Getty ImagesShaun Ley of the BBC has been found (out) in a state we had always suspected TV news readers to be in. Just before the newscaster got into the nitty-gritty of the Israel-Palestine situation, a wide-angle camera caught Ley in the studio wearing a suit jacket and a pair of shorts. Considering London recorded its hottest day of the year last Wednesday - don't smirk, but a 'searing' 27° C - we totally are on the man's side. For those who think themselves to be smarty pants and wear casuals (or sub-casuals) outside their camera frame in their Zoom meetings, Ley has outed a professional secret that may be prevalent for years across news organisations. In April last year, ABC reporter Will Reeve was found suited and trouserless in a broadcast (about pharmacies using drones to deliver prescriptions) from home.
Being a Beeber plying his trade from the BBC Broadcasting House, Ley is in a position to normalise out-of-view shorts, bermudas, lungis, kilts, boxers and work-out pants. Used to news bulletins that are either caterwauling shows or graveyard shifts, a more casual approach, even if it is off-camera and sartorial for the time being, may be the way ahead. Even if that doesn't happen, viewers can always believe that 'south of his or her equator', newscasters are not as 'downtight' as they seem. The nation never has to know.
Being a Beeber plying his trade from the BBC Broadcasting House, Ley is in a position to normalise out-of-view shorts, bermudas, lungis, kilts, boxers and work-out pants. Used to news bulletins that are either caterwauling shows or graveyard shifts, a more casual approach, even if it is off-camera and sartorial for the time being, may be the way ahead. Even if that doesn't happen, viewers can always believe that 'south of his or her equator', newscasters are not as 'downtight' as they seem. The nation never has to know.
( Originally published on Jun 07, 2021 )