Phil Bronstein, writing in The San Francisco Chronicle, makes an interesting point: CNN is increasingly going for a "beefcake" approach in its coverage, most obviously, in Haiti, as a way to snag ratings.
CNN's way certainly snagged Bronstein's attention. As he puts it, "there's a cultural undercurrent that has more to do with big guns than tiny orphans." By "big guns," Bronstein, writing for a mostly San Francisco audience, is referring to big biceps--and maybe to a, uh, big something else that his SF aud would admire. Bronstein even quips about "CNN's video Port-au-Prince Playgirl calendar." Wow! It would almost make you think Bronstein knows something about CNN.
Whether he does or not, Bronstein continues:
I'm hardly the first person to comment on male CNN anchors on the ground in Haiti wearing tight black or charcoal-gray muscle t-shirts that show off barbell-honed physiques. Reporter Jason Carroll looked like an ad for BALCO. The cable station is selling something more here than just news with that odd choice of uniform.
Noting Fox's contingent of good-looking blondes--a category which does not include, interestingly enough, Fox's biggest names, such as Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity--Bronstein makes a slight joke at the expense of Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former first lady of SF:
In an interesting stroke of competitive programming, CNN has clearly chosen hunky guys in stretch clothes as the counter-foyle.
OK, fair enough. But here's something interesting that The Cable Gamer found while clicking around on Jason Carroll--who, I will freely admit, is a hunky guy, just as Bronstein says. So is that Jason above? Starring in a production of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" back in 2004? Google Images says that's Jason Carroll, and so does the photo tag. And "Jason Carroll" is listed in the show cast. He certainly looks a fellow who works out a lot--like an ad for Balco, as Bronstein jokes.
It's a free country, of course, but Carroll moonlighting as a studly actor--if, in fact, that's Carroll--provides some valuable perspective for CNN's strategy.
Maybe Anderson Cooper has even more influence than I thought around the network.
