Some of us returned from Spring Break to find the internet abuzz over a video of WTNH anchor Sonia Baghdady doing a cheesy burlesque number (one that she clearly prepared for and performed at a public event in front of a catcalling crowd). That video, plus the numerous provocative poses of her that one can easily find on the internet, don’t seem to be hurting her rise at WTNH one bit.
Yet…when you go to Sonia’s official bio on WTNH’s website, the post mentions early and often the journalism awards that she’s won and been nominated for (Emmys and AP’s). The station seems to be proudly sending mixed messages, and that’s because they are trying to walk that time-honored fine line of broadcast news: “We want to lure you in with gorgeous news readers, but when we start bombing Libya we want you to keep watching us because our people know where Libya is on a map….really they do.”
We shouldn’t be surprised. But apparently people are, given the number who sent us Sonia’s video and said, “You won’t BELIEVE this…”
Just haters adding fuel to a non-existent fire from competing stations and an older generation of viewers who are “outraged”.
She’s in her 30’s, she’s not fat and ugly, and she works in TV. Now she’s in one video dancing for a local event, and then people bored out of their minds in CT use this to start buzz for no reason. Anyone who knows her knows what a caring person she is and how she likes to live life in all that she’s worked for.
Once again I feel that the people in this state really need to try and focus on living their own fulfilling lives, while avoiding to dump on others. There’s an an extreme nature of “keeping up with the jones” in this state to the point where people slam each other 24/7 like it’s their job. There’s a reason why our state was named “unhappiest” this year. So try something different other than creating things out of thin air to rank on people. Leave your mini mansions, take up new hobbies, make new friends, and go try a cheesy burlesque number. You may just have fun for once.
@CT mass boredom leads to mass ignorance–I agree with you 1-thousand percent. People feel that they have the right to start drama because they feel like they don’t have the kind of confidence or the looks that Sonia has.
And in regards to the burlesque number, i have yet to see it, but she can be a fun person off duty, then dont hate her for it. Just live your life and get over yourselves
The sexy approach clearly hasn’t worked to get high ratings for WTNH and Fox 61 in this market. What does get high ratings is spending money on local news coverage…having reporters in the field and experienced anchors knowledgeable about local issues. if you can’t get high ratings, you go for cheap to get the most profit out of the income you have. Sexy cost less than good journalism which is expensive. Hire young attractive people right out of college and dump the experienced journalists, meteorologists, etc. 8 and 61 have both taken this route…though their ratings are still in the dumps they’ve cut their overhead significantly with little live local reporting, more VNRs, news feeds, and sponsored stories. Sonias burlesque act was way shy of sexy but matters little in the scheme of things except the bottom line.
I disagree w/Ann, agree completely w/Rick. It’s just gotten ridiculous the way today’s news readers and news models just wanna be celebs…most people don’t get their news from these stations anymore anyways…they just cover fires, crashes, shootings, really mainly police blotter stuff. And the stuff they come up with as “news” during their ratings months, the only time they really care about viewers (Feb May Nov), is just so stupid. The only thing worth maybe tuning in for is….u guessed it..weather. Interesting that, as Rick mention, Ch. 8 and 61 have gone in some very weird directions with their recent years’ changing of meteorologists.
Yes, they should be attractive, but devote more time to knowing the names of CT State Senators and committee leaders, and knowing some US and CT history, eg, than pandering w/sleazy behavior that reflects poorly on the station’s news dept.
I disagree with Ben and Rick but i agree with CT mass in the fact that what these anchors do on they’re own time shouldn’t reflect how they do the news and as for being celebs, these anchors ARENT trying to be celebrities.
Of course there have been ALOT of changes in anchor shifts and people coming and going, but that shouldnt be your main focus. My point is don’t hate someone for having fun off the job; these anchors don’t have to be professional all the time.
I agree with Ann and CT Mass 100%/
All because a woman is beautiful and sexy doesn’t mean she can’t be competent in a job such as news broadcasting. Sonia Baghdaddy is a very intelligent woman who does her job as anchor extremely well. I don’t know her personally, but we do have mutual friends. She is a caring, warm and intelligent woman who is confident in her skin. More power to her. As long as she isn’t abusing animals or children away from work than it’s none of our business what she does.
Thank you Katy. Its not just about looking pretty and bringing in ratings, its also about being yourself and doing the work that you love. And yes, WTNH hasnt done very well in regards to ratings,but they are still a great news station no matter what they go through.
I agree Ann. WTNH might not be the biggest in the ratings but they are the only station I will watch. I just don’t care for the other stations.. and it all comes down to a person’s own preferences. But it ticks me off that the same old comments and standards are rearing their head now as they did in the 70s. If an intelligent woman is an anchor than it’s a T and A thing. They said the same thing when Barbara Walters was anchoring ABC News.
My wife, Grisel, is Sonia’s friend & dance coach, and I can tell you first hand, Sonia worked hard learning that routine. It was done in fun, for a local radio event aimed at making money for charity. How anyone in their right mind could even come remotely close to finding a problem with anything she did in that routine is beyond comprehension. Never once did she come close to doing anything that could be considered lude, dirty, or inappropriate. Anyone who says otherwise isn’t only fabricating to their audience, but they’re also lying to themselves. As a matter of fact, I’m surprised that anyone would actually take the time to sit down & write an article about such a non issue like this, says alot about the person writing. In a world chock filled with reasons to complain about, it’s sad that anyone could take the time to muster the breath neccasary to voice their displeasure with Sonia and her PG-13 burlesque routine. For those of you who do take issue with anything she did at the WPLR event, you have bigger problems than this article could even begin to cover. Go out, and worry about something worth worrying about. Pick something, pick anything…economy, world hunger, the wars, disease, even locust infestation, but pick something more worthy of your time, effort, and energy. If you don’t, it’s clear…you have an agenda, and green just seems to be your color….
OMG! She’s wearing clothing! How provocative!
Get a grip people! It was done, I think, in good taste as a fund raiser. Its not like she got liquored up and climbed on a random bar in New Haven.
When women started in the news business, we had to fight to be considered as credible as men. There was debate about whether audiences would listen to female voices for a half hour. When I graduated from college, I went into TV news reporting immediately rather than study for an advanced degree because feminists had sued to get more women into newsrooms and there was a feeling that there was a short terms opportunity, and you had to get in while the door was open. We knew that a news anchor had to be somewhat physically attractive, but what was most important was knowing your stuff and proving you could be as tough and as competent as your male counterparts. Over the years women in markets all over the country proved that. What concerns me is that news anchors like Sonia who play up their sex appeal in videos like this one, in her public appearances, and on her website ( where its all about her cleavage and her legs) give people the impression that what’s more important than your brain is your looks. AND it reinforces the fact that men on tv news can be 60 or 70 and jowly, but their partners had better be perky, young and drop dead gorgeous. Makes me think we haven’t come very far since the days of Jane Pauly, Barbara Walters, and Adrienne Baughns.
I’ve watched that video, and It’s obvious it was done in fun. Anyone who listens to Sonia for 3 minutes quickly realizes that there’s way more to her than just her looks. Here’s the amazing thing….hot chicks can be smart, good at their jobs, and also not take everything so seriously. I mean, who knew news anchors might actually have a not so serious side, and might, on occasion enjoy something. well, you know…FUN. Yes, Sonia’s a good looking woman, but she’s also incredibly intelligent, and fantastic at her job. What’s even more impressive is that she’s able to be all that, while still remaining fun, light hearted, and not overly serious. There’s nothing more nauseating than some self important ‘news junky’ with an overly developed opinion of self. In the end, there’s more to life than ‘In tonight’s news’. Good for her for living her life, and stepping outside the box. I think there’s more than one person in her line of work who could stand to take a lesson or two.
I stayed out of this one for a while as I had mixed feelings. After reading about Denise D’Ascenzo’s 25 years at WFSB (talk about different styles here), I had to watch the video. I did find it a tad cheesy, but definitely not tasteless. And if it was done as part of a benefit, so be it. To be honest, I was fearing much worse.
so, the truth comes out. thanks for that piece of information, jen. ironically, when you google duby mcdowelll, you find a wedding announcement that says she is the “maternal granddaughter of Kathryn Murray of Honolulu and the late Arthur Murray, the founders of the Arthur Murray Dance Studios.” you’d think she’d appreciate a fun dance… too funny!
wow! talk about an axe to grind. there’s been some editing here, and it’s obvious why. there was a post here earlier, explaining where some of the negative attention might be stemming from. it was written by a jen savano, and was quickly whisked away. well, thank god it wasn’t erased from the courant blog. please allow me to repost it, in an effort to better explain to the readers exactly where they’re being lead, and by who….”Since The Laurel’s article claims to defend journalism, let’s focus on accuracy, fairness and stating the facts.
The Laurel is an online publication by former Connecticut news personality, Duby McDowell… Duby’s friend who provided her with the video and an accompanying note stating her shock, disbelief and disapproval is none other than Ann Nyberg. And now, we the readers, get caught up in the so-called blog ‘buzz’ and attack on Sonia Baghdady, merely because these women are looking for something to attack her with. Who Do We Want Anchoring our News? Someone with an agenda? Or someone who knows how to be herself and has enough fun outside of work that she doesn’t have to waste her days plotting the demise of her co-workers? In the name of ‘journalism’, I ask you to dig a little deeper and get the facts straight before believing everything you read online, on paper, and/ or see on TV.”
I See my earlier comment on this was removed as well. Very interesting indeed.
Hey Sonia fan club – no one would need to “provide” Duby McDowell or the laurel with the video – its been all over youtube and on other web sites since before anything was posted on this site.
I don’t think it’s a question of her having a fan club, Brooke, do you? I think what’s at question here is if there’s any truth to what Savano is saying. Is Duby McDowll being provided her gasoline to throw on this spark from her good friend Anne Nyberg? The fact that Savano’s post was edited from the blog along with other posts commenting on the topic seems to lend creedence to the accusation. If McDowell is providing her friend a cloaked podium in an effort to take veiled pot shots at Baghdady, well, let’s just say I hope for both their sakes that isn’t the case. For if it was, I couldn’t begin to imagine something more petty, mean spirited, or caddy. If there’s even a shread of truth to it, then this is a real life episode of ‘Mean Girls’. I would hope grown women would have something better to do with their time, than to nitpick what someone else does on their free time. I would hope McDowell’s/Nyberg’s body of work over their career would be enough to prove to the people who followed them how accomplished they were without having to tear the new ‘it’ girl down. These types of careers, I believe are cyclical, and I think what we may be witnessing here are the hurt feelings of the old guarde who see’s the writing on the wall, as they’re ushered out by the new. I hope younger people within the public’s eye, have enough forsight to avoid situations like this when they’re stars begin to fade, as they always do, Baghdady, included. I hope for for both McDowell & Nyberg that these rumors are without merrit. For their sakes, I honetly do.
It will be interesting to see if any of the comments about Ms. N being rumored to having a hand in the way this is being portrayed gets back to Lin Communications. It seems like they don’t have a problem replacing the old guard with newer faces.
Wow. Let’s hope Elm City Viewer doesn’t work in journalism. Accusing Ann without any evidence. Do you really believe only one person sent the video to this website?
“Fostering cooperation among legislative journalists, et. al”. whiny column complaining about an attractive news anchor having theatrical fun at a local radio station event.
Baghdady did more to support a local radio station by lending her celebrity to a public event than this “blog” has done by raising this trivial (non) issue.
Do us a favor and save the self righteous grandstanding for the day when she strips naked and lap dances a bar patron for a WPLR road appearance. THAT’S when you should be going ballistic.
I’m going to go search your blog for articles that “foster cooperation between legislative journalists”. I hope I find some.
An earlier post said: “hot chicks can be smart, good at their jobs, and also not take everything so seriously.” True, very true, but this video represents a bit more than not taking oneself seriously. It shows a culture that still trivializes and objectifies women no matter what we have accomplished. Today women experience great pressure to not only be smart, to work hard, to achieve and excel, while never offending anyone and looking like a supermodel at the same time. So lots of young accomplished and smart women, as in this video, cave into subliminal pressures to spark interest and attention, and many do it “for a good cause.”
I could accept this as a victimless, innocent action if we did not still live in a patriarchy, if the playing field were level for women. But the truth is that the US still hasn’t passed the ERA so the US Constitution does not see women’s right as equal to men’s. Women currently earn 78cents for each dollar than men earn (and the numbers are much worse for American women of color), so women have to work till April 12, 2011, to earn what men did in 2010. And while women are encouraged to be sexy and provocative, funding for reproductive health maybe obliterated in the federal budget and a woman’s right to choose is in extreme jeopardy. The paradox is that women are encouraged to be sexy and flaunt their stuff, but poor women better not need any reproductive health services….
Our culture objectifies and sexualizes women. 12% of all websites are porn, and not soft porn, and 25% of all web searches are for porn. We all need to raise our consciousness about this issue and then we might see a video like this a bit differently.
People,remember where you are viewing this! Anyone with a website can write anything on their website.
I applaud what Sonia did. God Bless her for using her splendid looks and talent for a charitable cause. Beauty and brains. Great combination.
A quote for all:
“I like to put a pretty woman up on a pedestal….just high enough so I can look up her dress.” – Steve Martin