During this Pandemic £77 would seem a small amount of money to spend for your own and the presenters safety.

A lot of presenters are for obvious reasons are using boom poles at the moment but as everyone who uses these tools knows only too well what a pain in the butt it is to screw and unscrew the gun mic, hence the quick release from Rycote.

What amazes me is the lack of twin radio mics being used in these live reports. When I worked for news I had a minimum of 2 radio mics. One lapel mic and one short shotgun with a transmitter and or boom pole.

In the above situation you can eliminate the lag of the question and answer if the presenter wore a lapel mic.

Here is a video of this bit of kit brought out during 2018 from Rycote which would eliminate the need to screw and unscrew a short shotgun mic for interview use. I do get the point that the boom is being used for social distancing.