There Is No Earthly Reason Journalists Should Not Wear Jeans
Banning jeans in a newspaper's newsroom is dumb and mean.
Halifax Media is small as far as newpaper companies go, but their robotic corporate idiocy is world class. After purchasing the 16-paper Regional Newspaper Group from the New York Times Co. last month, Halifax greeted its new peons with an order to sign an atrociously exploitative noncompete agreement. Bad PR killed that. Next up: a needlessly intrusive and completely illogical dress code. We can actually feel the employees' spirit eroding.
Romenesko pointed out yesterday that Halifax has banned jeans in the newsroom. At all times. Everywhere. A tipster tells Romenesko the policy is "company wide," including everyone who sits in the office all day and does not deal with the public.
Look, okay. Look. Just let them wear some fucking jeans. It's demoralizing enough working for some small town newspaper and never knowing how secure your career really is. Just let them wear some fucking jeans. Journalists are smart enough to know that if they have to go to some formal event or go interview somebody important, they should dress up. If they're going to sit in the office and make phone calls and type all day, they can wear some fucking jeans. God forbid a company do anything that might make the miserable days spent in a cubicle under the fluorescent lights a wee bit more humanizing.
Just let them wear some fucking jeans and stop being jerks.
