News reporter Marcella Raymond addresses body-shaming letter on air

The Chicago-based reporter received an ageist letter reminding her ‘the TV news game is a young person’s business’

Marcella Raymond (Marcella Raymond/Twitter)

After a “concerned” viewer wrote to journalist Marcella Raymond to “point out” her supposed weight gain, she chose to address the letter on air.

Ms Raymond, who has been a reporter for WGN for 18 years, shared the body-shaming note on her Facebook page last week. The anonymous writer said although she may be an “excellent reporter” she should lose some weight.

“You know as well as anyone that the TV news game is a young person’s business. Being overweight makes people look older than they actually are and an overweight body takes its toll on the actual aging process, especially facially. At the very least, television is a visual medium and its performers (and each reporter IS, to a degree, a performer) should put forward their best visual presence.”

The Chicago-based reporter spoke on WGN to discuss the “ageist and sexist” criticism.

“It’s unbelievable to me in this day and age and maybe we just haven’t evolved as much as I like to think. There’s just this whole sexism, ageism. I mean I’m 50 years old, I’m not going to look like I did when I was 23,” she said.

Her colleague also raised the important issue that it is female journalists who receive this kind of criticism on a much more frequent basis.

Ms Raymond said she posted the letter to start a conversation and has since received “wonderful” support.