February 13, 2002

by Lisa Bennett, Communications Director

The Good

Academy Award Nominations (announced Feb. 12; The 74th Annual Academy Awards are scheduled for live broadcast on ABC on March 24 at 8 p.m.)

It's been nearly ten years since Angela Bassett was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Tina Turner in the film "What's Love Got To Do With It." In that time, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated 35 women for best lead actress, none of them African American.

This morning Halle Berry broke the drought with her nomination for lead actress for the movie "Monster's Ball." She's already won critical accolades and a Golden Globe nomination, but the Oscars are the top reward for hard work and talent. Immediately after the nomination announcements this morning, a happily shaken Berry appeared on CBS live via satellite from London, claiming the nomination was not just a personal victory, but a victory for all women of color. Let's hope her success helps expand acting opportunities for African American women in the movies.

Also of note: Both Will Smith and Denzel Washington are nominated for best lead actor, making this only the second time in Oscar history that three African-American actors were nominated in the lead categories.

The Bad

Media Focus on Greta Van Susteren (various sources)

I didn't want to write about this — I tried to ignore it. But now that Greta Van Susteren has appeared on the cover of this week's People magazine, it seems unavoidable.

Of course, I'm talking about Van Susteren's move from CNN to the Fox News Channel and her intervening cosmetic surgery. While on CNN, Van Susteren distinguished herself as a top legal analyst and anchor. What also made her unique was her natural look — little make-up and no-frills hair. Feminists loved her refreshing image. Now that she's had an eye-lift, cut her long hair and started wearing make-up, she still looks great, if a lot more like the other TV news women. We understand that Van Susteren, age 47, is a smart woman who knows she must achieve an ageless appearance if she wants a long, lucrative career in television. But the surgery, and her candor about it, sure are getting a lot of attention.

In the Feb. 18 issue of People, Michele Greppi, editor of Electronic Media comments, "FOX hired a tomboy, and they got a babe." The article makes it clear that most news women have already had cosmetic surgery, although there is little mention of the men. Indeed, I can't imagine such a public flap over a male anchor getting an eye-lift.

In the article Lisa Myers, an NBC reporter who, inspiringly, is not a TV-standard size four, states: "Obviously, if the way we look gets in the way of how well we communicate, then I don't mind the suggestion that we do something about it." Why is it the woman's job to do something — to submit to surgery — because our society's priorities are messed up?

Coming so closely on the heels of the Paula Zahn "sexy" advertisement fiasco, Van Susteren's make-over is a blunt commentary on the relentless and self-esteem crushing focus on women's outsides.

One plus: the controversy inspired at least two compelling opinion pieces, one in USA Today (Feb. 11) that made several enlightening points about our culture's minimalization of women and one in the New York Times (Feb. 10) that zeroed in on the now-popular use of Botox to literally freeze women's faces.

The Ugly

Lack of Media Coverage of the "March for Our Lives" (Salt Lake City, Feb. 8)

The coverage of the Olympic Winter Games on NBC and in the newspapers has certainly had its inspiring moments for feminists, not the least of which was the enthusiastic response to U.S. snowboarder Kelly Clark's Feb. 10 gold medal win in the women's halfpipe. More than 16,000 people attended her event and on Monday morning, her picture was on the front page of virtually every major newspaper.

However, there was one event in Salt Lake City that the media basically ignored. The Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign organized the "March For Our Lives," which took place the day of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies to bring attention to the thousands of poor women, men and children in the U.S. The March drew 400 participants, including poor and homeless families from Utah, across the U.S., and other countries around the world, as well as other activists for economic justice. Terry O'Neill, NOW's membership vice president, traveled to Salt Lake City to speak and march on behalf of NOW.

Human-interest features about Jell-O (Utah's official snack food) and the Mormon church are fine, but it's a shame the media are ignoring the real story of starving people in our own country. While poor people in this nation struggle to feed, clothe and house themselves, our government's expenditure on the 2002 Winter Olympics is nearly double that of the 1996 summer games in Atlanta. In addition to $230 million in state and local funds spent on these Olympic games, the federal government kicked in nearly $400 million, not including another $1.1 billion in accelerated federal spending on Utah highways, bridges, a light-rail transit system and other public improvements local officials wanted to complete in time for the games.

Ask your local media outlets what they're doing to cover the steep price taxpayers are paying for the Olympics versus the government's disregard for the poor in the U.S., specifically the loss of the welfare safety net that many struggling families are experiencing in the current recession.

Update to our Jan. 16 Good Bad and Ugly column: NBC's "Playmate" edition of the series "Fear Factor" intended to lure Fox's Super Bowl viewers away during halftime by featuring Playboy bunnies in bikinis performing provocative stunts. NOW heard from lots of you on this one and we're happy to report that the special failed miserably in the ratings. Score one for TV viewers' taste.

Click here to speak your mind by writing a letter to anyone in the media. And if have your own media praises and gripes — about TV, movies, radio, magazines, newspapers or the web — send them to communications@now.org and you just might find your suggestions and thoughts in future columns.

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