No News Is Good News

I am intrigued by recent reports outlining Television New Zealand's new wardrobe policy.

They have stated that they want to start the New Year with a slightly more informal look - a New Zealand look - that means dressing for the story and the occasion."

As a long time supplier to the state-owned broadcaster as well as other networks we have seen many changes in policy.

There are many reasons for this; the industry is obviously incredibly disrupted and changing rapidly and our lifestyles continue to develop and evolve meaning our viewing habits shift.

The proposed dumbing down of their wardrobe policy is I believe a mistake.

I speak from experience having witnessed a large number of large corporate policies revert to a more formal dress code after letting things slide too much. I am also objective, these days we do very little business with them so I have nothing to lose or gain by speaking my mind.

Whether we like it or lot, the way we dress has an impact on the way we are perceived. A more formal approach speaks of authority and professionalism.

The best talent on TV goes relatively unnoticed; good clothes do that, they don’t scream look at me. TVNZ have a great wardrobe department and they do a very good job with quite minimal resources and they consistently have achieved that professional balance very well.

They have also resisted monetizing every news feed with a sponsor's message to help bolster their tight wardrobe budgets.

I personally believe that their professional “look” is now out of step with their content.

“The News” as we know it has become so tabloid and dumbed down that having it read by a man or woman dressed in a professional way is almost farcical.

Maybe they should worry more about the quality of their stories rather than how the people tasked with presenting it are dressed.