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Originally Posted by yt  Lara Logan has been crusading for some truth in war reportage for a long time, and it's true that she's incredibly passionate and has guts that put pretty much everyone in this forum to shame. I just watched the Daily Show segment, and even Jon Stewart, who is good at making light of anything, understood the seriousness and gravity of what she was talking about.
But someone's appearance is the first thing people notice about anybody, so to somehow pretend it's not there seems self-defeating and phony to me. But it's also like Spiderman's "with great power comes great responsibility." The same can be said for great beauty. Angelina Jolie uses hers to illuminate the global refugee crisis. How many people do you think would cover her visits to refugee camps if she looked like Gimli the Dwarf? Answer: not many.
Even though Lara Logan is a reporter and not a "movie star," beauty is one tool she has in her toolbox - a tool made more powerful by her intelligence and doggedness - and if it helps her shed light on the gross injustice that is being committed in these atrocious wars the corporate media is so hellbent on hiding away, then I say good for her. It doesn't seem constructive to pretend it's not relevant - this is TV we're talking about.
On the other hand, if you travel outside of the US and/or have friends from other countries, beauty is far less relevant in other, less media-conditioned/under-educated countries.
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Quoted for Emphasis.
While I readily admit (being a filthy euro) that I usually dont really like the way many american girls seem to talk, very high-pitched an all, Lara Logans voice is probably her biggest asset (no pun intended) and is seriously gorgeous
Now, I think what all of us, whether americans, euros, asians or pretty much anyone in a media-covered country tends to forget is that beauty doesnt really mean much beyond the visual part. There is no rule that anyone beautiful cannot, for example, be a truck driver, a journalist, a soccer player or a bum.
A lot of american TV news anchors seem picked SOLELY on their outward appearance, which kind of is a shame, but I bet most of these people arent just dumb pretty shells used to spout out pre-taped words and comment images. Its just that other talents or abilities beyond looking pretty arent shown nor needed.
I sincerely hope I wont see the day where news programs over here stop listening to people that arent pretty enough for the screen. Every time I see a journalist in a war zone, rugged, unhealthy looking, obviously distracted or dirty, I feel a lot of respect and I am seeing a person who really is stuck in there.
A makeup-covered news anchor with shiny white teeth, perfect tan and long blonde hair in contrast has about as much credibility and gravitas as a lantern post.
Luckily for everyone, there are people like Lara Logan who can, by sheer twist of fate, be both excellent at their job, and have the looks to penetrate the smokescreen to get the necessary attention, or at least have a viable chance to do so.
Semi-related note: What she said on the Daily Show, about how there were more casualties in Afghanistan than in Iraq recently, reminded me of something jarring of my own past, where the german army officially listed 2 casualties (a bomb-defusion accident) to the newspapers, which shortly after became "the truth", while I was working and saw no less than 28 coffins being unloaded at night from a cargo airplane that was previously put into a hangar as if it was empty and ready for maintenance.
The news we get that arent popular, in reality, probably are much much worse still. If we hear about 200 dead soldiers, chances are its twice that, but they couldnt get away with a lower number realistically.
