INTRODUCTION

Many of you have hopes of anchoring news. How long it takes you to end up at the anchor desk depends mainly on two factors. The first one is talent, which is your ability to deliver the news. The second consideration is the size of the market in which you begin your career.

If you have talent and start working in a relatively small market, you may reach the anchor desk quickly. You will still, however, have to prove you are ready for that job by impressing the news director with your reporting ability. It is extremely rare for a newcomer to start anchoring five nights a week. Instead, the job will typically be advertised for someone to report three days a week and anchor on the weekends. From there, it will take many newscasts to prove your worth behind the anchor desk full time.

Also, remember that not all reporters become anchors; some good reporters do not have the special talent required to anchor news, plus there are some who prefer to work in the field rather than sit behind the anchor desk. Conversely, some anchors make awful reporters. They can read a teleprompter deftly yet are uncomfortable outside of the studio environment.

Regardless of market size, this chapter discusses the qualities you need to anchor or report in front of a camera or microphone. But as a general rule of thumb, if a last-minute anchoring option appears (such as when the noon anchor calls in sick), never hesitate to step in as a replacement.

APPEARANCE

In most fields of work, it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender, race, or age. While television newsrooms are not exempt from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, news directors try to strike a balance among their talent. If there is a job opening for a co-anchor to share the evening newscast with the current anchor (and he happens to be an older white male), expect the news director to subconsciously seek someone from another demographic. A younger male would be acceptable, while a female would be even better. A minority anchor with an African-American or Hispanic background would also “balance” the anchor desk. There are various factors at play in this scenario, but one outcome is clear; the incoming anchor will not be an older white male.

If this seems unfair, bear in mind that newscasters in previous decades were overwhelmingly white men over 40 years of age. CNN’s Bernard Shaw was an outstanding news anchor for 21 years who simply happened to be African-American. CBS hired Katie Couric to replace Dan Rather in 2006 as the sole anchor for the CBS Evening News. Other broadcast journalists, such as Connie Chung and the late Ed Bradley, reflect the growing diversification of the American public. It should come as no surprise that those appearing on-camera reflect the faces of those who are watching.

CREDIBILITY

Ask news directors what they look for in reporters and anchors and most will tell you credibility. They want people who are believable, people who come across as knowledgeable and are comfortable with what they are doing. There may be an undercurrent of ageism involved, as more seasoned anchors may be trusted more due to their decades of experience behind the news desk.

Fortunately, it doesn’t need to be this way. Credibility is a lot like respect; you have to earn it. That means taking basic steps to do your job right. Everything you do when delivering the news is shown to an audience instantly, so concentrate on the rudimentary steps to earn your credibility. A short list includes:

FAST FACT: The term “anchor” has been in use since the 1950s in describing the most dominant person within a team of reporters.

FAST FACT: Connie Chung has worked as an anchor or reporter for ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN during her career.

Each of these basic steps requires just a bit of effort, but credible anchors and reporters understand that their job is a professional one. Everything they do, whether on air or just when they are out having dinner, is in the spotlight.

■ Research. Be knowledgeable about the news stories you present. When a viewer bumps into you at the mall (and it’s going to happen), you should be able to maintain a conversation about the topics of the day.

■ Proofread. If there is a mistake or a typo in the news script, the audience does not care that someone wrote it incorrectly into the teleprompter. Be ruthless with the script. If it rings hollow, the person who looks foolish is the one reading it on camera. This is also why you want to check for foreign or difficult words that can trip you up.

■ Manners. This includes how you dress, how you interact with others, even how you drive around town. If you have a recognizable face and you zip through a school zone at 40 miles per hour, that kills your credibility. You could even lose your job.

■ Social media. Remove those spring break photos that you posted of you staggering around with an oversized drink. It was cute to your friends, but it isn’t amusing to your viewers, colleagues, or boss. Your life doesn’t need to be sterile, it just can’t be amateurish.

FIGURE 16.1 withgod/iStockphoto.com

FIGURE 16.2 eldar nurkovic/Shutterstock.com

FIGURE 16.3 nurkovic/Shutterstock.com

ONE-WAY COMMUNICATION

Basic communication classes spend much of their curriculum focusing on interpersonal communication between two people, or in small or large groups. All of this is an excellent theoretical exercise but it falls short for those in broadcast journalism. Anchors and reporters spend their time communicating in a noninteractive environment. This means that when an anchor speaks, there is no immediate feedback from the viewer or listener. The anchor cannot watch for nonverbal cues like when a viewer nods, scowls, or shakes his head. Instead, the communication is directed at an impartial microphone or camera lens.

Instead, the only feedback comes later. After the newscast, the producer may want to have a few words. You might be approached by a viewer when you are out shopping the next day. And of course, your presentation skills can quickly become a topic on social media.

There is no magic solution to mastering one-way communication except to simply talk to the camera or microphone as it if is an actual person. You must be confident, casual, authoritative, and friendly at the same time. Dustin Swedelson, a Producer at SiriusXM says:

The key to making a listener feel like part of a conversation is to treat your time in front of the microphone like a phone conversation. You have your radio mechanics that you must perform to differentiate the two. But when discussing a topic, use your imagination to picture someone in their car, at their office listening to you on the other end. You have to use language that you would use every day. If you try to use unfamiliar words to sound more intelligent, your audience will see right through it.

DELIVERY, PACING, AND DIALECTS

If you are having problems with your voice, diction, and delivery, it’s a good idea to deal with the problems while you are in college. Speech and debating courses sometimes help, but should you have serious problems, you may need a voice coach. However, some industry experts argue the need for the perfect voice. Rabyn Ratliff of Black Crow Media says:

Much like any other business in today’s society, radio has become driven by sales and demographics. In previous generations one would often hear a rich, pristine tone across all radio waves, station to station, city to city, as this was the precedence. Today, not only has the spectrum of voices heard broadened (particularly considering the number of women now on radio as compared to earlier years) but attributes formerly considered significant and necessary for on-air personalities— friendly, deep voice, good sense of timing, even talking style—have less importance than say, actually being (on air) the personality a particular audience desires to hear daily.

So having a good voice isn’t important? Of course it is, but then we must consider what a particular audience thinks is a good voice: what is the preference of the listeners, typically based on demographic and format. Consider the razor sharp, piercing voice of radio legend Howard Stern. It could probably be agreed on that he has an excellent voice for rock formats, but his voice may not be so welcomed on other formats in which listeners anticipate and prefer a smooth, nonintrusive tone.

Going further (to the dismay of all my English teachers), I must be honest and say that enunciation and its importance has likewise become lenient across some formats, specifically relating to audiences marginalized by socioeconomic status. Country and urban radio audiences for instance; I have found I prefer an on-air personality who sounds like them. It is more important to relate to the personality of the audience in these instances. It is the relativity of the words used that matters most. Overall, knowing your audience is a key attribute in the business of radio.

With an acknowledgement that delivering news leads to a profitable bottom line for the business, today’s announcers employ a wide range of pacing and delivery patterns to connect to their audiences. Traditionally, station managers and news directors looked for people who speak “standard American speech” when they hire on-air personnel. That’s another way of saying they like Midwestern voices, which are considered neutral.

Don’t count yourself out if you were not born and reared in South Dakota. If desired, some dialects can be lessened with good coaching. If they cannot be corrected, it’s still possible to work in an area where your dialect is the primary one. Rabyn Ratliff also notes:

Having an accent or absence thereof can be beneficial to an on-air personality in terms of creating an associated sound/brand. It is important though, to think beyond an on-air shift if you are looking to be more than a personality during your career. In order to navigate more freely through the various formats of radio, as well as contribute to commercial and production assignments, one should not be limited to any one style.

While the primary scope of my career has been within urban and urban influenced radio (Top 40), I have found that possessing a certain duality in terms of overall sound—diction, tone, vocabulary, and vernacular expressions—has provided me with greater oppor tunity to grow beyond just being a personality for the urban station during a certain time slot. By using or losing an accent, a person in this field can actually become a voice talent for various clients and products, across various station formats.

Sirius XM’s Dustin Swedelson agrees that dialects are not as great a barrier as they were in previous years, saying:

I think accents and dialect used to be something people tried to be neutral with in the past and it largely depends on what you are trying to do. If you are broadcasting to a certain area of the country and you don’t sound like you are from there, it’s probably easier for the people listening to you to relate to what you are saying if you sound more like them. If that isn’t possible, trying to sound neutral has benefits. However, radio is personality driven. If you aren’t staying true to who you are, and your accent is certainly part of that, your listeners will see right through it. In national radio people want to be entertained. I’m from New York, I have broadcasted in the southeast, northeast, and I’ve created programs for the entire nation. In the national landscape, if you are entertaining and engaging, your accent matters very little.

It should be noted that both Ratliff and Swedelson are approaching the argument from a radio background, which is vital for a simple reason; they both rely on their voices, not their visual appearances, to relate to the audience. With the power of their voices alone, they have seen how accents, dialects, and different pacings and speech patterns can affect the industry. As long as you are connecting with your listeners or viewers, the fear of having an “incorrect” dialect or speech pattern is overblown.

READING THE TELEPROMPTER

Aside from casual tosses and banter among the anchors, each word of the typical daily newscast is scripted. The news copy is edited together into one continuous document that appears simultaneously on teleprompters placed in front of each studio camera. Through a simple reflec tion trick, the anchor sees the words on an angled pane of glass in front of the camera’s lens. Neither the camera nor the viewing audience sees the words, so it appears that the anchor is making eye contact while telling the story.

Those wanting to be an anchor should practice repeatedly on a tele prompter system before going on-air. KYTV Anchor Ethan Forhetz says:

The vast majority of the time, I’m able to read a script in advance before I read it on the air. That’s key for me because I’m not a great at reading stories “cold,” i.e., for the first time on the air. Of course, there are times, like breaking news, in which I don’t have a choice but to read a script for the first time on the air. I think most anchors are markedly better when they can read scripts prior to the broadcast. Everyone has their own writing and speaking style, and for an anchor to be authentic, that style should remain constant. To that end, rewriting and tweaking scripts is a necessity.

FIGURE 16.4 Dishka/iStockphoto.com

It is also important to have a good rapport with the crew member who will operate the teleprompter’s speed. Since everyone reads at slightly different speeds, the anchor needs the script to keep pace with his or her delivery.

LISTENING TO YOURSELF

In the chapters on style, you learned that it is always a good idea to read your copy aloud because your ear catches mistakes and detects poorly constructed copy that your eye misses. Similarly, reading aloud alerts you to any problems you have with pronunciation, articulation, and awkward speech patterns.

Most students talk more quickly and at a higher pitch than they acknowledge. The easy solution is to simply slow down and relax, but an important step is to record your voice and then listen with a critical ear. If you don’t listen to the shortcomings of your news delivery, it is impossible to correct them.

CORRECT PRONUNCIATION

A number of newscasters avoid using words that are difficult to pronounce. The mind understands the meaning of many words, but sometimes it has trouble relaying the pronunciation to the tongue, which causes newscasters to stumble over their copy. Tricky words and phrases invite trouble.

Sometimes writers and anchors have no choice. Proper names, for example, cannot be changed. Spelling them correctly does not guarantee that they will be pronounced correctly. The writer of a newscast must identify the correct pronunciation of any difficult names in a script. Reporters should ask the people whom they are interviewing for the proper pronunciation of their names. Names of towns also should be checked if there is any doubt. For example: “Biloxi in Mississippi is pronounced Bi-lok’-si. Acadian in Louisiana is pronounced E-kay’-di-en. Kankakee in Illinois is pronounced Kang’-ka-ke. Cairo in Georgia is pronounced Ka’-ro.”

If a job takes you to a new part of the country, seek out someone who has lived in the area for some time. Colleagues who have been working at the station will be able to help, and someone at the local library or historical society will probably be happy to answer questions about the pronunciation of nearby towns or local family names.

The wire services send out pronunciation guides to their customers, which are particularly useful when covering national and international stories. If your news operation is computerized, these guides should be stored for future use.

In cities large enough to have a wire service bureau, the staff will help its clients find the proper pronunciation of a name or place in the city or state. The wires also have a phonetics desk that helps with hard-to-pronounce names in national and international news stories.

FIGURE 16.5 Castleski/Shutterstock.co

For many international stories, it is not always necessary to use the names of foreign dignitaries. If you do use them, it is a good idea to refer to the dignitaries by their titles during the rest of the story, particularly if the names are unusually difficult to pronounce. When using difficult names, write them phonetically in the copy to help the person who will be reading the script. This phonetic spelling can be given after the word or written above the word. Writers working on a newscast should ask the anchors which style they prefer. Here are examples of the two meth ods: “Cayuga (Ka-yoo’-ga) Indians still live on the land.” “(Ka-yoo’-ga) Cayuga Indians still live on the land.”

Dictionaries, which give the proper pronunciation of words, as well as their meanings, are invaluable tools. On the Internet, the website www.dictionary.com provides instant pronunciation guides. Several dictionaries of pronunciation are also available for purchase, and most newsrooms keep copies on hand. If you are unsure about the pronunciation of a word, look it up.

Name—Rabyn Ratliff

Job Title—On–Air Personality (Lady Raye), Star 105.3FM

Employer and Website—Black Crow Media; mystar105.3.com

Social Media Outlets I Use—Facebook

Typical Daily Duties—As an on–air personality during the work week, it is important to present listeners with a variety of programming within each daily show aside from music selections to help retain interest and eliminate redundancy over time.

In addition to my on–air responsibilities, I am fortunate to also work in production as production assistant for our local conglomerate of seven+ stations. The primary duties are:

■ Writing, voicing, and producing commercials (locating SFX/music/drops from our system and online libraries). That may also entail working directly with clients to write/record their voices for a commercial. This portion of my job allows me the greatest creative opportunity, but it is important to be receptive to change and varying opinion/thought, as the client may have a different vision, and ultimately, the client’s vision is what we work to create!

■ Preparing barter spots and completing affidavits. Because a number of our stations broadcast syndicated shows, a part of the agreement requires that the contracted station allot time throughout the daily clock to play commercials associated with that show or its sponsors. The production team has the responsibility of keeping those spots formatted (time requirements), updated, and subsequently, submitting affidavit forms listing times and dates the spots aired.

■ The most important part of working on the production team—logs. With the assistance of a well working automation system Simian, we are able to build a clock for each station, complete with songs, commercials, liners, even stop–sets—which signal the computer to stop and start playing music automatically, in order that we can receive feed from our syndicated shows—without the need for physical presence during those times.

It is our responsibility in production to take the music/liners/imaging submitted by our PDs, as well as the traffic (list/order of commercials) and merge them into a comprehensive template to be interpreted by an on–air computer at the start of the following day. This truly is the magic of new age radio: A computer that pulls up a saved file from the network database, and plays it continuously and seamlessly as long as the that instruction template (log) is prepared accurately and saved in place.

MARKING COPY

Most newscasters mark copy to help them remember when to pause or to emphasize certain words. They mark the copy as they read it aloud, which also helps them control their breathing. Because long sentences require extra breath, newscasters must either pause more often or rewrite the sentence. Otherwise, they sound as though they are running out of breath. Often, inexperienced newscasters try to speed up their delivery when they realize that they might have trouble getting through a complicated sentence, but that’s a poor solution. If you find yourself leaning toward this solution, rewrite your copy until you can read it at a normal pace.

Marking copy varies among stations, producers, and anchors. If an anchor wants to pause during a lengthy sentence, some will insert an ellipse of three periods (. . .) to remind themselves that it is fine to take a breath there. Other anchors use a series of slashes (///) within the copy for the same reason.

Stressing and emphasizing words leads to anchors writing the important words in ALL CAPS, while others just underline what word should be hit the hardest. Again, it is a matter of personal preference. The only key to making it all work is when the producer shuffles the script during the newscast, thus the anchors are suddenly reading a story they thought was meant for the other. In addition to knowing what special notations you use for marking your copy, you should learn your co-anchor’s preferences as well.

FIGURE 16.6 Elena Elisseeva/Shutterstock.com

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL ANCHORS

A number of anchors also stress how important it is to keep up with things, even if they are not part of their own culture, like the rock band scene and other things that appeal to younger people.

News directors agree it is important for anchors to understand that there is more to the job than looking and sounding good on the air. They also say anchors should be involved in the community through personal appearances or charity work. They also stress that it’s important for anchors to be working journalists, who should be able to handle a school board meeting or a foreign story with equal ease.

Most news directors use the same language when they speak about successful anchors, and words such as credibility, honesty, and genuine keep cropping up, along with concern and caring about what’s going on in the community. Another common denominator is that successful, top-rated anchors are all genial people who are well liked by their co-workers and their viewers.

COSMETICS

It is an ongoing assumption that anchors and reporters, in addition to having good voices, must be attractive on camera. Fortunately, the problem of “looks” is not quite as bad as it once was when it was virtually impossible to get on camera unless you were beautiful or handsome. News managers still want people with pleasing faces, regardless of race or gender, but we do see anchors wearing glasses and wrinkles are not outlawed as they once were.

The advent of high-definition cameras and monitors now seems to magnify every pore, blemish, and imperfection. Equally bothersome is that the size of home televisions has grown seemingly exponentially in the past decade. An anchor cannot just consider his or her image in the mirror. Now, they must picture it on television screens that measure 52 inches or larger diagonally.

Cosmetics are not just a vanity item for your appearance; they have become the norm for both women and men on camera. At the basic level, the on-air talent should know the following three skin items:

■ Foundation. This is a liquid that is applied to create a uniform color to the com plexion. It also conceals flaws by literally painting over them.

■ Concealer. It is a liquid that is thicker than foundation and is used to hide dark circles, blemishes, or age spots on the skin.

■ Powder. This is a loose powder that can be applied over foundation, concealer, or just on the skin itself. It reduces shininess that is caused by oily skin.

The above products come in various shades to match different skin tones. When applying, make sure to check problem areas, such as your hairline, so your skin does not abruptly change color a half-inch from your hair. Also, be sure to cover your neck, ears, and the backs of your hands for consistency.

FIGURE 16.7 Mauricio Ricaldi/Shutterstock.com

BEFORE THE NEWSCAST

Familiarity with the script is vital for anchors, particularly those who have little experience on-camera. Anchors should read through the news copy as early as possible. KYTV’s Ethan Forhetz says:

The best way to learn how to anchor is to do it. Practice. Do it in a small market and work to improve every day. Ask for feedback and don’t think you’re good right away because chances are, you’re not. Looking back on my early stuff is painful! Also, rewrite, or at least make changes to, every script in the newscast so you’re familiar with it and it comes out of your mouth on the air the way you would actually say it conversationally. Truly good anchors work hard to make it look easy. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s just reading.

Personally, I’ve never practiced in front of friends or the mirror but I don’t discount those out of hand. I do practice reading newspapers or magazines out loud from time to time, just to work on reading material I’ve not seen before. I also think it’s important to watch yourself from time to time. I still record newscasts. I don’t watch them all but they’re always there so I can check up on myself.

One benefit of newsroom software is that the anchor can run through the teleprompter script on one computer while the rest of the news team is working on the script at their own computer terminals. This flexibility not only allows for collaboration on the scripts, but it also lets anchors become familiar with the news copy before going on air.

Finally, before the anchor is ready to deliver the news, there are two important technical considerations to be addressed: Mic levels and the actual news set.

MIC LEVELS

Just as anchors read at slightly different speeds, they also differ in how loudly they speak. No one reads in a straight monotone; changes in timbre and volume are expected during a newscast. Before each show, the audio engineer will ask for a “mic check.” This is when the anchor reads a bit of the news copy so the audio engineer can set the microphone’s audio level.

It is vital that the news anchor take this seriously by speaking as close to their regular volume as possible. Not only is the engineer making sure the mic is connected and the batteries work, they are establishing a level to prevent over- or undermodulation. They also want to make sure that the mic isn’t obscured by a lapel, scarf, or a tie. Also, don’t simply count a string of number out loud, as you may mutter that or just speed through it. Instead, take this quick moment to read your actual script to get in an extra few seconds of practice.

VIRTUAL NEWS SETS

One evolution in the digital realm is the onslaught of virtual news sets. These were first used in news studios by meteorologists who delivered the weather segment in front of a green screen. Chroma key technology inserted a digital background onto the screen, thus allowing the meteorologist to appear in front of a sequence of weather maps.

Virtual news and sports sets are now gaining in popularity due to their flexibility; one green screen paired with a digital switcher can provide sets for a variety of programs in the same studio space.

Not all news stations will convert to virtual sets. Physical sets, consisting of real desks and real backgrounds, are still preferred in the majority of newsrooms. Still, if your first anchoring job requires you to sit in front of a green screen, don’t worry. The basics of news delivery remain the same.

ONLINE DELIVERY

Finally, a new delivery mode has carved a niche into newsrooms. Online delivery, which is putting the news onto the Internet, is now a de facto standard with news reporters. Although the tenets of good writing and good video are still consistent, reporters often find themselves delivering their story to online viewers on a daily basis.

In Chapter 14, we discussed how web producers are important for ingesting content onto the news station’s website. However, many reporters are often tasked with uploading their own stories at the end of their shift. At WGXA in Macon, Executive Producer Mallory Huff says:

Social media is of the utmost importance in our newsroom. We are web and social first. Our MMJs are required to post a Facebook status and tweet from the field. They also do Facebook Live and use Instagram from time to time. We just enforced a new deadline in our newsroom that if an MMJ has not posted his/her web script online at least an hour before show time, he or she will not go on air; that’s how important social media/web is in our newsroom. Web first is our motto!

The importance of getting the news onto the Internet and social media is felt in newsrooms everywhere. According to Jade Bulecza of Tallahassee’s WTXL:

I put the stories on the station’s website as well as the video. Then I post the web link to the story on Facebook. As far as promoting stories on social media sites I write a quick blurb telling viewers what I’m working on that day and what time it airs. Remember the Internet is 24/7 and most stations are not. The web is more important than ever now. It’s where most people get their news.

SUMMARY

If you wish to report or anchor for radio and television, you must analyze your voice as soon as you can. One of your instructors may be able to tell you if you need help and where you can get it. If speech courses are not offered in your journalism program, seek out the speech department. Consider the help of a coach if you have some special problems with your voice or diction.

Remember that a regional or cultural dialect will not necessarily eliminate you from contention as a reporter or anchor. Many of those problems, if they can’t be eliminated, can at least be modified sufficiently for you to work in an area aside from where you were born and reared.

If you have a good voice, learn to use it properly. Get accustomed to reading your copy aloud before you go in front of a microphone. In addition to alerting you to grammatical errors or awkward phrases you may have missed, reading your copy aloud will help you discover that certain words and names in the copy are hard to pronounce. If so, add the phonetic spellings next to or above the difficult names and places. Finally, reading your copy aloud gives you the opportunity to determine what words you want to emphasize and how you can use pacing effectively.