Contrary to what people see in movies and on their nightly local
news, journalists do not live in tweed coats and penny loafers. Day to
day, chances are journalists are dressed more like the barista who
served you coffee this morning than Brian Williams.
Journalists like dressing differently.
Aside from the journalist on the anchor desk or the political
reporters working the White House, journalists live by their own dress
code.
Sure, some newsrooms require a more professionally attired
collection of ink-stained wretches, but that convention is going the
way of the fax machine newspaper readership and dial-up Internet access.
For the most part, journalists want comfortable duds that won’t get
ruined while they’re sitting on a curb getting a quote or while they’re
busy being jostled in a herd of other journalists.
From school committee and city council meetings to the trade-show gig, journalists want three things from their clothing.
First is comfort. Shirts and pants that allow freedom of movement
for typing, taking notes and storing swag. Journalists also like that
they’re immune to dress codes at events by their very inclusion on the
credentialed press rolls.
Next is durability. Journalists (except the aforementioned crew in
Washington) spend most of their time on the street chasing down quotes
and doing real-life research. If a journalist can get three or four
days in a row out of a pair of jeans, so much the better.
Finally, a journalists’ clothes should be nondescript if at all
possible. As much as a journalist likes seeing his or her byline, they
loathe to become the story.
Contrary to Craig Sager’s recent colorful jacket-a-thon during TBS’
coverage of the American League Championship Series, journalists want
to blend into the background.
This wallflower attitude makes journalists feel supremely ethical by
keeping them in an observer role and it satisfies a journalist’s
delusion that they’re about to save the nation with their latest
page-14 piece on parking violations.
Ultimately, the saying that the clothes make the man is slightly
flawed when it comes to reporters. In this case, what journalists
really like is the freedom of the press to dress however they want.
- freelance writer Jeff Cutler (pictured), www.jeffcutler.com, who
wore unwashed jeans and a yellow rugby shirt when he penned this column.
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[...] of the media. Which makes sense. Anyone who’s ever worked as a reporter for a while has seen those other reporters who show up to, well, just about anything wearing clothing that looks like it should have been [...]