A woman gets a new job. Must be because she is skinny.
Congratulations to Melissa Doyle on her promotion. A big bunch of flowers to you.
A colleague hers of has resigned, and Mel has been offered her fantastic job. She deserves it. Good on her.
But you know how she got it, don’t you? She got it the same way women in high-profile jobs always get their gigs – by some means of sneaky deception.
Maybe she slept with the boss? Absolutely not? Okay, then, maybe she got it because she stabbed her competitor in the back with nail scissors. Not that type? Oh, okay, then, she definitely, absolutely, got it because of what she looks like.
Don’t believe me?
Please take a moment to read the reaction to the news of Mel’s new role presenting two prime-time TV bulletins and the Sunday Night current affairs show. It was in today’s paper, written by Sydney’s Daily Telegraph‘s Annette Sharp:
It would take a serious makeover and the loss of 10kg in 2014 to make network bosses realise the one-time breakfast star was still a valuable asset.
See that?
In a few lines, Melissa Doyle’s career as a journalist is reduced to her dress-size. Size 12? Sorry, Mel, off you go. Size 8? Sure, come on in, have a prime-time gig.
It isn’t true.
Melissa Doyle got the gig because she’s bloody brilliant, and her audience likes and respects her and believes what she tells them.
Mel Doyle is 45. She is at an age where the mainstream media used to expect one thing from TV personalities – from all women, actually – for them to disappear.
It was time to step aside and let the old men and the pretty young things talk. Time to shuffle off home and enjoy being with your family. Time to embrace post-soccer sandwich making and telling people you used to be on TV.