has a Big Future at CBS News” by Jacques Steinberg, announces that Lara Logan will definitely be part of the “CBS Evening News.” But it also mentions:

Though her résumé includes tours as a producer at Reuters and a reporter at two big South African newspapers, she also had an after-school job, in both high school and college, as a swimsuit model.

A large chunk of the article focuses on how she uses her attractiveness to her advantage. Even if the article does counter the point by saying “she never could have reached the upper echelons of American broadcast journalism if she didn't have tenacity, fearlessness and compassion,” I still think the angle of the article is inappropriate.

I don’t remember ever reading an article about a male journalist who uses his looks to his advantage, although I’m sure many do. Why is it news that Lara Logan is attractive? Why is it news that Lara Logan capitalizes on her looks? There’s much more to her than a brief stint as swimsuit model.

For instance, the article describes:

A few weeks ago, in her first segment for the flagship edition of ''60 Minutes,'' Ms. Logan was again inside an armored Humvee, this one brought to a halt on a dusty road outside Baghdad. Ordered by the vehicle's commander to stay inside, Ms. Logan could be seen defiantly following him out, as he peered over what turned out to be an unexploded bomb.

For me, this is the most revealing part of the story. Why would she follow the commander out of the vehicle when “ordered” to stay inside? I guess the media admires disobedience, but don’t military leaders deserve more respect? Did she think he was discriminating against her because she was a women? He would have let a male correspondent follow him out but told her to stay put? This is what I want to know. . . the root of her defiance, the source of her confidence. The fact that she once moonlighted as a model seems irrelevant.