Breaking into the News Business: How Black Women Consider The Politics of Hair When Applying for Their First News Job
By Whitney Harris
“We’d like to hire you and we want you to start immediately. But before we do - let’s discuss your hair.”
This conversation, or one like it, has been the reality for many Black women entering the TV news business for decades. Degrees, writing skills, and a passion for storytelling aren’t always enough - sometimes it just comes down to your hair.
For those of us trying to get into the broadcast industry, especially a decade ago, we knew how tough it could be to get your foot in the door. Landing your first job was the hardest step. How could you convince someone to let you report the news - live on TV - if you’ve never reported the news live on TV before? If you could get your first break, often at a small-market news station, you’d get the daily experience that would likely be enough to land you your next higher-paying job in a larger market. But that first on-air job is tough to come by.
Add to that the fact that the news directors who hire you often have a specific look in mind. They have their own tastes and preferences, as well as certain “regional standards” they may strive to achieve (I’ve heard it said - long ago - that news directors were looking for big hair in Texas, sleek styles in New York, and more conservative hairstyles in the nation’s capital).
On top of that, sometimes it would seem that news directors had a quota to fill. You could look at a local station’s website and see an even spread of white men with blond and brown hair, white women with blond and brown hair, and minorities. It sometimes felt like there were only a few spots for women of color, and you had to do whatever it took, including straightening your hair (or straightening it more than it already was) to get that one rare spot on-air.
Looking at those same websites you’d see that most if not all of the women, both white and of color, donned straight hair in their online bios and on-air, and you knew that to wear your hair any other way would be risky - but was it a risk you were willing to take? If you wanted to wear a more natural style like braids or twists, could it cost you a job? Should you just wear your hair straight to get your first job, and then make the change to a natural style once your career was more established? These types of questions were discussed among Black students in college classrooms and during internships, and it was hard to find a clear answer. In fact a Black TV news anchor went viral and sparked debate by recommending her Black female intern straighten her hair before applying for on-air positions.
But that anchor was not alone in her opinion. In order to land that first job, your resume and cover letter were often seen as just formalities. To many news directors, your reel - a video highlighting your best work and on-air looks - was the only thing that really mattered. So it wasn’t just important to have the best stories on your reel. It was also important to look the part. And for many Black women, that meant wearing bright colors that showed off our beautiful skin. And wearing our hair straight.
I once had a small market news director sit me down and show me all of the reels he had piled up in his office. Many many more reels, he pointed out, than he could even watch, let alone provide job offers for. That meant he had the upper hand when it came to hiring. And he made it clear: if you didn’t accept his offer, including any stipulations about your look, someone else would.
This news director told me that he often only watched the first few seconds of a reel before disqualifying someone and moving onto the next one. When watching a person’s reel, perhaps he didn’t like their looks, their style, or their voice. Perhaps he couldn’t tell what it was... he just didn’t feel like they were the “right fit.” It was only after seeing a reel where he approved of the person’s look that he could then focus on their journalistic skills.
Knowing this as a Black woman it made you think: when applying to on-air jobs would your braids, twists, and natural curls get your reel cut at first glance? Many of us decided it was best to play it safe - and straight - when it came to our hair.
But the issues didn’t stop once you got the job. Some news stations offered their on-air talent a “trade” by trading free advertising with local businesses who in turn provided free or discounted clothes and services. The only problem was that if you were lucky enough to work for a station that had a “hair trade” the hair salon they often partnered with only catered to white clientele.
Starting out in TV news, I was excited that my station had a trade with a local salon. But when I went to the salon, they told me they didn’t do “ethnic hair.” I went back to the station and asked if I could negotiate a trade with a Black salon. The short answer was no. I had to take what I could get.
Eventually I found a hairstylist at the original salon who was willing to work with me. He took the time to learn about my hair texture and he grew my hair long, thick, and healthy (and straight). Nearly a decade later, in social media groups for Black journalists, women just starting out in the industry are still lamenting the same issue with their station’s trades.
Even several years back, though, there were several Black reporters who wore their hair natural on the news. Melissa Harris-Perry rocked braids on the national news stage at MSNBC and Jemele Hill did the same at ESPN. In local news, Zachary Kiesch wore long locs while working as a multimedia journalist at NBC Washington and Stephanie Satchell wore her full natural curls at the Newsplex station in Charlottesville - and did a news story about it. Later, Karla Reditte was recognized nationally for having the “best hair” in her region while wearing her natural curls as well. And there were others.
These days Black newscasters are going viral from coast to coast for donning their natural do’s. From Charlottesville to Jacksonville to Texas. From Good Morning America to the Today Show many Black women on the news are redefining the quintessential “newscaster look” and providing more representation for little Black girls everywhere.
Hopefully as the next generation of Black female journalists start sending out their reels in the hopes of landing their first TV news job, their hair - whether straight or coiled - will get them past the news director’s first glance, and be embraced and celebrated on-air.
Whitney Harris is an assistant professor of digital media at the University of the District of Columbia writing from our nation’s capital. Her background as a local TV news anchor informs her writing as she works to explore the experiences of Black female journalists in news, especially as it centers around their hair.