Italy's public television newsroom has ordered that all evening bulletins be read from a wooden platform raised two metres above the studio floor, with presenters required to stand throughout the broadcast so that viewers, in the words of the editorial desk, are never looked down upon by the news.
The platform was installed over the weekend by a crew of forty-one carpenters working through the night. Anchors must climb a ladder of eleven rungs before going on air, and a small team of stagehands now stands beside each ladder to confirm that no presenter has lowered their gaze during the opening headlines.
A spokesperson for the newsroom told staff that the measure was adopted after a internal review concluded that sitting at a desk had made the news feel too comfortable. Two weather presenters have already asked for permission to deliver forecasts from the roof of the building, a request that management says is under careful consideration.
Technicians have since reported that the lighting rig now requires an additional bank of lamps to illuminate the anchors' faces at height, and the set designer has been asked to build a second, taller platform for the sports segment, which is expected to be ready by the end of next week.