A NEW MEANING FOR “OFF THE RACK”

In Fort Myers, Fla., a clothing rack in the boss’ office is going viral. Here’s why…

Darrel Lieze-Adams, the VP/station manager at Waterman Broadcasting owned WBBH has been with the station since 1997, starting out as news director and expanding his portfolio since.

So you’d think the guy has seen it all.

But this has him genuinely excited. With the help of his talent and a need to get rid of some gently used on-air clothes, he’s started a newsroom version of Rent the Runway, only it’s totally free.

According to Adams, “We have 26 on-air female staff members. There are more than 150 items donated by 5 different anchorwomen with clothing allowances.”

It’s like those free bicycles that some cities offer, of those “Little Libraries” that can be found in neighborhood around the country. “As a long-time news manager, I have seen plenty of research that shows the better the team looks on the air, the more authoritative the audience perceives them.  I hope that anyone with a clothing allowance might realize they could have a great impact not only on viewers but on the spirit of their team members,” said Adams.

He gives credit to his staff for coming up with the idea and continuing to contribute to the rack.

“We are going to look at a way of doing it that includes everyone. Instead of an ongoing closet, I will likely make it a quarterly event that allows all of the team with a clothing allowance the means of cycling out clothing they don’t wear anymore.  Be it dresses, suits, jewelry or ties.”

It would be great to see this idea spread across various newsrooms, Adams says.