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TV anchor wears same suit every day for a year

http://www.9jumpin.com.au/

  Karl Stefanovic, the anchor of Australia’s Today Show, wanted to see if anyone would notice if he wore the same blue suit for a year. No one noticed! Meanwhile, if his co-host wore the same outfit more than once a week, she got critical emails and calls from viewers. Missouri School of Journalism professors Earnest Perry, Mike McKean and Amy Simons discuss the issue.

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Stefanovic said he started the experiment afterhis co-host gave a lecture on the criticism female journalism receive for their appearance. While some have criticized the stunt as being superficial, others have applauded the Stefanovic for supporting women in the media.

Professor Mike McKean said regardless of the criticism, the Australian public is talking about the issue.

"I think the way the Aussies approach this thing with some good humor actually allows us to have an intelligent conversation about it, without getting the temperature level up so high."

However, McKean said he was unsure if Stefanovic's experiment would be able to inspire the change that needs to take place to support women in the media.

Professor Earnest Perry said the public needs to pay attention to the larger issue that Stefanovic is trying to address rather than focusing on his stunt.

"I remember 10 or 15 years ago when they were talking about [this issue] on television and news directors were really trying to work on [it] and then all of a sudden it just went away. Now here we are talking about it again and I don't think that this time we're going to have a lasting conversation about it."

Hope Kirwan left KBIA in September 2015.
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