A TV station in Albania is employing almost-topless news anchors to boost its audience

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.

Click for more: businessinsider.com