Sheri Jones' read her script and joked with a cameraman as she applied her makeup before the 5 p.m. evening news at the WLNS-TV Channel 6 News station Monday.
Suddenly, she pointed at the small, black-and-white television sitting on a nearby shelf.
"There I am," Jones said about the commercial on the screen. "I do this to my kids all the time, and they don't get it. They're just used to seeing me on TV."
Jones does what in the past seemed nearly unheard of for a woman — she balances her family life and her career as a broadcast journalist.
"It takes juggling," said the MSU alumna. "You have to have your priorities right."
And with the "Today" show anchor Katie Couric's recent move to CBS, Couric will be the first solo female anchor on an evening network news program.
Kimmerly Piper-Aiken, an MSU journalism assistant professor who teaches broadcast news, said Couric's move overcomes an obstacle that female journalists will never have to face again.
"Anytime you break down a barrier that was thought to be inaccessible, it's going to make a huge difference," Piper-Aiken said. "Whether she's the most phenomenal anchor or whether she bombs, either way, there will never have to be another first woman to have to anchor an evening newscast solely — and to me, that's progress."
Lila Lazarus, an anchor at WJBK-TV Fox 2 News in Detroit, said Couric might attract different viewers to CBS.
"Traditionally with Dan Rather, it has been a very strong newscast but had an older audience," Lazarus said. "Maybe Katie will be able to bring in another, younger audience. She'll add more life and personality to the show."
Piper-Aiken said Couric transcends the "glass ceiling" — an unofficially recognized barrier to advancement that many women encounter in the journalism field. Since the 1970s, women have made up an average of two-thirds of journalism school students, while men have made up one-third. But those statistics flip when it comes to employment in the newsroom.
Piper-Aiken said a number of factors might cause this trend.
"In some aspects, the 'good ol' boy' network is still alive," she said.
Journalism junior Aisha Howard said a major issue in the field is appearance — it can either make or break a news anchor's career, especially for women.
"There's a strain on women to be pretty," Howard said. "When someone's watching and says, 'Oh, she looks bad,' it takes away from the guts of the story. You can't gain weight, and makeup is a big factor."
For Jones, broadcast journalism is what she's meant to do with her life, she said.
"You have to know how to write, tell someone else's story and touch someone else's life," she said. "I'm the messenger, and it's very rewarding."
