Women in Media A Barbara Thesis

Soon thereafter, she started working with CNN channel in handling their Washington bureau. For the forthcoming seven years, Couric was engaged with CNN bureaus across the nation as a producer and also as an on-air reporter. She returned to Washington in 1987 taking up job as a reporter at an NBC affiliate station. She rose from her ranks to hold the number two position as a reporter at the Pentagon for the Washington bureau of the NBC news. ("Katie Couric Biography," n. d.)

For the next three years she was in charge of covering the U.S. invasion of the Panama as also Persian Gulf War in her Pentagon position as also as a new post at the NBC's morning newspaper, Today. In the early part of 1991, she discharged her role as a co-anchor of Today. Her immense popularity with the viewers was because of her pleasant and charming demeanor and her amazingly insistent journalistic style. In her early years on Today, she undertook a lot of preferred interviews with celebrities like U.S. First Lady Hillary Clinton, Anita Hill, George Bush, Colin Powel and Jerry Seinfeld. During 1993, the program 'Today' overcame ABC's Good Morning America in the ratings to reclaim its position as the top-ranked morning newsmagazine across the nation as regards viewership is concerned. ("Katie Couric Biography," n. d.)

Katie has been the most popular news-anchor person in the United States and is immensely popular across the world for her warm smile and friendly personality. She earned the enviable distinction of becoming the first woman in the history of U.S. television to assume the role of lead anchor of a new program. Katie is also renowned for her philanthropic endeavors fighting and supporting for causes she believes in. Raising money for cancer research, she also helps educate people regarding cancer and other vital problems. (Banting, 2007)

Starting in the summer of 1993, Couric also was the co-host of one more newsmagazine aired during prime-time captioned Now with Tom Brokaw and Kate Couric. It was ultimately dovetailed into the greater accepted program Dataline, and Couric went on with her job on 'Today' that went on to cement its grip on the highest slot in the ratings of Nielsen and broaden the significance of a news program that is aired in the morning. She had become the unchallenged idol of television aired during the morning. Katie Curic's amazing success with Today progressed successfully all through the 1990s. During the summer of 1998, she was contracted for four years by NBC for $28 million. She joined the top ranks of personalities in TV news alongside Diane Sawyer, Brokaw and Dan Rather by grossing $7 million yearly remuneration. During the peak of her career, she suffered a personal tragedy when her husband died an untimely death suffering colon cancer in 1998. As a part of her personal efforts she produced two TV programs to drive consciousness about the illness by experiencing a live colonoscopy herself so as to urge on the audience the urgency of undergoing a test. ("Katie Couric Biography in full Katherine Anne Couric (1957-)," n. d.)

During the last part of the year 2000, her movement had helped in raising in excess of $10 million. She continued with her accomplishments by publishing a book on children 'The Brand New Kid' that held the top spot for three weeks in the New York Times children's picture book bestseller list. During January 2002, Couric entered into a fresh business with NBC for $65 million over a period of four and half years that permitted her to run the show 'Today' as also look out for other scope at the channel which made her earn the highest paid TV personality in the world. She again rewrote history after quitting the show 'Today' after fifteen years to sign a contract with CBS to be the 1st woman to become the anchor of the news program aired during the evening. ("Katie Couric Biography in full Katherine Anne Couric (1957-)," n. d.)

One of her most visible efforts towards philanthropy were setting of the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Centre which is a technically advanced $74 million outpatient facility designed for compassionate care. Besides, in association with the entertainment industry she has also co-founded the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance. (Krinsky, 2009) Her photograph is given in Exhibit -III.

A d) Lucille Ball and her Accomplishments:

Lucille Ball is regarded as one of the best comedians among the females. She was born in Celaron in New York in August 6, 1911. She quit her studies in high school to become a stage actress. After a failed attempt into the world of modeling when she was known as Diane Belmont, she entered Hollywood during the 1930s in Roman Scandals in 1933 being her first film role. She also acted in a lot of movies later as also in shows aired on radio. She achieved the topmost achievement being member of a team with her husband Desi Amaz, the leader of a music band from Cuba. Starting during the year 1951, they teamed up jointly to enact the role of a crazy middle-class couple Ricky Ricardo, in TVs archetypal sitcom 'I Love Lucy. She had an amazing sense of timing and she completed a whopping 179 installments of the unique situational comedy as the restless housewife. In the 1953 episode "Little Ricky" was born to her that was filmed to emulate the birth of her son in actual life was believed to have drawn more audiences compared to the investiture of President Eisenhower. She was separated with her husband in 1960 and thereafter appeared on Broadway in Wildcat in 1961. Her most famous show was the Lucy Show ran for several years from 1962 and Here is Lucy that ran from 1968 to 1973. ("Lucille Ball Biography (1911-1989)," n. d.)

Lucille Ball is one of the most identifiable faces on the planet in the comedy circuit. Her name is so iconic that her face comes to the mind immediately. Nevertheless, Lucy's name as an icon signifies different things to different people. Lucy's rise to iconic status was because of a blend of talent, genius and unexpected historical timing. She had been a model, a film star and also a radio talk show hostess. The show I Love Lucy was on air from 1951 to 1961 and the subsequent show 'Here's Lucy' was on air for more than a decade. Regardless of the doubts of the sponsor, it raced to the number one spot in the ratings and remained there for years. Within a span of few years, she was the darling of almost a fifth of the population of America. People loved her because of her facial expression which would give the message of what the writers termed as the "light bulb" appearance of having an idea, understanding an unlikely scheme at times to receive money. Many compare her hilarious physical comedy with the legendary Charlie Chaplin. Her trademark manner of childlike crying in an uncontrolled manner was also admired by the viewers as also her singing out of rhythm. Among the out-of-control elements, food and drink sometimes play a role and she is found immersed in the physical like the grapes in the vat for example. (Hall, 2006)

Love Lucy in its ridiculous plots, wide range of material comedy and the portrayal of wedding is often relegated as an artifact. Nevertheless the program has in its store the timeless excellence of a crystal glass. Because of its comedian exaggeration, she discovered a number of ideas, the nervousness of a wedded life, performing the balancing act of a successful job and hearth and the significance of devotion and amity. The program also reflected majority of the decade's crucial inclination. In her illustrious career she was an 'agile' as well as an 'imaginative humorist' and her well-known funny side attempting to maintain with a sweetie line assembly and tramping grapes in an Italian wine vat were indeed famous. ("Lucille Ball," 2009)

But above all, her personality transcends more than a clown. Her expressive facial expression could manifest a wide range of sentiments, her comic timings were just inimitable and her dedication to the truth of her emotion at no point of time flagged. She was a diligent perfectionist. Such was her attention to detail that in an act wherein she was supposed to swallow a paper bag, she took three hours in inspecting bags to be certain that she chose the perfect size perfect and the sound equally appropriate to bring in that element of humor. ("Lucille Ball," 2009) the various shows which ran successfully for years together are (i) I Love Lucy from 1951 to 1957 (ii) the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour from 1957 to 1960 (iii) the Lucy Show from 1962 to 1967 (iv) Here's Lucy…