THE blonde bikini model who became ananchorwoman at a small Texas TV station for a Fox reality show has left town, but controversy remains.
Lauren Jones, 24, spent a month at CBS affiliate KYTX in Tyler, Texas, working as a reporter and anchor while learning the fundamentals of TV news.
Her experience, which ended last Friday, was filmed for the planned six-part Fox series “Anchorwoman,” scheduled to premiere Aug. 21.
The general manager of KYTX, Phil Hurley, praised Jones’ abilities.
“From day one, we knew she had the ability to do the job,” Hurley said. “She was an absolute joy to work with. She never shied away from any assignment.”
But elsewhere in town, residents and rivals were not as enthusiastic.
“What he has attempted to do, as it concerns the wonderful community of east Texas, as well as the television industry, I think is just obscene,” said Mike DeLier, general manager of NBC affiliate KETK-TV in Tyler. “It makes a mockery of journalism.”
Because the Tyler TV market is so small (it ranks 111th out of 210 TV markets), ratings are not available yet for the four weeks Jones spent at KYTX. But the anchorwoman stunt certainly brought attention to the station, although not all positive.
Hurley addressed criticism and took questions on June 14 on KYTX’s morning show, with one woman complaining that billboards in the largely conservative region that featured a sexy photo of Jones resembled ads for “a gentlemen’s club.”