Lara Logan
Posted on 05/22/2002 11:58:39 AM PDT by Timesink
Logan quits GMTV for America
Owen Gibson
Wednesday May 22, 2002
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Lara Logan |
The 31-year-old South African is leaving to join CBS after her reports from the frontline in Afghanistan impressed US news bosses.
According to sources she clinched the deal in the last week.
"This is an absolutely brilliant move for Lara. It's very exciting and will give her a chance to prove herself in one of the toughest TV markets," said one GMTV insider.
Logan will front 60 Minutes Two, a sister programme to the prestigious current affairs slot, as part of a deal said to be worth around £500,000.
She will also be asked to report for primetime news shows alongside celebrity anchorman Dan Rather and will leave GMTV next week.
The deal is a major blow to GMTV, which gave Logan her first big break in British TV and was grooming her for greater things.
She recently took a "reporter at large" role for the station, presented a series of five roaming reports from southern Africa and was due to present a further series of special reports later this year.
Logan shot to prominence in the aftermath of September 11, when she flew out to Afghanistan and got closer to the frontline action than the armies of more experienced ITN, BBC and CNN correspondents on duty.
She also hit the headlines when ITN's Asia correspondent, Julian Manyon, described her as "delectable" and said her "considerable physical charms" had helped her overcome Taliban bureaucracy.
Logan hit back in an article on MediaGuardian.co.uk, expressing surprise that Manyon used that "hoary old chestnut" about women's looks as an excuse for not getting access to the frontline.
She said Manyon was stationed miles away from the airbase and relied on her for help with her stories.
A former model, Logan's good looks made her a darling of the tabloid newspapers.
Ironically the Sun newspaper today reports that Logan deliberately used her good looks to get exclusives out of the Royal Marines in Afghanistan.
In a front page splash today headlined "Put Those Bazookas Away, Lara", the Sun says she was accused of distracting American and British troops by wearing low-cut tops. It says two soldiers made official complaints about her dress code.
One source was quoted saying: "She spent most of her time wearing very tight jeans and tops with spaghetti-style straps."
But a furious Logan hit back, telling the Sun: "I don't wear outfits like that at home, so why would I wear them out in Afghanistan?"
She admitted she had been told to cover her arms in the galley because of a "hygiene issue".
By ANTONELLA LAZZERIGMTV beauty Lara Logan was given a dressing down by Forces chiefs for “flashing her cleavage” at Royal Marines in Afghanistan.
The married newsgirl was said to have upset Our Boys by wearing a skimpy top.
A source said: “Half her boobs were out.”
The reporter had launched a sexy manoeuvre and sent an American officer in Afghanistan running for cover, it was claimed.
The Bagram airbase press officer was shocked when 34D Lara, 31, brushed against him.
And he was soon in full retreat as she bent over a computer in her low-cut top.
A source at the base said: “He stood up red-faced and told her, ‘Ma’am, that is not the way we do business here,’ then marched out.”
It was one of a series of incidents involving Lara.
The source said of the offended American officer: “Lara had been trying to beg a favour out of him, so it completely backfired on her.
“She did the same with a few British officers and it didn’t go down well with them either.
“Lara is a gorgeous-looking woman, there is no denying that.But a military base in a war zone is not a place for being flirtatious.
“She was very keen to get exclusives but had a funny way of going about trying to get them.
“One guy told her, ‘I feel sorry for your husband’ after she tried the bending over his computer trick in front of him. To be honest it became an embarrassment.”
Two Royal Marines made official complaints about married Lara at Bagram — and top brass ordered her to cover up.
One source said: “She caused ill feeling by going to the galley, the marines’ canteen, in a top with an extremely plunging neckline.
“To be honest half her boobs were hanging out.
“A marine was so furious he stood up and shouted, ‘That isn’t fair! Some of us have been out here away from women for months’. Then he complained.
“A chef also complained that men are not allowed in the galley wearing sleeveless vests or T-shirts. It is a hygiene rule and he felt Lara should obey it.
“It wasn’t the first time her dress out here has caused offence.
“She spent most of her time wearing very tight jeans and tops with spaghetti-style straps.
“You’d have thought she would have had more sense on a base full of thousands of men.”
There are 1,700 troops, including 800 marines, stationed at Bagram for the war on al-Qa’ida terrorists.
An officer warned ex-swimsuit model Lara she had upset the men and should cover up.
The source said: “She went absolutely mad and stormed off, saying she was leaving the airbase.
“She said she was fed up with its ‘sexist atmosphere’ and didn’t like the attention from the troops.
“That was a joke, she seemed to lap it up. She was always posing for photos like a forces sweetheart and signing autographs.”
Furious Lara hit back at claims she wore sexy low-cut outfits, saying: “I don’t wear clothes like that at home, so why would I wear them out in Afghanistan?”
She admitted she had been told to cover her arms because of a “hygiene issue” in the kitchen.
GMTV bosses also strongly denied Lara had offended the troops.
They said on the day the marines complained she was wearing a black M&S vest top with inch-thick straps and a scoop neck that did not show cleavage.
They also said she was due back in the UK yesterday and had not stormed out. A spokeswoman added: “There has been no bust-up. She’s doing a very good job and is dumbfounded by this.”
While covering the war last year Lara won respect for the intrepid way she got in the thick of the action.
But a reporter who worked with her at Bagram said: “We had bets on how low-cut or skimpy her T-shirt would be.
“She was very touchy-feely, coming up close and giving you a hug.
“She certainly seemed to like showing off her body, which given the environment was a bit strange.
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“You’ve got thousands of hot-blooded males here who have been away from wives and girlfriends for months.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that a girl is going to get a lot of attention if she dresses in a sexy way.
“When we were helicoptered out to see troops in the field, she would wear tight jeans and very tight T-shirts. It was a bit odd.”
This afternoon it was claimed that Lara had quit GMTV after landing a top job alongside American TV legend Dan Rather.
She is said to have clinched a deal this week to join US station CBS.
"This is an absolutely brilliant move for Lara," the report quotes one GMTV insider saying.
"It's very exciting and will give her a chance to prove herself in one of the toughest TV markets."
The report claimed Lara would head a show called 60 Minutes Two and would report for other news programmes along with Rather.
It also says she will leave GMTV next week.
I was getting ready to chastise you for not posting pictures!
Even a very small pair would do, in this matchup.
I hop that's not a typo.
I don't know Logan's political leanings, but I can guess.
Dan Rather is still the biggest boob at CBS.
This gays in the military thing is gettin way out of hand.
ROTFLMAO.
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