What makes you like a certain news anchor over another one? Is it his or her appearance? The voice? Professionalism? Sarcasm? There are a lot of reasons news people rise to the big time or get stuck in small markets. I always liked Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings because they seemed like like classy men. I turned to Dan Rather during breaking news because he was just plain batty. I get a kick out of Mike Wallace because of his confrontational attitude. And, I just love Keith Olbermann for his wit, news judgment, and self-deprecating sense of humor.That said, there are also some talking heads who make me turn the channel. For me, it's the anchor's attitude that generally turns me off. But, I can also be superficial. Here is my list of the five most unwatchable news personalities:
5. Ann Curry Her "genuine" concern about every, single story she reports is just plain fake. A person cannot be in news that long and truly empathize with everything from soldiers being killed during war to the break-up of Nick and Jessica. I just don't buy it. Topping things off, she seems casual, rather than professional, with her delivery. And her breathy voice sends shivers up my spine.
4. Anderson Cooper There. I said it. He bothers me. Sure, he's cute. But, he's a little too cute, ya know? I realize that he's CNN's golden boy right now, but his breathless delivery on each and every story is tiresome and a little stress-inducing. You're reading a teleprompter, Anderson! He treats every story like it's just breaking and he's getting information about it in his ear as he speaks. Chill, buddy. Plus, what's with all the GQ-style photo shoots? Maybe I'm just bitter...
3. Geraldo I know, I know. He never was a real newsman. But, since he appeared on Fox Newschannel for so many years, I'm going to include him. And, he did go into Baghdad with the armed forces (and, famously, got kicked out for revealing strategic military positions). Anyway, Geraldo is a jackass. When he is reporting a news story, whether it be Hurricane Katrina or the Iraq war, it's all about him. God forbid he step out of the view of the camera for a few minutes! And then there's that moustache...
2. Nancy Grace This woman would hold the number one slot, if it weren't for a certain, annoying newcomer. Nancy Grace embodies all that is wrong with 24-hour cable newschannels. She likes to beat to death stories like Robert Blake, Scott Peterson, Michael Jackson, and Natalie Holloway. CNN pawns her off as a legal journalist, which is her background, but she actually is an excuse to have more coverage of "big" stories that have no bearing on the lives of Americans. In Nancy Grace's world, people are guilty. Period.
1. Rita Cosby AKA, Lord Vader. What is up with that voice? Is she a heavy smoker? Why would MSNBC claim victory by stealing her away from FOX Newschannel? Did she sound like this when she was on FOX? Her show on MSNBC it is UN-WATCH-ABLE (yet, it's doing well in ratings). She, too, is guilty of focusing on stories like Natalie Holloway, but her voice is so distracting that it's impossible to pay attention to her nightly topics.
Who bugs you?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
11-26-2005 @ 4:24PM
Bebop said...
what no Katie Couric or Charles Gibson or Barbra Walters with her soft lens that makes it look like someone rubbed petrolleum jelly all over the camera lens?
And the person who should have been on the top of your list should have been John "Gimme a Break" Stossel whos mustache almost rivals Rivera's
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11-26-2005 @ 4:23PM
doc said...
How could you skip over Julie Chen? She drove me batty before I saw her hosting Big Brother, but that really sealed the deal. Then again, I guess hosting Big Brother is a step up from hosting The Mole. :D
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11-26-2005 @ 4:42PM
Jaymez said...
By far, the most annoying anchorperson is Dan Abrhams! He's gotta be the most arrogant little prick on television!
My second picks would be the male hosts of Fox and Friends. I've never watched the show, but I tune it in on Sirius once in a while. More than once I've wanted to reach through my radio and strangle them. The comments one of 'em made about the Goth culture being unhealthy and parents needed to force their kids to seek help was the last straw. I won't watch or listen to that show anymore.
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11-26-2005 @ 5:14PM
michael said...
Anyone on Fox. Guests included.
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11-26-2005 @ 5:50PM
Brian said...
What about Wolf Blitzer?
Nothing like 24 hours a day, "You're in the Situation Room" from the original D.C. blowhard.
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11-26-2005 @ 6:46PM
Catie said...
What about Greta VanSustern? Her show should be titled "The Natalie Holloway Show"! It's like beating a dead horse...it goes on and on and on and....
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11-26-2005 @ 6:38PM
Jeff said...
I agree with Bebop. I can't stand Katie Couric. In general, I don't like any of the morning show hosts. How can they be that happy and pleasant so early in the morning?
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11-27-2005 @ 4:32PM
chaim said...
Why can't Larry king sit up? for G-ds sake, why does he slouch over? Never ears a jacket? Looks like alune with those red suspenders, but most of all It really bugs me that he slouches over and is always resting his chin on his closed fists. Sit up damit.
Julie Chen is a robot, it's not fair to attack her, she isn't human.
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11-26-2005 @ 7:16PM
norelco said...
I like Rita's voice and Rita does not smoke. Her mom did though.
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11-26-2005 @ 7:24PM
Eliot Phillips said...
I'm pretty comfortable with Anderson Cooper, Serena Astchel, and Lisa Ling after having to watch 15minutes of them everyday for four straight years in school. Any other Channel 1 alums I missed?
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11-26-2005 @ 7:37PM
Bill said...
Katie Couric.
There is something about seeing those ugly legs first thing in the morning that turns my stomach. She's started a whole new trend of "naked" legs on television.
Give me the stockings, long pants or anything other than Katie's naked legs. Yuck!
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11-26-2005 @ 8:18PM
MOTH said...
Thank god Ann Curry is # 1. She is so annoying. The worst for me was when she interviewed Angelina Jolie. whew. That was unbearable
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11-27-2005 @ 11:42PM
Jeff Cosford said...
That Grace woman is the worst. I can't even begin to fathom the narcissim and sanctamony it takes to be her.
I learn nothing new just bitter rantings of a woman crazed and obsessed with herself.
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11-27-2005 @ 11:42PM
Jeff Cosford said...
That Grace woman is the worst. I can't even begin to fathom the narcissim and sanctamony it takes to be her.
I learn nothing new just bitter rantings of a woman crazed and obsessed with herself.
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11-26-2005 @ 9:43PM
al glenn said...
The worst is Wendy Murphy. She makes Nancy Grace look like Mother Teresa.
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11-26-2005 @ 10:11PM
brinke said...
Julie Chen: The Chenbot.
http://www.tvgasm.com/archives/big_brother/001211.php
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11-26-2005 @ 10:36PM
Skain said...
Tucker Carlson on MSNBC (formerly CNN) gets my vote. He is both obnoxious AND annoying. It doesn't matter whether he's interviewing a guest or not, he just comes across as a child who likes to take cheapshots.
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11-26-2005 @ 10:41PM
Anna said...
I think this list needs to be the 50 least watchable news personalities. I agree with all of your additions, especially Dan Abrams. Pity, because I loved Dan when he covered the 2000 election debacle for Nightly News, but then he got his own show and got full of himself. I wonder if Anderson Cooper has the same future...
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11-26-2005 @ 11:03PM
Mark "Puff" Anderson said...
The sad thing is, at least here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX market, the local news personalities are worse than the national ones that we see.
puff
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11-27-2005 @ 12:24AM
Dottore said...
Oh, of course near the top in annoying has to be Tom Bwwahhkaw, spelled the way he pronounces it. No matter what the story, I could not stand to listen to him tell it. If I found myself tuned to NBC when he came on in an instant I was grabbing the remote to get over to some other station, any other station, just to get away from his infantile manner of speech.
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