In quest for public trust, BBC boss tells reporters to look 'sweaty & dirty, not as if coming out of fine dinner party'

London: BBC reporters have been told by their boss to look a bit more ‘dirty and sweaty’ to gain the trust of viewers.

The British Broadcasting Channel’s (BBC) News digital director Naja Nielson said that dressing as if they came out of a “fine dinner party” is off-putting to audiences and “not authentic.”

According to Deadline, Nielson said, “It’s a bit like, be as sweaty and dirty as when we’re in the field is actually more trustworthy than if we look like we’ve just stepped out of an awards ceremony or a fine dinner party.”

Her comments came as BBC readies to merge its ‘World’ division with its domestic news channel. The merger is expected to cut costs and make its rolling news output more appealing to online audiences.

A signal for news presenters?

For some news presenters, the director’s comments translated into a way to wear more relaxed clothes instead of formal attires.

In fact, a source revealed that the dress code changes are already visible in the BBC newsroom. Weather presenter Tomasz Schafernaker wore a jacket and a T-shirt on screen on more than one occasion.

However, a majority of employees have taken Nielson’s directive as her desire for increased authenticity among viewers.

BBC new channel launch

The new BBC channel is set to be launched on 3 April. A source said, “The single-channel operation will be a phased launch over months, with different elements being introduced over time. No one should get hung up on April or expect to see everything change at once.”

The channel will have more focused features on international affairs but will also cover major UK news so that the domestic audience will receive bespoke output. The shows will be aired from London during the daytime and evening and from Washington and Singapore overnight.

BBC’s impartiality at risk

Last month, an independent review commissioned by BBC said journalists working under the media house “lack understanding of basic economics.”

The review was based on the corporation’s economics coverage including taxation, public expenditure, government debt and borrowing.

The report’s authors, economic experts Michael Blastland and Sir Andrew Dilnot, said that impartiality is “at risk” because some journalists at the media house “make assumptions and have gaps in their knowledge.”

“In the period of this review, it particularly affected debt. Some journalists seem to feel instinctively that debt is simply bad, full stop, and don’t appear to realise this can be contested and contestable,” said Blastland and Dilnot.

The report reviewed as many as 11,000 pieces of news content from BBC TV and radio services along with social media posts obtained from October 2021 to March 2022. The authors also spoke to more than 100 people outside and inside the corporation.

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