New England TV Channel Ditches Traditional Article Of Clothing
According to their news director, the goal is to break the barrier between studio and viewer.
NECN, or New England Cable News recently made a slight change to their on air lineup, and it had nothing to do with personel. Recently, male reporters in studio have done away with the tie, a longtime staple of reporting attire. According to Boston.com, this was implemented by NECN news director Ben Dobson, who told the website “We want to reflect our audience, and the tie is a barrier between us and the audience.” It’s a piece of cloth, and if we can remove that, and reflect our audience better than we are now, we think it’s a more comfortable viewing experience.”
While many viewers are fans, others have been less impressed.
Boston.com reported that other NBC-owned stations in the region, including NBC10 Boston and Telemundo, plan to adopt the same dress code. Audrey Mansfield, visual stylist for NBC-owned stations said while "anchors are still mostly buttoned-up in the studio, out in the field, a tailored suit and tie or a brightly colored dress often looks incongruous; jeans and a sweater might feel more tonally appropriate."