Book Review: Don't Make Me Think!

When I first read the title, I had no idea what the book would be about. But as I began reading, it all made sense. We live in a world where everything is online from news, to shopping, and even job applications. It’s so easy to access this stuff that we don’t have to think about it often. We just search it and it’s there! But what about when we have to think about it? Do we stay on the site if the top news story we want to see is too hard to find? Or do we go to a different news website where it can easily be found flashing across the screen? For me personally, I like simple stuff. I don’t want to think most of the time, isn’t that why we have the internet! Reading this book also made me think about my own website. Is it clear? Can employers find what they’re are looking for within a few seconds or is it confusing to the point where they just go look at another applicant’s website? By using the graphics in the book, I see that my website is very user friendly. My reel is on the front page. There is a tab for my resume and a tab for my contact. Users, especially employers don’t want to look too far to find info. Ironically I went to a website to apply for a job today and it gave me the run around. After finding the employment page, I clicked apply here and it took me to a separate page that had nothing to do with employment and I ended up not applying to that job right then. I’ll probably go back to that site when I have more time for all the different pages associated with getting to the actual application. What makes a good website is actually simple, I think a good rule of thumb to go by is to make sure every age range can understand where things are located. Whether you are in 3rd grade or 60 years old, you should be able to access things quickly without questions. The website does not need to be busy. You do not need pictures and links nearly on top of each other because people will get confused and not know what to click. You also want things to be visible. Dark fonts and small words can be very hard for some people to see and read, especially if they are older or wear glasses. Also, tabs need to be labeled in a way that people don’t have to question if they should click. For example, on a clothing website, you should have a shop now tab that takes people to the items. From there you can have a dresses, shoes, pants tab to narrow things down. This makes it easy for shoppers to get what they came for. Imagine having men and women clothes and shoes mixed together on one page. That is confusing and too busy! This book was a great read and I recommend it to anyone who has a website or is thinking about creating one. It will give you tips for a successful, user friendly site!

Interview #3

“The hustle and bustle of looking good all the time and conforming is exactly why I’m getting out of the business after my contract ends. I used to be so excited about the money, hair and makeup, until I realized that I was a puppet.” This news anchor has been working in a top 50 market for the past 8 years. She says she was naïve to how much she had to conform, until she had to tell an intern about her journey. “I was always told by other black anchors, you can’t wear your hair natural, and you have to wear makeup like a cheerleader, make sure you don’t gain too much weight. And when an intern asked me how I felt about her look, I found myself telling her those same words. But then I went home that night and broke down. It’s not fair, why do we have to stick to those strict guidelines, why do we not get to push the envelope, why can’t we be ourselves.” She says she knows women who are afraid to show their station what their natural hair looks like, even on off days, because they are afraid they will judge them.

Interview #2

“I don’t think that this is something that just started being a problem. When I was younger, I used to watch the news with my grandma and all of the news anchors, both black and white, has straight hair, no curls.” This person has been in the business for about three years now, and she says she knows that straight hair is what news directors hire. But with the recent murders of black men by police officers, she says the Black Lives Matter movement is something that goes beyond the murders. “Black Lives Matter, Black Hair Matters, Black People Matter. It just sucks that we have to conform and give in every single time. We don’t have the option of wearing our natural curly hair or weave, our only option is to look as similar to our white female coworkers as possible.”

Interview #1

This person was allowed to wear her natural hair on television because her news director and her viewers liked the way it looked. “When I was first hired I received so many emails from viewers saying they love d how my hair looked and felt like I represented the natural black woman very well, especially in this small city.” She said she heard about black women adding weave and straightening their hair but she never felt the need to because her news director never mentioned it. “I figured that if he hired me with my hair this way, he didn’t mind. But I do get afraid when it comes to applying for my next job because black women in large markets never wear their own hair, it’s all weave.” She says she isn’t willing to conform and if she was offered a large job but had to change her look, she would not take it, “Obviously it’s easy to say when you’re not in the situation, but I don’t want people to focus on my hair, I want them to hear what I have to say.”

Let's Take a Look!

Every TV news station is different. Whether it’s by market, city, state, or even news philosophy, no two stations are the same. One thing that is also different about each news station is “the look” of on air talent. The look obviously differs between men and women, but it also subliminally differs between among women. For men, we usually see a nice haircut, well-groomed facial hair, and a suit and tie. Women on the other hand have a lot more variety. You see dresses, skirts, and sometimes even pants. But this Summer I was able to research natural hair on television. I look forward to sharing my findings with you all this semester!