"Anchorwoman" delivers hard truths about TV news

(Anchorwoman (Wed. (22), 8-9 p.m., Fox)

By Barry Garron

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Phil Hurley might go down in history as the Bill Veeck of local TV news.

Veeck, who lacked the deep pockets of other baseball owners, drew crowds nonetheless with inspired gimmicks: He set off fireworks after home runs, tried to get approval for colored balls and once famously sent a midget to the plate as a pinch hitter.

Hurley, GM of KYTX-TV in Tyler, Texas, wants desperately to bring up news ratings. "We're the new guy here, and we're looking for as many eyeballs as we can get," he explains.

His plan is to hire Lauren Jones, a staggeringly attractive former model and beauty queen (and former Barker's Beauty on "The Price Is Right," and former World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler), to be news anchor. "I don't have 14 years of anchor experience, but I want to do it," she tells the camera as she tosses a see-through bra into her suitcase. "I'm just going to go down there and do it."

Purists, including newsroom employees at KYTX, were outraged. Tyler residents saw the billboards with pictures of Jones and were incensed. They blistered the station with phone calls.

You can understand where they're coming from. They want their TV station to have integrity and credibility, and to practice solid journalism. But who are they kidding? At most stations, with their emphasis on crime news, celebrity gossip, fires and accidents, that ship sailed years ago.

Even Annalisa Petralia, KYTK's current anchor, concedes that looks are important, though she says they can only get you so far. The truth is they can get you so far, it's amazing.