MEDIA / KEVIN BRASS : Anchorwomen Don’t Split Hairs Over Coifing Needs

Blame it on Bree Walker.

The former KGTV (Channel 10) anchor, currently working in New York, established a new tradition for women in San Diego television news. Her hair looked simply mahvelous.

“Her hair was the talk of the town for a while,” KCST-TV (Channel 39) reporter Rory Bennett said.

Walker’s hair, carefully coiffed every weekday by Merle of Hillcrest, set the standard.

Yes, it’s unfair, silly and superficial. But it’s still a sad reality of television news that looks are all-important, especially for the women.

“It just goes with the territory,” said KCST reporter Cathy Clark, who regularly goes to Panache and Company in Mission Hills. Channel 39 reporters Susan Farrell, Rory Devine and Kim Devore also use Panache, sometimes as often as once a week.

“You just can’t go to Supercuts,” said Bennett, who is among the TV journalists with hair by Jak of La Jolla.

Former Channel 39 anchorwoman Laura Buxton, currently co-host of KGTV’s (Channel 10) “InSide San Diego” talk show, estimates she spent more than $2,500 a year of her own money on her hair when she was an anchor, a conservative estimate. Like many anchorwomen, she went to a hair stylist every day.

Now, she does her own hair, and only occasionally goes in to keep her roots “looking sun-kissed.” When she was with Channel 39, an image consultant hired by the station once advised Buxton that her hair was “too shiny” and that she looked “raccoony.”

“There was a period when everyone was into hair,” Buxton said. “Now, I think it has settled in a bit, and you don’t have to look like a celestial goddess anymore.”

Buxton went to Merle, along with Walker, Channel 10’s Adrienne Alpert and others, when she was with 39. With Walker as the lead, Merle was the hot hair guy in town.

“Frankly, I never wanted to go to whoever was ‘in,’ ” KFMB-TV’s (Channel 8) Connie Healy said. “I’m afraid we’d all start looking like clones.”

Like other women reporters, Healy is amazed how quickly viewers react to her hairstyles and any other changes in her appearance.

“I get telephone calls on how I do my make-up,” Healy said. “And this is journalism?”

Channel 10 anchor Kimberly Hunt said she has an advantage over some other anchors because her hair is long and doesn’t need constant attention. But people notice when she changes it.

“I get more calls on my hair and makeup,” she said, “than anything else by far--by 20-1.”

During Wednesday’s America’s Cup race, Channel 39 was scheduled to help sister NBC affiliate WNBC send a live update back to New York. But the hookup was canceled at the last minute. “The producer called and said a sailboat race in California is not news in New York,” Channel 39 producer Adam Bradshaw said. . . .

Art Good is defecting to KSWV-FM (102.9), a.k.a. “The Wave,” which means competition in the Valium jazz market should be heating up. Good is the biggest name in the local jazz radio scene. His insomniac-curing voice personified KIFM’s “Lites Out” jazz, and he was a valuable commodity promoting concerts and jazz “happy hours.”

KIFM still controls the “Lites Out” name, and KIFM officials quickly pointed out that Good has not been programming KIFM’s music for the past few years. Nevertheless, Good’s hiring suggests KSWV wants to make a serious run at improving its dismal ratings. Good, whose “Jazz Trax” show is syndicated in 25 markets, says he was enticed by the national connections of KSWV, which is owned by the huge Gannett corporation. It is also part of the national Wave network. Good’s last night on KIFM will be Oct. 18. He will be replaced by Larry Himmel. . . .

Mayor Maureen O’Connor’s trip to homeless-land last weekend upset some local journalists who were shut out of the story. O’Connor awarded an exclusive print account to her old buddy Alison DaRosa of the Tribune. Even the San Diego Union, the Tribune’s sister paper, complained to the mayor’s office about not being informed of her trip until after the fact. Channel 39’s Dave Owen stumbled onto the mayor’s plans and was given the video exclusive. “The mayor wanted to get the best experience possible,” O’Connor spokesman Paul Downey said. “And she couldn’t do that with a trail of reporters following her.”

Nora Rasenberg wanted her applications for advertising sales jobs at local radio stations to stand out from others, so she sent singing telegrams to KKYY-FM (Y95), KKLQ (Q106) and to KIFM (98.1). No word yet on whether she got a job, though Y95 did call her back. She probably won’t be working at Q106, though. The Q106 sales manager refused to hear the telegram. . . Channel 39 will debut its new call letters (KNSD), new look, music and everything else on Friday to coincide with the opening of the Olympics. Thursday night the station is playing host to a party at the Hotel del Coronado to preview its new look. . . .

Channel 10’s Michael Tuck sometimes has trouble keeping his “Perspective” out of his anchoring role. Last week he introduced a story on the mayor’s homeless stunt as “an assessment of this charade”. . . A recent segue from Channel 8’s Stan Miller: “Coming up, good news for those of us who like Polish food, but first a look at our favorite Lifesaver flavors.”. . .

Thanks go to XTRA-FM (91X) for its retrospective weekend, reminding listeners how many really crummy songs the station has played in its “Rock of the ‘80s” format.