There is a perception that only attractive people are being chosen to appear on television these days, even in serious journalism roles.  One peek at Fox News seems to confirm this (do they have a factory churning out blonde talking heads?).  But if it’s all about propping up pretty girls on TV, why not take it to its logical conclusion?

Guangdong TV has done that, and has consequently found itself in some hot water.  The station has hired bikini models to give weather forecasts for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, which is being held in Ukraine and Poland.

The girls were trotted out for the first time on Saturday night, and immediately the Chinese interwebs lit up with reaction, according to Xinhua.

The women were the topic of more than 100,000 posts on Sina Weibo, the country’s most popular microblogging site, as of Tuesday afternoon. Some of the comments were positive, such as that of Liu Lai, a manager for computer manufacturer Lenovo.

After the online ruckus, Guangdong TV backed down and is now having the girls appear with t-shirts on.

CCTV has inadvertently become a victim of Guangdong TV’s decision to hire the models.  CCTV itself brought Li Yundi on board, a renowned Chinese pianist, for its coverage of the UEFA Cup.  Sadly for the venerable national state-run broadcaster, it’s decision was vastly overshadowed by Guangdong TV’s scantily-clad models.

Beijing Cream, which alerted us to the story, said the girls were chosen through a contest, according to Guangdong TV’s website:

They’re apparently also around to give live commentary of the games on Guangdong Sports Channel, which just seems like overuse of their, ahem, skills. Don’t want to risk overexposing them, you know?

You can catch a video of the “weather forecast” below in this edition of Nanfang TV.