Is there one African-American woman on American cable or TV

[stevenleser]

82. I started out being sure this wasn't racist. Now I'm not sure.

Here is what I know, the first thing you do when you arrive at a news station to appear (and I have been on several now including one foreign one) is you obviously let the right folks know you are there and on site. The very next thing that happens is that, regardless of gender or anything else, you are ushered into a makeup room, or told how soon you can get into a makeup room if all are occupied. There, they make your face up and offer to do your hair. This is not optional.

So, right off the bat, no one looks 'natural'. I know that a lot of focus group work has been done and is redone on occasion to determine what the most pleasing look is to the average viewer. Beards for men, obviously, is one thing that is out for this reason.

Now what I have already written above is just for a guest, i.e. a non-paid person not affiliated with whatever networks they go on. For someone who is a paid contributor or a host, they get specific guidelines regarding how to look and have to get changes to their hair and appearance approved.

Is the approved look racially biased? I'm starting to lean toward yes after initially being certain the answer was 'no'.