TV Stylist: Audrey Mansfield

Perception is reality. Image is everything. Looks matter. 

All of those are true to varying degrees of scariness in the TV business, even at the lowly local television news level. So a lot of TV stations will invest in consultants, who come in periodically to coach the talent (a term loosely used to describe the people who appear on air.) The consultants will discuss all sorts of things, from your vocal delivery to your on air presence to your hair, make up, and wardrobe. It depends on what type of consultant they fashion themselves to be.

I've met with a few over the years, but a couple weeks ago I had a mini breakthrough when the station brought in Audrey Mansfield to talk to us about our on air look. She's worked with a lot of national and local TV types and she has things down to a science.

We were instructed to bring in 6 of our favorite outfits, along with accessories, and we were to come to our session in full hair and makeup. Sidenote: Unless you work at the network level, or your salary has two commas in it, it's highly unlikely you have a hair and makeup person other than yourself. That is definitely the case in this market, as I've often been asked if we have "people who do your hair and makeup." I AM the people.

Luckily for me, I only had Marianne Favro in my session so we had a fair amount of time to go over the essentials with Audrey.

She was the first stylist who brought in "lookbooks," page after page of suits, dresses, jewelry, and haircuts ripped from magazines and catalogs that could really illustrate the points she was trying to make about what is a TV news fashion YES, and what is a HELL NO.

Problem for me was, I was yessing on some of the hell no's. Like prints. What woman doesn't love a good animal print? Or a DVF dress with splashes of color? Or a BCBG wrap dress flecked with brightness? My boss has long told me to avoid prints when I'm in studio. Even my News Fairy Godmother warned against leopard on the anchor desk. But deep in my print-loving heart of hearts, I thought they were wrong. They just didn't understand. A woman does not live by solid colors alone!

Until Audrey put it this way: "Prints make you look young. And you don't need to look any younger." She may have added a "Missy" in there too. I don't remember. I was actually taking notes on my phone because she had such a long list of do's and don'ts. Thankfully, as Janelle Wang pointed out, her accent made it easier to take the blunt criticism. "Dreadful!" "Mumsy!" "Too young!" Simon Cowell in a female TV consultant form.

Not only are prints out, but so are puffy shouldered suits. Pink too. Darker shades of pink are OK, but baby pink is a "Please don't take me seriously when I tell you there's been a terrorist attack. I'm wearing the color of your baby's onesie."

No giant accessories like big pendant necklaces, "the third eye" as they're called. Small, natural stones and delicate pieces are preferred. I can think of quite a few people who need that memo.

There was a long list of things she advised us about, and she backed them up with actual photos. Sophisticated, tailored, solid colored dresses and tops are the way to go. Pencil skirts flatter most figures. Say no to stuffy jackets and the reporter uniform of "collared shirt outside the suit jacket lapel." Some prints are OK if you throw a cardigan over them and just let a little bit peek through. No silky/satiny blouses or asymmetric necklines, gasp, two things I love.

Audrey talked about the Today Show anchors. You remember how great they look but you don't really remember their outfits. And sure enough, the day after I met her, I saw Ann Curry in a light green pencil skirt and a dark green V neck sweater. Natalie was wearing a sheath dress with a jacket over it and pumps that matched the dress. Understated, fitted, minimal jewelry, just "one point of interest," like a belt or a necklace, and off you go.

Giuliana Rancic has a wardrobe to die for, but her hardest hitting news is Kim Kardashian's last minute wedding plans. Hoda and Kathie Lee get to wear crazy jewelry and prints because they also get to drink cocktails at 10AM on TV. They, and their clothes, can be the story. In local news, we need to get out of the way of the story and look presentable without being a distraction. It sounds no-brainer, but people need HELP. And sometimes we get in a rut. What worked 10 years ago ain't still working. 

It's a hard pill to swallow when you want to be an individual who loves prints and wants to have some flair, as some of us do, but Audrey's visuals sent the message well.

It's funny because some people are very resistant to this kind of advice. To that I say, HELLO?! We work in a visual medium. It'd be great if we could just write well and ask the tough questions, but people are watching us with their eyeballs. It's superficial but it's part of the gig. And if you don't want to change, there's someone in that stack of DVD's in the news director's office who will. Or who already gets it. So good luck to you and your jankity oversized trench coat. 

I only wish I could've been a fly on the wall in some of the other sessions. Meow. The truth shall set you free. 

Mika Brzezinski: All Things At Once

I think I spelled that right. I t would be bad to misspell the name of my new American Idol. And it's embarrassing to admit it's taken me a few years to recognize her genius. I knew who she was and that she was on "Morning Joe," the MSNBC show she co-hosts with Joe Scarborough and Willie Geist, but I didn't know her story until, of all people, my dad sent me a harrowing excerpt from her first book, "All Things At Once."

It was the section about how she was running around on fumes, barely sleeping because she was working overnights, juggling a toddler and a newborn, and in the midst of talking a mile a minute to her nanny, she slipped and careened down the stairs, WHILE CARRYING HER BABY. She landed at least twice on the baby, who ended up at the bottom of the stairs all listless and broken.

I won't ruin it for you with more paraphrasing but talk about working mother's guilt exponentially multiplied. There were so many things in her memoir that any woman in this industry can relate to...and so many parallels in her life that resonated with me as a woman/TV journalist/mom/human:

1. Make it a priority to find your life partner. It was so interesting to hear her talk about this and to say that jaws drop when she counsels aspiring career women because it's something no one ever talks about. At least I didn't hear it when I was coming up in the business. But I've always made it a point to tell my female interns that this is a tough career to balance against marriage and family. But I always follow that up with, "If that's something you want, make it happen. Don't lose focus of the people you will want at the end of your career because jobs come and go, a partner and a family are forever." And really, what good is all the success in the world if you don't have a life co-captain to celebrate with? So says the lady who found hers in a 9th grade geometry class.

2. Don't wait forever to have your babies. If you don't want kids, fine, and if you don't want to be married, fine. But if you do, only you will be able to make it happen. Prioritize and proceed. But don't rush into something that doesn't feel right, because your gut is your best friend. Like your career though, once you get the right gig, it takes work to maintain and to grow and to prosper.

3. Strive for all things, but know that having them "all at once" in your life isn't always the healthiest option. I have anxiety all the time about whether or not I'm doing it "right" and whether I'm maximizing all the angles and doing everything I should and taking advantage of all the opportunities that come up. You feel that pressure even more when you become a parent because you want to set a good example and you want to provide and you want to establish financial security for your family

4. Being a working mom makes some of us better moms. You appreciate the time you spend at home and with your loved ones if you're happy in your life and with yourself. For some, that balance is in working part time, for others, it's in full time mothering, for some, it's the juggling between both full time jobs. We know how lucky we are to have family nearby and to have Asian Grandma full time with Emmy. Things might be different if we had to choose a daycare or Swedish au pair. But we have what we have and it works for us. There are definitely times when I bemoan the fact I'm not a "kept woman" but in those fleeting moments, The Good Doctor always slaps me back down to reality with, "You can NOT be a kept woman. It's impossible." And he goes back to eating peanuts, satisfied he has Spoken The Truth.

5. TV news is subjective and fickle and fraught with ups and downs, many of them far, FAR beyond your control. You can be a talented writer, excellent ad-libber, 60 Minutes correspondent and fill-in anchor for Dan freaking Rather, and new management can come in and you're yesterday's "blonde roadkill" as Mika put it. Makes me feel a little less lonely on my career rollercoaster.

6. Shiny Penny Syndrome is real. It's when you're the new It Girl and you can do it all and everyone wants a piece of you. Wield that magic carefully and make sure you're compensated for it. Be gracious and accommodating, to a point. Realize when you're working for free and make sure you don't let that situation overstay its welcome. Everyone has a different balance point and sometimes having multiple gigs is better than having none.

I'm now halfway through her Mika's second book, "Knowing Your Value: Women Money, and Getting What You're Worth." I'll file a book report after I discover the secrets to negotiating my next raise. 

Local TV News Gold

Eureka, I've found some of it.

It has spawned a whole new wing in my vernacular.

Coffee Lady: She needs to be in a movie. "Backin up, backin up, backin up, 'cuz my daddy taught me good."

You know how I feel about Antoine. Run and tell that.

Is this surfer boy so dumb? For real? "Get pitted, so pitted like that."

"I like turtles." And the reporter has no follow up question? Come on lady! Have some fun with Zombie Boy!

Where do I get my hands on a leprechaun flute? Apparently it has to be passed down for generations. But you have to admit, that sketch of the leprechaun was pretty accurate and official looking.

Our own KRON4 made the list! "It's just for decoration, mang." "WOOOOT." "It's the morning. You 'posed to be up cookin' breakfast."

UFO guy and Australian Party Kid are meh. 

You can skip the dog attack--that's more infuriating than funny.

But Cold Weather Woman is my kind of gal. 

Hide Ya' Kids: Antoine Dodson

This news story has gone viral on YouTube, and for good reason. As I post this, the video has had 2.8 million views. The follow up story shows a calmer, more thoughtful Antoine Dodson and explains some of the reaction to the story. The reporter, Elizabeth Gentle, responds to the criticism that she shouldn't have put Antoine and his sister on TV, saying it's worse to censor "people like Antoine." 

When my friend, a CNN producer, shared the link with me on Facebook, The Good Doctor and I watched the story 7 times in a row. It's mesmerizing because it's a very serious, legitimate news subject, and the story had all the things you would want if you were covering it: an active scene, cops dusting for prints, and a compelling story told by unforgettable people. But it is soundbite after soundbite of a reality that we are only used to seeing as parody. 

As a reporter, at what point do you filter some of the interviews and cut out some of the sound that might distract or turn the focus of the story into something else? 

I'm not one to criticize or judge. OK, fine, I am. But in this situation, and having watched the follow up story, I will say I am happy Elizabeth Gentle put Antoine Dodson on the air. And if he gets some sort of reality show out of this experience, it would be appointment TV. 

By the way, this is just one of many parodies already made but oh boy does it show what an autotuner can do to make anyone and anything sound musical.

ESPN

A lucky surprise. We watched the tournament replay on ESPN and slo-moed this shot about 20 times so I could get a screenshot of our family on ESPN!

Do you see us? 

The guy bending over is Trent Dilfer. And no, I am not looking at his bottom.