Make the Most of Your Talent

Television reporters are expected to be bright, eager, inquisitive and persistent. These are the minimum qualities you should already possess before beginning to develop ‘performing’ skills for the screen. Nothing can be achieved without them, so make sure they come across–to your producer or programme editor, to those you deal with every day in the pursuit of your journalism and, above all, to your audience. Understand every story before you embark on it. Make use of any background material which might prove helpful. Think. Be informed: there is nothing worse than a reporter who is made to look foolish by an interviewee because of his or her own ignorance. Read a variety of newspapers and magazines. Watch television, especially your own output and that of your closest competition. Listen to and master the basics of radio journalism–you may find yourself working in a ‘bi-media’ environment where you are expected to be expert in both disciplines. Learn keyboard skills–few self-respecting newsrooms are without computers. Be sure you can drive, if that is appropriate for where you intend to work. Be interested in everything from sport to politics. Learn another language. Who knows when it might lead to a glamorous foreign assignment?

Style and ‘presence’

The qualities which add up to an acceptable screen ‘presence’ are in themselves subjective and almost impossible to define. It is easier to identify the negative. The camera is a cruel exposer of physical peculiarities and mannerisms, and the microphone exaggerates speech defects. Even so, every editor has a different idea of what personality is suitable for his or her programme. Voice and ‘looks’ also come into it because, like it or not, there is no escaping human nature. But a pretty or handsome face is not enough. Fashions change, sometimes driven by the technology which creates demands for different skills. At one time television news seemed to be peopled entirely by solemn, mature males with greying hair. Then came an explosion in opportunities for women and those from ethnic minority backgrounds. The biggest change of all has seen the replacement of the news ‘reader’ by the news ‘presenter’ or ‘caster’, an experienced journalist able to deal with a growing proportion of live interviews and other material within fast-moving programmes.

The need for training

Try at the outset to get a realistic assessment of your talents. It may be hurtful to be told you have an inherent weakness of voice, for example, which may never be overcome, but it is better than holding out unreasonable expectations. The main reporting techniques, including writing and interviewing, can usually be acquired with proper training. Technique can be picked up simply ‘sitting by Nellie’, but Nellie may have learned the same way and may have developed bad habits of her own.

Check your own skills

Check off your skills in the boxes provided. At the very least you should have positive answers to all of Section 1.