Faced with tough competition to win over audiences, an Albanian TV channel is taking a literal approach towards giving viewers the "naked" truth -- by employing almost-topless newsreaders.
Wearing open jackets and nothing underneath, the young women reading the headlines on Zjarr TV are an unprecedented sight in the conservative Balkan country, where they first appeared on television and Internet screens last year.
The channel's owner says audiences haven't stopped growing since.
"In Albania, where the news is manipulated by political powers, the audience needed a medium that would present the information like it is -- naked," Zjarr TV owner Ismet Drishti told AFP.
"We don't sell sex, we reproduce the news as it is. It's both symbolic and good publicity," said Drishti, who plans to launch French and English language bulletins with "bare information" following the same model.
For 24-year-old presenter Greta Hoxhaj, working in a state of near undress has proved to be a shortcut to glory.
"I worked hard for five years in local television where I remained unnoticed," a cheerful and relaxed Hoxhaj told AFP in the studio, while her face was made up for the cameras.
"I regret nothing -- in the space of three months I became a star."
Every evening at 7.30 pm, Hoxhaj reads the news in a revealing and preferably pink jacket, but she was quick to point out that she dresses like other women of her age in everyday life.
Her stripped down look "is only for television, for information," said the presenter, who also studies law and psychology when she's not in the studio.
Hoxhaj's newfound fame has landed her a job offer in Sydney as a presenter for a soon-to-launch Australian TV channel -- paying 3,000 euros ($3,280) a week, and requiring her to present the news topless.
"I have not decided yet, I'm still in discussions," said Hoxhaj.
Dismissing critics
Preceding her in the anchor job was Enki Bracaj, a 21-year-old student, whose bare bulletins went viral in the Balkans and made international headlines.
Officially she left because she was unhappy with her salary, but according to her colleagues, she managed to land a job as a model at a fashion magazine.
Zjarr TV is not the only place where female anchors have gone bare -- in Venezuela, for example, a presenter on a news website stripped naked last year to toast her country's success in the Copa America football championships.
But in traditional Albania, home to a mostly Muslim population of about three million, the risque presenting style has caused a stir on Facebook and other social media sites.
"It's pathetic to have accepted such a thing just to be on screen," wrote one online critic, while another said the move was "outrageous" and "disgustingly sexist".
But Hoxhaj said she was not affected by such reactions, insisting: "I had the courage to do what I do and now I'm a star."
Aside from social networks, Zjarr TV has incited little reaction from feminist groups or journalist associations in Albania.
"There is a diversity of choice and everyone is free to change channel," said Leonard Olli, a journalist and PR specialist in the capital Tirana.
Aleksander Cipa, President of the Union of Albanian Journalists, said Zjarr TV's tactics did little to help traditional news outlets as they struggle with declining audiences and sales.
"Nudity cannot resolve the crisis in the media, which will serve anything to the public to survive," he said.
AFP
Sun Feb 28 2016
For 24-year-old presenter Greta Hoxhaj, working in a state of near undress has proved to be a shortcut to glory.
Industri minyak sawit disaran guna semula sisa untuk bahan api penerbangan mampan - Liew
Industri minyak sawit perlu mengkaji penggunaan semula sisa sebagai stok suapan penting untuk bahan api penerbangan mampan (SAF), di luar penggunaan tradisional minyak sawit.
SDG: UTP lahir pelajar berkemahiran, tinggi tanggungjawab sosial
UTP berhasrat mendidik pelajar bukan sahaja untuk mahir dalam aspek teknikal tetapi juga untuk menjadi warganegara yang bertanggungjawab.
MAA semak semula unjuran jualan kenderaan 2024 kepada 765,000 unit
Persatuan Automotif Malaysia (MAA) telah menyemak semula unjuran jualan kenderaan bermotor baharu bagi 2024 kepada 765,000 unit daripada anggaran sebelumnya sebanyak 740,000 unit.
RUU 355: Pindaan perlu untuk praktikaliti, keadilan
Apa sahaja pindaan terhadap akta itu perlu berjalan selari dengan persediaan mereka yang bertanggungjawab melaksanakannya.
Rasionalisasi RON95 dijangka beri impak lebih besar kepada PKS - SAMENTA
SAMENTA menjangkakan rasionalisasi RON95 akan memberi impak yang lebih besar kepada perusahaan kecil dan sederhana (PKS) berbanding pelarasan subsidi diesel.
Malaysia sasar pengeluaran 40 peratus sektor akuakultur menjelang 2030
Malaysia menyasarkan pengeluaran 40 peratus hasil sektor akuakultur menjelang 2030 dalam usaha membantu mengimbangi keperluan perikanan negara.
10 Berita Pilihan - (16 Julai 2024
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
PAC beri tempoh tiga bulan kepada HRD Corp
Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara (PAC) memberi tempoh tiga bulan kepada Perbadanan Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (HRD Corp) untuk mengemukakan laporan tindakan susulan terhadap syor jawatankuasa itu.
Kylian Mbappe tandatangan kontrak dengan Real Madrid
Bintang bola sepak Perancis Kylian Mbappe menandatangani kontrak selama lima tahun dengan kelab Sepanyol Real Madrid pada Selasa.
Pelepasan ketujuh air sisa nuklear Fukushima ke laut selesai
Jepun telah menyelesaikan pusingan ketujuh pelepasan air sisa radioaktif yang dirawat dari loji kuasa nuklear Fukushima Daiichi ke Lautan Pasifik pada Selasa.