According to the San Antonio Express News, when female Anchors cut or straighten their hair and throw on glasses they are much more serious as anchors.

Huh?

The paper writes that San Antonio's anchorwomen are getting more and more serious — at least that's what their outward appearance on the TV news tells us.

A couple have been donning glasses. Another darkened her hair. Others now wear their tresses shorter and neater. One newscaster, who has a mane of wild curls, goes to the trouble to straighten them professionally for her weekend broadcasts and has been wearing more conservative outfits of late.

The paper then gives a rundown as how these former hussy News Anchors are changing their looks to a more conservative and serious approach.

They take a look at the changes made by the news women:

Sarah Lucero. Perhaps the most striking change has been Lucero's newest accessory on KENS' 6 and 10 p.m. news — fashionable glasses, a look ABC anchorwoman Diane Sawyer frequently rocks and one that WOAI morning co-anchor Leslie Bohl has sported now and again.

Lucero has worn them since her return from maternity leave — and the start of February sweeps — late last month.

“It's just easier right now,” Lucero said of her new eye-catching frames by Balenciaga. “With a new baby, I don't want to hassle with contact lenses. I've worn them before and they are a pain.

“I actually just started wearing the contacts again last September after my vision suddenly went bad.”

Lucero thinks the change resulted from a combination of things: her Lasik eye surgery of 11 years ago, her pregnancy and her age — she's 41.

Although the glasses may be temporary, she said she loves her designer specs.

“It's so hard to find the right frames for your face shape and size, but, fortunately, there are tons of choices!” Lucero said.

Delaine Mathieu. Over at WOAI, anchorwoman Mathieu no longer calls herself a blonde.

After more than a decade as the fairest of 'em all, she returned recently to her natural shade, light brown.

“I wanted to go back to it three years ago, but my news director then wouldn't let me,” she said.

When she finally did, “my girls were shocked at first,” she said. “They've only known me as a blonde. But they love it.”

Why darker?

“I just feel more natural — more myself — than I have in quite some time. I may brighten it from time to time, but I doubt I'll ever go back,” she said, adding that the feedback “has been phenomenal.”

Deborah Knapp. When it comes to hair length, the majority of S.A.'s news femmes opt for past-the-shoulders tresses. The longest mane, for a while anyway, was worn by KSAT's 10 p.m. co-anchor Isis Romero; but late last year, she snipped off 6 inches, and viewers have embraced the more manageable length.

Knapp, KENS' anchorwoman at 4 and 5 p.m., never did follow the voluminous hair trend. In fact, she recently went shorter; her new face-framing do is a perfect complement to her classically pretty features.

“My hairstylist, Lorraine Ballez, is terrific,” Knapp said. “I wanted something different from my curls, and she gave me this shorter, more polished look.”

Because her hair is easier to fix, “I can get to my news responsibilities” much more quickly, she added.

Karen Grace. The glamour girl of San Antonio anchors has been presenting a quieter image to KENS' weekend audiences. Her hair is smooth and less distracting, and she delivers the day's stories in more professional-looking garb.

“I just think classics and solids look best and don't distract from the information that's being delivered. It's important the viewer is focusing on the content,” she said, “not my necklace or a busy outfit."

As for the striking difference between her hair off air and on, Grace said: “I'm of mixed heritage, so my hair is supercurly. I like to go natural on my days off or add extensions.

“But for the news, I have it professionally straightened and layered. I love experimenting with my look, but for the news it has to be consistent, so I try to wear it straight and conservative.”