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Dress code for on-air staff

seattlesarchiebunker

seattlesarchiebunker

I was scanning YouTube looking at some video airchecks. What surprised me was as late as the late 80's, there were quite a few jocks in white dress shirt/black ties...KWOD/Sacramento and WBSB/Baltimore come to mind. Oddly enough, both the above-mentioned stations were fairly low-key top 40 stations and still using rotary pots.

At what point did on-air staff start going casual? Where there a lot of "formal" hold-outs based on formats or location? When did the final stations give up the formal dress code? (or, are there still stations requiring it?) I have been around radio for two decades, and have seen nary a tie from the on-air folks (unless they pull double-duty in sales or management).
 
seattlesarchiebunker said:
At what point did on-air staff start going casual?
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Depends on the format. You see pictures of Imus and he never dressed up. You see the movie Private Parts and Howard Stern was always in t-shirts and jeans.

Around the same time, if you were in beautiful music, MOR, or news, you dressed up. You dressed for your audience. Not unlike the music stars of that day.
 
The former Shepherd Stations in Missouri required a shirt and tie for all employees until it sold to GoodRadio. That’s the last one I know of that still adhered to a strict dress code.

Most of the stations where I’ve worked had a dress code of “use your best judgment” and sometimes advised to take into account that, if you worked days, clients would be in the building and might want to meet you. A couple I’ve worked for had strict dress codes at remotes but were “use your best judgment” at the office.
 
There were regional differences, too. In California, I switched from Top 40 to AC in 1975 and never worked for a place that expected a tie, or even a shirt with buttons. It would help if the T-shirt said "Little River Band" instead of "Grand Funk", but nobody was gonna really care. Same deal in Nevada. Most of us dressed better than that, but it was purely leisure wear (and God help us, leisure suits). NOBODY---not even the PD---was wearing a tie.

I watched Geoff Edwards at KMPC in Los Angeles, a very old-line, big money MOR, do his show in 1973---in tennis whites. He didn't want to have to change before playing. Ditto Dick Whittinghil, who did his show in golf shirts, because at 9:05, he was headed for the Lakeside Country Club.

When I switched to TV news in 1981, I spent about a thousand dollars (three grand in today's money) at Macy's on dress shirts, ties, suits, slacks and suits. Never needed 'em before.

But---a friend of mine was at WGN, Chicago less than ten years ago. Shirt and tie was part of the deal.
 
I always worked stations without strict dress codes. Warm ups and a T-shirt for my morning show in winter and shorts and t-shirt with flip flops in summer. At other stations we just dressed like others we worked with. At an afternoon drive shift in a rated market, it was jeans and a polo or buttoned shirt. Nobody demanded that, it's just how we all dressed by choice. We did meet a few clients then, but not many.

I had one station requiring slacks, dress shirts and ties (per the program director). I spent dollars I needed to go elsewhere to get a week's worth of workplace attire from a men's clothier. I started my shift Thursday night. Sunday evening the program director was fired. Monday the new program director shows up in jeans and a t-shirt sporting the cover of an Eagles album...dress comfortably was his directive.

When we were photographed, we dressed nicely, casual office attire unless we were required to wear a station t-shirt. Typically the more dressy stuff was in the back of the closet minutes after the photo was taken.
 
I follow Amy Grey one half of the morning show on Radio 104.1 (Modern Rock) in Hartford, CT on Instagram. In almost every selfie/video she posts from the radio station she's wearing ripped jeans.

I also follow DJ Red from Bomba-FM in Hartford - Radio 104.1's Spanish CHR sister station (along with the stations own account) on FB and IG and he's posted pictures of himself at station remotes wearing cut-off shorts (you know jeans cut to shorts). If it was my station I wouldn't allow that. IMO, cut-off shorts make you look trashy.
 
We're mostly talking about men, but how about make-up for women? I work with a few on-air women and they feel undressed without some basic eye make-up. Some men might come in with a one-day growth, but it's rare that you'll see women without makeup.

The other thing is context. I mentioned the old WGN studios were street level with a picture window looking out on North Michigan Avenue. If you're not wearing at least a shirt with a collar, you might be confused with homeless people. Same with 6th Avenue in NYC. Walking into Rockefeller Center, where Sirius is based, and you might feel awkward in short pants.
 
I remember when I saw a photo of Rush Limbaugh in a golf shirt. Of course it wouldn't matter because he was on radio. But now there is a "Dittocam". So if you pay, you can see him too.
 
The male anchors on WCBS Newsradio typically wore a tie. (I'm not sure whether they still do.)
 
gr8oldies said:
Never worked at a station where on-air talent had to wear suits and ties. I hate trying to talk with my neck tied up
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My first paid job was 61 years ago, and I never was required to wear anything except that vague "business casual".

When I owned stations, I never required anything beyond "appropriate". When I later managed stations for others, I'd dress in accordance with the day's tasks... a suit if I was calling on clients, but otherwise relaxed.

I had many occasions to hire people from stations where excessive dress codes were imposed. It appears to have been a major attitude influence... in a negative way.
 
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Up until at least some point in the 2000's, the two FM's owned by Harold Lawder.. WAN 103.9 AVa, IL and KMHM 104.1 Marble Hill Missouri had a pretty strict dress code, suit and tie. .and you were sent home if you weren't dressed right.. even if you were the night jock on a saturday
 
I once read that Don Burden(KISN Portland OR, WIFE Indianapolis, KOIL Omaha)required a suit and tie. Employees first balked at the idea but the respect they got from businesses and the general public was well worth it.
 
semoochie said:
I once read that Don Burden(KISN Portland OR, WIFE Indianapolis, KOIL Omaha)required a suit and tie. Employees first balked at the idea but the respect they got from businesses and the general public was well worth it.
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For obvious reasons, news people tend to be more on the dressy side.
 
In my 35 years in the biz never had a dress code. However almost every station had a dress code for remotes and personal appearances.
 
semoochie said:
I once read that Don Burden(KISN Portland OR, WIFE Indianapolis, KOIL Omaha)required a suit and tie. Employees first balked at the idea but the respect they got from businesses and the general public was well worth it.
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Don Burden was a rectal termination organ.

My little story:

I was a kid... about 13 and had recently started my first radio job. But on a vacation trip through Denver, my mom took me to his Denver station. The PD was happy to show me the station.

But as we rounded a corner, I bumped directly into a guy who was walking very fast. He said to the PD, "Who's this little c---sucker?". The PD said it was a young radio trainee visitor. The guy said, "The visit is over. Get him out of here".

That was my first and only meeting with Don Burden.

I do believe he would have found an older, more identifiable c---sucker" in the bathroom mirror.
 
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DavidEduardo said:
Don Burden was a rectal termination organ.

My little story:

I was a kid... about 13 and had recently started my first radio job. But on a vacation trip through Denver, my mom took me to his Denver station. The PD was happy to show me the station.

But as we rounded a corner, I bumped directly into a guy who was walking very fast. He said to the PD, "Who's this little c---sucker?". The PD said it was a young radio trainee visitor. The guy said, "The visit is over. Get him out of here".

That was my first and only meeting with Don Burden.

I do believe he would have found an older, more identifiable c---sucker" in the bathroom mirror.
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Your little vignette was quite entertaining but my experience in meeting with radio people has been quite different. Over my lifetime, but mainly when I was 50-60 years younger, I have met with dozens of on-air staff, half a dozen engineers, a smattering of sales people and one or two suits. Without exception they have been eager to share their radio career experiences (and to engineers it is almost a religion) and encourage a young kid to pursue whatever career was most agreeable to me. It's safe to say they got me into radio, which was my specialty in the navy, although I got distracted into computers after my military career ended.
 
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