Worst Job

Surely the worst job in the country is the "news reader" on any Australian television station.

This is a job where the only criteria for success are your good looks from the waist up - and your ability to convince the boss of same.

It does help if you have some slight abnormality - like big boobs, big eyes, large teeth, big ears, a wide smile or even big hair. Because a slight abnormality tends to attract and *mesmerise* the viewer. A bit like exotic cheese in a mouse trap ;-)

Smart people need not apply - because there is zero discretion allowed when reading the news. Actually the dumber the better - because all you need to do is sit there and look pretty while speaking the words as they roll past on the autocue - with an irregular nod and flick of the hair to reassure the viewer that they are still awake.

There are some news readers who have spent a lifetime doing it for goodness sake - and they are proud of the fact!

Now there are a few news readers who also get involved in behind the scenes activity - and then at the allotted time they sit down and "read" it. And some of them also get to interview outsiders and engage in real two-way conversations. Those people have a much more interesting job.

But surely we have gone way beyond the need for a pretty, highly made up younger person with a slight abnormality to sit in front of a camera and "read" the news to us each evening?

Or do you think there might be another reason why they do this?