What Star Tribune gossip columnist C.J. wrote last Wednesday sadly reinforces the problem with television news. KARE 11 in the Twin Cities is an example of a broadcast news outlet going in the right direction by letting its journalists be themselves.

We are disappointed in the Star Tribune — why even have a gossip columnist? — and are glad the editors have apologized, and C.J.’s column online has been pulled.

Here is the backstory, in case you haven’t heard:

C.J. — the columnist never uses her real name — attacked KARE 11’s Jana Shortal for her clothing at a time when Shortal was delivering news on the Jacob Wetterling story. It is a time for Minnesotans to pull together, as the state finally learned the fate of a boy abducted back in 1989. Instead, C.J. went into attack mode over skinny jeans.

She wrote, “She looked great from the waist up in a polka-dot shirt and cool blazer, but the skinny jeans did not work.” The columnist then claimed other “media types” agreed. Shortal said she was focused on covering the tragedy, not on hipness.

Viewers get tired of people on TV acting, looking and seeming like plastic dolls. Isn’t it nice when they get out of the studio and have to go to, say, the Minnesota State Fair? Frankly, we wish the anchors on cable news would have to be more like the real-life folks we see on local news. It’s nice when Shortal and the KARE 11 staff dress down.

In fact, Shortal explained earlier this summer — in a Star Tribune column no less — that the station had given her permission to tell stories differently, to do things differently and to be more real life.

“Maybe I can break the mold of what a woman on television is supposed to look like,” Shortal wrote.

In our estimation, Minnesotans have embraced the changes and find them refreshing. Good for Shortall and KARE 11.

C.J.’s comments came off as tone deaf. She seemed to shame a woman broadcaster for trying to break the mold. On top of it all, it seemed obtuse to make the comment while Shortal delivered the tragic Wetterling story.

Would someone shame Walter Cronkite for not wearing a suit coat while delivering the news of John F. Kennedy’s assassination? No. Of course not.

The Star Tribune editors have apologized and distanced themselves from the gossip columnist. It’s time for gossip columnist herself to pen a mea culpa.