There’s an inside joke doing the rounds among some female journalists and it began the day Julia Gillard became Prime Minister. While the nation waited expectantly for our new leader to make her first public statement after deposing Kevin Rudd, one respected female journalist piped up on Twitter: “I can’t wait to see what she’s wearing”.
When Julia finally took to the podium and began speaking, another chipped in: “Her hair looks good today”.
Both times, I laughed out loud. Yes, they were being ironic. But irony stems from truth. As it turned out, Julia nailed it on both counts and by this I mean there was nothing memorable about her hair or her outfit. This enabled her to neatly elbow any discussion of her appearance off the front pages, which instead focussed on what she said, and the circumstances of her ascension.
For 24 hours.
On day two as Prime Minister, Julia wore a multi-coloured coatdress and the world spun off its axis and into outer space. People were loudly shocked and horrified. Offended and outraged.
Me, not so much. I mean, they’re clothes, people, not tattoos. They come off.
Why do people take this stuff so personally? It’s not like Julia woke up that morning and thought, “What can I dig out of the closet that will really piss people off today, hmmm?” Surely she’s just doing her best. Without a clothing allowance or any professional styling assistance as it turns out.
Still, I wasn’t surprised at the mass panic. It’s far easier to have a strong opinion about what someone wears rather than what they say.
Soon after I became an editor, I was sent to an editor training day where a media expert gave us some invaluable insights into what matters most when being interviewed in different mediums. On TV, it’s roughly 70% visual, 25% tone and 5% content. Radio is 70% tone and 30% content. And print is 100% content.
Top Comments
Really it is an insult to the intelligence of mama mia readers that we have blog space dedicated to Julia Gillard's hairstyle. Who gives a sh---t.
Why not do an article on the minor parties running in the election?
People bellyache about the major parties and how they don't like either of them, but the minor parties never get any coverage from the media so they do not know of the alternatives.
who is this?