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Voices of experience

Margaret Pomeranz, Geraldine Doogue, Noni Hazlehurst, Jacki Woodburne, Liz Hayes -how we love female TV personalities with staying power.

32While blokes on telly gain respectability with the passing years for women it’s practically a pink slip.

Who do we have to represent women who have gained wisdom, temperament and staying power? It’s an elite class.

There is Geraldine Doogue, Margaret Pomeranz, Jennifer Keyte, Sandra Sully, Liz Hayes, Tracy Grimshaw, Jo Hall, Noni Hazlehurst, Kerrie-Anne Kennerley, Judith McGrath, Jackie Woodburne, Lyn Collingwood, Lynne McGranger, Lee Lin Chin, Marcia Hines, Maggie Tabberer and Jenny Brockie.

Underbelly had Caroline Gillmer, who also returns soon in Bed of Roses with Kerry Armstrong and Julia Blake. Lately we’re missing Sigrid Thornton, Jana Wendt and it’s surely been a long time since we spied classic soapie actresses such as Rowena Wallace, Val Lehman, Lorraine Bayly, Amanda Muggleton, Cornelia Frances to name but a few.

Gretel Killeen, who successfully transcends generations, will of course return to host the Logies in May.

The Sunday Age notes Jennifer Byrne’s DOB remains shrouded in mystery perhaps because for a woman in television the only thing more dangerous than taking a holiday is revealing your age.

Many still mourn the passing – televisually – of Mary Kostakidis. With her beautiful bones, beautiful diction and silver-streaked hair, she brought dignity and gravitas to every read. We need more of it. Curiously it’s in the US, that most superficial and beauty-obsessed of nations, where female journalists have flourished. Katie Couric, Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer are legendary not least because they’ve been given the opportunity to become so. They have the experience, they have the knowledge and they have the respect of their peers and their audience. It’s one of those rare cases where Australia could benefit from following big brother’s lead.

It’s all about being age appropriate, which is something that until now few women in telly have had the opportunity to do. It’s all about the right person for the job. In telly that means, yes, the right face for the job. But also the right attitude and experience for the job.

Source: The Sunday Age

5 Responses

  1. i would love to see what happens with weeknight news ratings on 7 & 9 if they gave Jennifer Keyte/Jo Hall a go, 9 especially needs to get rid of that annoying prat Peter Hitchener, but we all know what a big ‘boys club’ 9 is so it will probably never happen anytime soon…

  2. Jennifer Byrne’s not the only one keeping tight-lipped about her age. How long has the KAKster been fifty-something? But seriously it’s a pity that female personalities feel that they have to keep quiet about their age for fear of being ‘boned’. Whatever happened to Jana Wendt, Tracy Spicer, Jennifer Hansen…?

  3. The other frustrating part to go with this is the “blonde bimbo type” of network celeb that gets gig on a soap,game show, travel show etc purely because of their looks and as soon as they open their mouth, you run for cover.
    Can’t act, can’t read a script but look good in “Confidential or magazine shoots with their heatbreak story.Lorraine Bayly, Amanda Muggleton, & Cornelia Frances can act the socks of these “eye candy”
    Great to see Gilmer back on telly and when you see SIgrid Thornton or Kerry Armstrong in a show, there is solid chance it will be worthwhile watching unless someof the recent tripe thrown up by networks.

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