Saturday, July 07, 2007
The Dating Journalist: Beauty and the Beat
When I was 15, I pretty much knew I wouldn't grow out of being boy-crazy, but I never thought I'd have to take it into consideration as a working adult. But as you'll see in this first installment of "The Dating Journalist," you've got to take it in to serious consideration when you work in the media. That, or risk your job.
What is it about those newswomen?
L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's recently-admitted relationship with Telemundo anchorwoman Mirthala Salinas is nothing short of scandalous. But it's nothing new either.
Journal-isms' Richard Prince points out a number of instances where a member of the working press apparently worked their way to the altar.
And I noticed that in every example Prince gave, the reporter in question was female who had drawn the affections of a very prominent public figure. Which made me instinctively think...
Are we newschicks hot or what?
Pushing professional self-adulation aside, a more serious question surfaces. What's more important -- love or the job? The answer is certainly subjective, but I'd imagine it's not at all easy. Especially in Salinas' case; she hid the relationship from her superiors until Villaraigosa came clean. Not the smartest decision, and now she's on unpaid leave because of it.
But imagine the choice she had to make. I'm sure she loved being an anchorwoman, and previous examples of journalist-public figure relationships didn't look too promising. Prince notes that women like Maria Schriver and Andrea Mitchell have had to either change or give up their jobs. (And at the same time, the psuedo feminist in me scowls at the fact that the men haven't had to budge. Grrr.) Not to mention Villaraigosa is recently divorced, so the situation doesn't look too good from any angle.
But what do you do? You cover your beat, you talk to your sources... and then you fall in love with one of them. What happens next? We know SPJ has the ethics thing mapped out to a T, but feelings... well, they certainly don't have a handbook.
I do know one thing, though.
Newswomen are hot.
Labels: ethics, the dating journalist, the industry
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