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Tattoo You — Everybody Else

Summary: Despite a weak economy, more adults are getting inked. Station: Jon Delano, KDKA Channel 2 Airtime: 2 minutes, 54 seconds on March 10 Highlights: * When anchor Ken Rice announces, “Recession has hurt a lot of business-owners over the past two years, but one business is booming, and it’s spurring growth in another business and it may surprise you.” * When Delano, live from the news desk, reports that “70 years ago, only 6 percent of Americans had a tattoo. By the end of the 20^th century, it had become the sixth-fastest growing retail business in America. But just as more Americans were getting tattooed, along comes laser surgery to remove unwanted tattoos. Now both industries seem to be going gangbusters!” * When Delano narrates, in the prerecorded portion of the story, “Just look around: Tattoos have become a growth industry, especially among women, who make up more than 60 percent of the business. … Four years ago, 1 out of 4 American adults under 50 had a tattoo. That number has grown.” * When we’re shown a Brookline woman who has 58 tattoos — none of which are shown on camera. * When Veronica Delaney of South Side Tattoo estimates, “We probably have 50 percent over the age of 40 and 50 percent under the age of 40.” * When a 22-year-old man in the process of being tattooed reveals, “I got my first tattoo when I was 18, and I wasn’t too pleased with it, so I decided to get it covered up and this is sorta what I ended up with.” * When Delano discloses that “20 percent of those tattooed get them removed — because of bad art, changing lifestyles, wrong names and even job requirements. [This doctor] uses lasers at her growing business, but removing tattoos is not that easy.” * When the female doctor remarks that most of her patients are female, and “The easiest colors to remove are black and red. … Blues and greens can be removed with more difficulty.” * When Delano, back at the news desk, says, “Now, it’s painful to get a tattoo and painful to remove one, although a local anesthesia is used to numb the skin for the removal. And while a tattoo is more accepted today, many employers do not want them visible on the work site.” What We Learned: Tattoos aren’t just for sailors anymore! Unanswered Question: So … who at KDKA has a tattoo? News Value: 7. At first glance, I thought, “This isn’t new.” But in addition to documenting the well-established mainstreaming of tattoos, Delano examines the flip side, laser-surgery removal, and manages to find a bright (ink) spot in the recession.