Thursday, January 27, 2011

Probing into the Megyn Kelly Syndrome

There is a new study. Oddly enough, the federal government did not pay for this one, although it certainly sounds like the kind of research it would pay for when not investigating cattle flatulence.
At Indiana University, researchers have discovered -- wait for it -- that men pay more attention to "sexy women" news anchors but remember less what they say.
Who knew?
I had to ask one of the authors what the solution to this problem was, since it was left out of the news reports and I didn't want to spring for the cost of the study.
She responded, "Perhaps it is helpful to the audience?"
"Knowing that one is not in optimal information intake mode when a sexually attractive woman presents information" might be beneficial to the viewer, she said. It also might cause the viewer to want to make sure of getting the details of the story by reading more about it.
For news anchors of the female persuasion she suggested it might be good for them to know this so that, "when news organizations push them to sexualize themselves, they can make a more informed decision to either go with it or to re-consider if they want to be working for that news organization."
OK. Hit the power button and get into optimal information intake mode, fellas.

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