IB3 orders news anchors to wear more coverage: "Sober, elegant, and correct image"

PalmJosep Codony's appointment as general manager of IB3 led to immediate changes, some of which received widespread public response. An example of this is the decision to compress the broadcast of the last two episodes of the series about the Norats "due to the poor ratings of the former," the public broadcaster claimed. In response, the latter two enjoyed a historic following. Recently, Codony's team has also made decisions that have impacted the staff's daily routine. The wardrobe department received guidelines to adopt a more formal and modest wardrobe. An email seen by ARA Baleares mentions giving a "more sober, elegant, and proper" image to news anchors, as well as avoiding "clothes and hairstyles that stray from formality."

For example, while a year ago the news director, Sílvia Pol, wore a more modern wardrobe and opted for sleeveless shirts, on the news this August 1st, among many other days with similar aesthetics, she wore a blazer-trousers outfit like the ones that have been in use on television for years. Her case is one that demonstrates how the new wardrobe rules have been passed on to anchors. "They look like Jehovah's Witnesses. They're like they were in 2005, when the TV station opened," says one of the network's employees who contacted ARA Baleares to explain the situation. ARA Baleares has attempted to speak with the management of the public television station to find out their position, but has received no response.

Modernizing Attempt

According to a person close to IB3, when Albert Salas took over as the newscaster, he wanted to modernize the newscast's image. "As for women, they got rid of the blazers and opted for looser, more modern pants and allowed tank tops. Men, except for the anchors, were allowed to wear T-shirts and blazers, or even shirts and no blazers," he says.

Once Codony took office, clear instructions were given "to put an end to short sleeves and suspenders." "Women can wear dresses, but they must also wear blazers," the same source assures. "It's been said to ban tops and T-shirts," she adds. "The female presenters are very unhappy, and there are people who are fighting hard to get rid of the blazer," she explains. This source relates that one day there was an argument on the set because the presenter looked "horrible" in the blazer; she took it off at her own risk and went down to a director of the station to demand an explanation as to why she wasn't wearing one. The change in wardrobe rules, the same source reports, was not linked to a renewal of the wardrobe. "We opted for pieces we already had and those that stores loan us every week and then return." As she explains, curiously, one of the directors at IB3 "is obsessed" with male presenters wearing Levi's jeans. "There's no money to pay for it," she concludes.