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TV Is For The Good Looking (Rush's Take On Weather Channel Info Babes And HDTV Perfection Alert)
RushLimbaugh.com ^ | 01/07/05 | Rush Limbaugh

Posted on 01/07/2005 3:54:47 PM PST by goldstategop

There's a controversy that has engulfed the Weather Channel. A 42-year-old former anchor has accused the network brass at the Weather Channel of washing her out of the a high-ranking job to make way for a hot front of sexy young weather babes.

"Marny Stanier Midkiff, 42, this week filed a lawsuit claiming she was booted in the fall of 2003 as part of a reputed 'reorganization' of the storm channel, which she believes was really an excuse to get more young female weathercasters on the air. Midkiff says that, in the months before she was let go, her boss allegedly spoke of female staffers as 'matronly,' 'dowdy' and 'nun-like' and asked that female on-air talent turn up the temperature on their look with more revealing 'V-neck' shirts. Midkiff and her attorney claim The Weather Channel also began hiring new young weathercasters starting in 2003 as part of this effort, and the then-41-year-old, who spent 16 years reporting on sun and rain for the network, was left out in the cold. 'She got tossed aside because The Weather Channel wanted a younger look,' said Midkiff's attorney, Daniel Klein. 'She was one of the top [meteorologists]. She was one of the best they had, but she didn't fit the image they had in mind.' He said hires such as weathercasters Alexandra Steele and Nicole Mitchell are among those who demonstrate this trend."

After this story, there's no doubt going to be a beeline to the Weather Channel to try to find Alexandra Steele and Nicole Mitchell and find out what's up. "Klein's office also provided a picture of what was called the "new look" of the channel, in which recently hired meteorologists wear hotter-looking low-cut blouses." Wow. Wow. Why don't they just -- well, you might call it global warming at the Weather Channel, but I wonder if any of these new hires have been former school teachers. (Clearing throat). "According to Midkiff's suit, filed in Atlanta federal court--" The wording of this story just cracks me up. I'm just going to read it to you as it's written. "--the forecast looked sunny for the veteran meteorologist in early 2003 as she was promoted to be a high-level manager of the other on-air talent. But Midkiff claims her boss, programming chief Terry Connelly, was becoming convinced the older look of the staff was costing The Weather Channel viewers. 'Connelly openly expressed animosity toward older female [meteorologists],' the suit says. 'He spoke freely of his goal to 'young up' The Weather Channel. At one point, Connelly announced, 'We're old and we can't be... Our ratings are going down.' The worst for Midkiff came in August of 2003 when Connelly held an 'open forum' in which he said viewers thought the network's female weathercasters looked too old."

Okay. Look, you know, I don't want to get in the midst -- I mean there's a number of obvious things you could say here, but the Weather Channel, most of what you see there is maps and cold fronts and hot fronts and storms and this sort of stuff. I remember -- this is not anything new. I remember when I was in Kansas City, I was in Kansas City from 1975 to 1984, and when I was there -- you remember when Ted Turner hired Catherine Crier to be a prime time news anchorette? She had no news experience whatsoever. She was a judge. She was a judge in Texas out of SMU law school. And he put her in there because she was hot. She was attractive and television is a visual media. I mean, there's a reason people that can do nothing other than read a TelePrompTer get paid what they're paid because there aren't a whole lot -- let's be honest about it, folks. There aren't a whole lot of us -- and you know who I'm talking about -- that you could put on TV that you'd sit there and watch for a half our or an hour. Now, you people who think two-tone green leisure suits from Kmart are cool, you're never going to make it on television. This is the great unspoken truth about TV. It is visual and that's why people watch.

For all this talk about what television is doing to the modern woman and so forth, I mean the consumers run it. They're the boss, the ratings and so forth. I mean reality is reality. I remember in Kansas City, let me finish this story, just like Catherine Crier, a local TV station went and got a weather babe that had never done weather before. And let me just describe this woman. When she stood at the map, on the east coast and facing the west coast, just stood there facing the west coast, the first state you could see was Kansas. You could see a little bit of Florida, you could see a little bit of the southeast, but north of that, you saw nothing but Kansas. I'll tell you this, she became the rage of the town. She became the rage of the town and it didn't matter about the weather. They clamored for more time segments, or segment time for the weather, or what have you. But, you know, I also understand the ageism complaint in television as well. That's something that men are never going to face there that women obviously will. At any rate, just wanted to alert you to this story coming out of Atlanta and the Weather Channel.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

Here's a story you may not have heard. I haven't seen it anywhere. I just found it on the ESPN website. Nicolette Sheridan, a story with her disrobing in front of the Terrell Owens as an opening to Monday night football. Apparently it has had such an impact that the Fox Sports network has refused to air a commercial that stars Mickey Rooney. Fox has rejected a proposed ad for Airborne, the natural cold remedy. I never heard of it. This ad reveals Mickey Rooney's 84-year-old rear end. In the commercial, Mickey Rooney freaks out when somebody coughs behind him in a sauna. He jumps up screaming, heads for the door with his towel slipping in the confusion, bearing his 84-year-old rump for about two seconds. This is in USA Today as well and the Fox Sports network has refused to run the ad. All right, Lou in Massapequa, New York, welcome, sir, you are on Open Line Friday. Hi.

CALLER: Thanks, Rush, for taking my call.

RUSH: You bet.

CALLER: You were just discussing women on television and the good-looking the better.

RUSH: I was not. No, no, no, I was not. I was reporting a story about a lawsuit from a woman that used to work at the Weather Channel.

CALLER: That's correct. I'm sorry about that. I'm thinking that in this day and age of large screens, HDTV, when I'm looking at large screens, some of the men that are my age -- I'm 57 -- start looking pretty bad. I mean, there's only so much I can do with makeup but every blemish, every age spot, even shows up on men and it's a little disconcerting to look to it. It's distracting as they try to give me whatever message they want to give me. It distracts from the message if I'm looking at their face and I'm looking at the wrinkles on their neck.

RUSH: What are you saying?

CALLER: I'm saying that I think that --

RUSH: You only want perfection on television? Is that what you're saying?

CALLER: No, I don't want that, but I think the trend -- because of this large screen and HD -- probably would tend to make the on-screen personalities younger and -- younger just because of their youthfulness and how they look on screen.

RUSH: Well, it may be. Depending on the kind of programming you're talking about that may be. I of course am a videophile myself. I don't watch a whole lot of television. When I do, I try to watch as much as possible that's in HD. I know that most people don't have HD and haven't really taken time to look at it because you look at your TV picture now and you think, "Well, I don't know how it can be much better. And I don't care how much better it is, I'm not going to invest all the money in what these HD things cost," ta-da, ta-da, ta-da. And I never was of that point of view because I've always sought the best picture I could get from a VCR, from whatever I was doing. That's why I originally went to Direct TV because it was a better picture than any cable system I ever saw. And I'm telling you, folks, HD is unbelievable. I have two of them in this studio here. I've got 8, 9 of them at home. One of them is a 12 foot screen, one of them is a 7 foot screen. I got plasmas all over the place and I'm telling you, there is nothing like it. And it doesn't matter what you're watching. Where it's the least noticeable is movies and film, although they're great, they're better. You get live HD on sports or videotape HD, and sometimes even film if they've really been careful with it. Some of these animal shows.

If you think you've seen animals eating animals on regular TV, you don't know what you're missing until you see animals eating animals on HD. If you've seen a wildebeest torn apart by a hyena on your regular TV you haven't seen anything until you've seen this on HD. It does show the blemishes. I'm going to admit something. I got in bed early last night because I have a huge weekend planned. So I got in bed early and I have a plasma that is in the bedroom, and it's an HD plasma. So I fired it up and I had had on HBO for some reason the night before, which was the last channel on when I turned it off. So the TV pops out of the little doodad at the end of the bed. It's popping up and I turn it on and they're running a 45 minute show on pornography. To me, it was literally disgusting. I was listening to all these porn stars talk about how this industry enables them to be who they really are. And they love having people look at them. And they love making the money. It's either this or wait tables at the IHOP. Something like that. And it was men and women, and they were discussing their careers seriously, and the vast majority of the show was of the female and male porn stars going into some studio being photographed for their still shots that would promote what was upcoming in their latest porn gig. And of course it was full 130% frontal, side, and back nudity, and in HD, I'm telling you what, half those people would have looked a lot better with clothes on.

He's got a point here. That's a long way around to saying he's got a point, because it does show up blemishes and pockmarks and things that regular TV doesn't display. It shows bald spots. You don't want to know how Nancy Pelosi looks -- frankly I haven't seen Nancy Pelosi on HD because no -- I'm only guessing what it would look like -- but no newscast has gone HD, and they're probably going be the last to do it because it's an expensive transformation. The law is only requiring broadcast outlets to do it. A lot of the sports networks that are -- ESPN -- you ought to see Sports Center on HD. I tell you, folks, it is incredible. There's no question about it. I'm a huge believer in it. Much more so than I thought. And no matter, I don't know care how good of standard broadcast picture you've got, you can't imagine the difference. You literally can't. "Well, I don't want to go to that long -- that movie sized." You have no choice. But if you get the right kind of receiver, you can still hold onto your four-three TV and crop the HD picture and get a full-fledged HD picture in your four-three proportion. Ask your kid if you don't know what I'm talking about.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: age; goodlooking; infobabes; rushlimbaugh; tv; weatherchannel; workplace
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To: Keith in Iowa

I thought Christina whatsherface was pretty fun to watch too....


21 posted on 01/07/2005 4:15:17 PM PST by MikefromOhio (Out of Baghdad!!!! But still boycotting boycotts)
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To: goldstategop
Now, you people who think two-tone green leisure suits from Kmart are cool,

If Snoop Dogg, P. Diddy, and Usher all started wearing green leisure suits from Kmart, these green leisure suits would be considered cool.

22 posted on 01/07/2005 4:17:05 PM PST by judgeandjury
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To: Question_Assumptions

The obnoxious ads?


23 posted on 01/07/2005 4:17:42 PM PST by GenXFreedomFighter (So he smirks. So do I. What of it?)
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To: Keith in Iowa
Marny
24 posted on 01/07/2005 4:17:46 PM PST by My Favorite Headache (I Watch TV, What Do You Want From Me?)
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To: goldstategop

Midkiff started 16 years prior, when she was 25. She probably didn't get the job then because of her meteorology expertise. She should give it a rest. She had 16 years of making good money from reading a teleprompter


25 posted on 01/07/2005 4:18:08 PM PST by SauronOfMordor (We are going to fight until hell freezes over and then we are going to fight on the ice)
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To: freedumb2003
I don't get it.

Neither do I

26 posted on 01/07/2005 4:19:12 PM PST by andyandval
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Comment #27 Removed by Moderator

To: Keith in Iowa

Where's Kristina Abernathy??!!


28 posted on 01/07/2005 4:19:47 PM PST by buccaneer81 (Rick Nash will score 50 goals this season ( if there is a season)
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To: My Favorite Headache
But Heather is so beautiful!
29 posted on 01/07/2005 4:22:49 PM PST by andyandval
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To: andyandval

sarcasm


30 posted on 01/07/2005 4:23:23 PM PST by andyandval
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To: goldstategop
Speaking of tv what's happened to Geraldo?

(I should post a vanity but I'm not vain.)

31 posted on 01/07/2005 4:23:37 PM PST by aculeus
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To: buccaneer81

THATS WHO I WAS THINKING ABOUT!!!

and that Sharon chick too...she was fun to watch when she wasnt pregnant all the time....


32 posted on 01/07/2005 4:24:05 PM PST by MikefromOhio (Out of Baghdad!!!! But still boycotting boycotts)
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To: GregGinn

Kristin Dodd on weekend afternoons is my fave.
Over the last year or so she has had a major tune-up, lost lbs, long blonde hair, etc.


33 posted on 01/07/2005 4:25:55 PM PST by nascarnation
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To: Angry Republican
Not hotter than Hillary Andrews
34 posted on 01/07/2005 4:26:47 PM PST by My Favorite Headache (I Watch TV, What Do You Want From Me?)
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To: MikeinIraq
and that Sharon chick too,

Sharon Resultan. Not bad, but Kristina was awesome.

35 posted on 01/07/2005 4:27:46 PM PST by buccaneer81 (Rick Nash will score 50 goals this season ( if there is a season)
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To: buccaneer81

Sharon was hotter back in the mid 90s.....

I wonder if shes gone now? Kristina had that girl next door look...


36 posted on 01/07/2005 4:29:16 PM PST by MikefromOhio (Out of Baghdad!!!! But still boycotting boycotts)
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To: Army Air Corps

Google image search


37 posted on 01/07/2005 4:29:31 PM PST by rwfromkansas ("War is an ugly thing, but...the decayed feeling...which thinks nothing worth war, is worse." -Mill)
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To: buccaneer81
Must not be talking about this one.

JLo


38 posted on 01/07/2005 4:30:55 PM PST by andyandval
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To: andyandval
  1. The Weather Channel has cannibalized its audience with a pretty good website. It's a lot more efficient to interrogate the website than to wait for the broadcast to cycle around to whatever you are interested in.
  2. There are a lot of meteorologists with passable looks and adequate diction out there, and there were many at the time that Ms. Stanier was hired. The Weather Channel had some standards for attractiveness then, and right or wrong, those standards have changed. When she went into the business it was already post-Christine Craft - so the whole world was on notice that in the television business - ratings rule. And if ratings reflect popular tastes, and popular tastes select for youth and beauty...
  3. The Weather Channel is owned by a privately held firm - Landmark Communications. Since they are not public - there is little widely known about their financial performance. The last comment I saw in The Wall Street Journal about the firm was the observation that it had a substantial gross profit margin. I would think they should be profitable - they don't have to pay the talent that much - they get data streams from NOAA and other government subsidized sources - and their sets are cheap.
  4. I suspect Landmark will tire of the publicity and will settle this - with Stanier getting more than her suit deserves on the legal merits. The videotape segments on her lawyer's website are pretty embarrassing.
  5. This is the way it is in TV and any moron is on notice that is it so. If older women do not cut it ratings wise - they will not be on the air. End of story.
  6. I used to think Kristina Abernathy was hot. Now I like the young hotties.

39 posted on 01/07/2005 4:31:57 PM PST by Wally_Kalbacken
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To: andyandval

"But Heather is so beautiful! "


40 posted on 01/07/2005 4:32:49 PM PST by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
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