[interestednovice]

If I were considering this smart casual policy for the newsreaders at BBC News. I think it would be a good idea to bring it back again.

But they would need to be sensible in how to apply this policy to their news presenters and reporters.

When we are looking at a major ceremonial event going ahead in the UK this year like the official coronation of King Charles III in May; I  don't think the BBC would be allowed to bring in a smart casual look for that day.

They would have to wear a full suit & tie for that event alongside the likes of Sky, ITV and Channel 4 News. Those sort of rules about strict dress code would come from Buckingham Palace.

The strict black dress code which was there for the Queen's Funeral last year would still be kept in place for other funerals in the Royal Family.

A similar position would be adopted from Westminister or Downing St when a former UK PM is no longer with us.

I believe you’ve just hit upon the real reason why a “formal look” is desirable on a rolling news channel. At quite literally any moment, serious sombre or tragic news could break on-air. On a rolling channel, the presenter isn’t going to necessarily have time to quickly change to a more appropriate outfit, and it would be inappropriate and insensitive to be reporting on a disaster in a casual style. 

This is presumably why even programmes such as Breakfast have presenters in formal clothes. Also, the suggestion in the thread that women are allowed to wear pretty much whatever while men are stuck with a full suit and tie currently is clearly not what happens in reality - all the women presenters wear clothes which look smart, but just not necessarily a dress every day. Plenty of men also wear something other than suit, tie and cuff-links (although, mentioning Rich Preston, I’ve noticed that he never dresses down and does look very smart every time he is on).

One man’s stuffy and outdated is another’s smart and authoritative, although perhaps this new downgrade in standards is going to mirror the downgrade in service in terms of varied content coverage and editorial relevance, once the merged channel launches, so could be said to be appropriate (that was a joke)!

“Experiments” in this area before, such as the Catch-up, have not been a success in my opinion. The presenters are far too casual (and yes, I am firmly in the target age group). It is regrettable that people think “dress like the audience” is a trend to follow, there is no need for it and it is not appropriate in my view.