Issue #21: Can I ask you a question? + chat with NY TV host

Have you made your summer plans yet? For some upcoming news content, I’d love to get a better sense of what people have planned. We’re hearing a lot of conflicting data, but all that really matters is how you feel and what real humans are actually doing.

Anywho, your feedback helps me shape content at major publishers and I’m grateful for it! Thank you!

Onto the goodies!

Smile-inducing:

• ‘Hard-working’ dog treated to a tennis ball shower at his TSA retirement. What a good boy!

• First-ever taco stand to be awarded a Michelin star serves real good food. Normal people are delighted knowing world-class cuisine is accessible.

• Gene therapy restored this little girl’s hearing. And now I can’t stop smiling.

Eye-opening:

• Stem cell therapy may cure diabetes. There’s promising work being done in the US and China, and a few people have already seen real results for both Type 1 and 2.

• Belgian s3x workers now get health insurance, pensions and maternity leave. Career pivot, anyone?

• New Hamphire just banned child marriage. Here’s a map of where it’s still legal. California has no minimum age, WTH?

What I’m loving right now:

• These Kitsch satin hair ties, which work out to like $1 each right now. I should probably add these to the sales-I’m-shopping section, but I have so many of these I thought I’d pop ‘em up top. Loads of neutral colors to choose from/no guilt about losing because they’re cheap ‘n cheerful.

  

• This pure cocoa powder. Up until a few months ago, I was sipping 2-3 cups of coffee each day, and while I still love coffee, I’m doing my best to cut back. Soooo now I add 2 spoons of this organic unsweetened cocoa powder to mug, hot water, and froth. I follow with already-frothed milk and voila! Perfect latte replacement.

• These seersucker bedsheets. Perfect for summer and so easy to wash!

• This Le Creuset dupe is my go-to for the Moroccan fish I make each Friday night. It’s indestructible.

Sales I’m shopping right now:

• 70% off quick-drying men’s swimwear (now under $12). Sale ends today. Bought several colors for my teenage son because he will certainly lose/ruin them by the end of the summer.

• 6-foot lightning cables $2 each. Free Prime shipping.

• Snow gear clearance! Kids snow bibs from $10 with free shipping, adult snow suits and jackets from $14. Stock up for next year.

• 32% off this extra-large bottle of lavender essential oil. I add a wee bit to my fave exfoliating lotion (which has a weird medicinal scent but is amazing). Lowkey repels bugs, too!

Chatting with Schmenny S., your fave New York TV news host

Okay, yes, names were changed to protect the innocent news reporters who didn’t clear this interview with their call signs in advance and may/may not be revealing some pretty interesting details.

If you know who Schmenny is, again, keep it between us friend, mmkay? If you don’t know Schmenny, your friends in New York probably do.

Extra Good: What’s something most people don’t know being an on-air TV news host?

Schmenny: Depending on our roles, we’re sometimes called “hosts” but also “reporters” and “anchors.” If we cover a lot of lifestyle content, we usually have the host title rather than a harder-hitting news/journalism angle. This allows us and our stations to skirt some tricky FTC laws.

And we’re always wearing those form-fitting bandage-style dresses—usually in bold colors. Why? A lot of reasons:

• Viewers report greater satisfaction with female hosts and anchors in form-fitting clothes (really)

• Viewers tune in longer when we wear bold colors. You won’t see lots of pastels even on great weather days.

• For the most part, we buy our own wardrobes. That means we’re not spending $400 a dress. Who can? Not us. We make on average between $80k and $350k per year and we mostly live in Manhattan. We can’t pay rent and also have hundreds of high end designer dresses. When I first started, we shopped at Dress Barn. Now we’re looking everywhere from outlet malls to Shein. Really.

Extra Good: Who chooses the topics you cover?

Schmenny: That’s interesting, because a lot of us who have been on-air for at least a few years have either production credits or are just trusted to produce on our own. That means we’re drumming up content, leads and ideas.

We all have real producers though, so it’s a mix. If you’re trying to get news coverage for a brand though, you should pitch a producer and an anchor or longtime host.

Extra Good: Can you share something salacious, shady or weird? We’re all ears.

Schmenny: Lots! Did you know we’re all getting out hair and makeup budgets sliced and diced? We used to rely on staff hair/makeup, but now their hours are getting cut. If you see us looking like we got hit with truck stop caboodles makeup, it’s because we did our own. And before you say anything, no, they won’t pay for a Glamsquad unless you’re one of the highest-ranking anchors at the network.

What else? We don’t wear a lot of flowy stuff or dizzying prints. Tiny florals are the enemy. Confuses cameras and audiences will email us with a lot of hate.

Nude lipsticks are banned at NBCU. Some hosts wear nudes or have their lipsticks wear off, but overall, it’s hard to find a truly nude lip at NBC. The feedback we’ve received is “you look like the walking dead.” …and viewers don’t love news content from zombies.

My friends at FOX 5 in New York have looser makeup restrictions, though a smokey eye is almost mandatory there. Unspoken rules, you know? If you watch their shows you can pick up on the subtle management differences.

Also, we ban people and brands that try to get us in hot water with the FTC. Like, all the time. If you try to throw disguised ads on the air, we’ll blacklist you or a brand. I have a list of about 40 right now that I keep in the notes app on my phone.

Extra Good though: It’s funny—after the first anonymous interview published, loads of close media friends reached out asking to share tidbits so long as their names would be protected (job security is important!). So here we are. I’ll keep offering a smattering of both on-and-off-the-record interviews, and I hope you like ‘em!

And:

• Have a popular thought leader or celeb who’d love to be interviewed in the next Extra Good? Or just one you’d love to see featured? Comment below or send me an email.

• Do me a favor? Tell a friend or colleague about the Extra Good newsletter. Means a lot to me.

Talk soon, bubbeleh. <3