The image of a journalist

Does it matter how a journalist dresses and grooms him or herself? Has televsion media - and more recently and more visibly, the talk show circuit - changed that? The above Washington Post icon for the new PostGlobal feature made me think of the subject.

David Ignatius, at left, has more of what I consider the traditional journalist's image. Open collar. Hair a little mussed. Sunburnt - perhaps he just got off the plane from some foreign shore? You can imagine him sleeping on a cot, or in one of the bombed out Lebanese hotels Tom Friedman describes so well.

Fareed Zakaria, at right, looks a bit more suave. Dark suit. Hair gel. If he just returned from reporting overseas, it appears he was in air conditioning 95 percent of the time. And hey, is that lip gloss?

Granted, some of these differences are involuntary: I'm thinking age and hairline. But the style of dress and grooming are different.

Of course, one dresses according to one's beat. Ignatius might be covering a warzone, while Zakaria might be covering diplomatic meetings and interviewing CEOs about globalization. Perhaps that's why we see the contrasting appearances.

The challenge, though, is to have combat-zone cred while not looking too bombed-out yourself. Ignatius looks like he's been there, worn the flak jacket. He's dressed informally, but do viewers really want to hear about conflict from someone who looks like a corporate VP?

On the other hand, perhaps Zakaria is more keen to the interests of talk-show circuit. Tweed and earth tones can be charming and add authenticity, but they might not command the respect of the viewer.

But on the third hand, maybe it's all superficial and doesn't matter.