TV: 'Keep flirting to a minimun'

If you owned a TV news station, would you hire an anchorwoman whom you had to remind to "keep flirting to a minimum" when dealing with news sources? I wouldn't, but KYTX Channel 19 president - and Rick Perry clone - Phil Hurley did.

Hurley hired former bikini model and WWE "diva" Lauren Jones (that's her mug up there) as an anchor to boost ratings for his local newscast in Tyler, TX. Jones has no journalism experience and is probably best known by teenage boys who watched her on WWE hoping to catch a nipple slip. It's all documented on FOX's new "comedic reality" show "Anchorwoman," which premiered tonight.

I'd read nothing about "Anchorwoman" before catching the first two eps on FOX, but I knew what I was getting after the first minute or so. It's another fish-out-of-water tale with nothing new to say and only a hint of humor, mostly at the expense of the uber-bubbly Jones who, like Homer Simpson, seems at times unable to have an inner dialogue.

Sure, at least it's a "documentary-style" reality show instead of the "seven people picked to live on a pirate ship" variety, but I don't see it holding anyone's interest after a few eps. I mean, what do viewers really have to look forward to but watching a clueless, monster-boobed party girl alienating her serious co-workers and screwing up the news?

The character I find most interesting on the series isn't Jones, but station owner Hurley. It's pretty fascinating watching such a stiff and unimaginative suit so obsessed with the bottom line and so unconcerned about his staff that he's willing to damage their reputations, sink their morale, and kill his station's credibility with one dumb decision.

Still, I'm not sure how much credibility this station or its employess had in the first place. I might be wrong, but it looks like they hired a dog (yes, the "bow wow wow" kind) to do the weather.

"Anchorwoman" airs Wednesdays on FOX.

Links:

Anchorwoman at FOX.com

Lauren Jones' last job

KYTX 19 (Lauren's current job)

Photo from FOX.