The oldest profession...

AppleTV has been an absolute godsend in keeping connected back to the US. With it, I can access the US-based iTunes storefront, downloading content such as TV programs and music that are relevant to the culture. One ability of AppleTV is to download video podcasts. These podcasts are free and cover an amazing breadth of topics from health, to cooking, to many news programs like "Meet The Press". It also allows me to download the daily evening news broadcasts from ABC, NBC, and CBS.

Showing a video podcast of the NBC Nightly News to my Aussie friends, we came to a piece where Andrea Mitchell - a well-respected TV news journalist - was doing a field report. A derisive comment was made about how old she was.

And you know what, she is. Something you don't see on Australian TV news programs. This reminded me of an interview show I saw here with TV news journalists in which all the females on the panel (who were of a certain age) were lamenting about the short shelf-life of female journalists. All is well when you're young and buxom, but start getting a wrinkle and you're made redundant faster than an FAA inspector at Southwest Airlines.

Or Mary Kostakidis from SBS World News Australia.
Or Jessica Rowe from Channel 9's Today Show.

Add to that in the US female journalist are paid on parity with men (and at 51, Katie Couric is the highest paid TV news anchor followed closely by Meredith Viera at 54 on NBC's Today Show) and I think they get a much better deal in America. Paid for your experience rather than how you look in a push-up bra.

I can't help being one those watching the news for, well, news.

- Farmer Ted