To be news anchor it requires a number of skills, the first of which is being comfortable in front of the camera. There’s an element of show business in the job of a news anchor — not only do you need to be comfortable in front of the camera but you need to make people want to watch you. The latter may not be something you can learn but, certainly, gaining comfort speaking to the camera is a skill you can. A news anchor also needs to be able to think on his feet. While many anchors will read scripts — from a teleprompter or notes on their desk — information can also be transmitted aurally. If news is breaking information, it may be fed to an anchor on the spur of the moment from a producer. The anchor needs to be able to take note of what’s happening and then relay the information to the audience in a clear and concise manner.

 

The News Gathering is Part of the Job

How much reporting is involved in an anchor’s job is reliant on where the anchor works and what type of broadcast they work on. Some anchors, especially at local news stations, will report their own stories (perhaps with help from a producer or other staffer), and write the scripts they then transmit on the air. In that sense, an anchor works very much like a reporter with the main difference being that they need to craft the story in a way that works for television.

 

Here are 8 essential skills

1. Rich Knowledge base: An understanding of issues, names, geography, history and the ability to put all of these in perspective for viewers. It comes from the journalist’s commitment to being a student of the news.
2. Ability to process new information: Sorting, organizing, prioritizing and retaining massive amounts of incoming information.
3. Ethical compass: Sensitivity to ethical land mines that often litter the field of live breaking news — unconfirmed information, graphic video, words that potentially panic, endanger public safety or security or words that add pain to already traumatized victims and those who care about them.
4. Command over language: Dead-on grammar, syntax, pronunciation, tone and storytelling — no matter how stressed or tired the anchor or reporters may be.
5. Interviewing finesse: An instinct for what people need and want to know, for what elements are missing from the story, and the ability to draw information by skilful, informed questioning and by listening.
6. Master of multitasking: The ability to simultaneously: take in a producer’s instructions via earpiece while scanning new information from computer messages, texts or Twitter; listen to what other reporters on the team are sharing and interviewees are adding; monitor incoming video — and yes, live-tweet info to people who have come to expect information in multiple formats.
7. Appreciation of all roles: An understanding of the tasks and technology that go into the execution of a broadcast, the ability to roll with changes and glitches, and anticipate all other experts involved.
8. Have acute sense of timing: The ability to compress or expand one’s speech on demand, to sense when a story needs refreshing or recapping, to know without even looking at a clock how many words are needed to fill the minute while awaiting a satellite window, live feed or interviewee.

 

[This article is published by Media Center-IMAC in interest of student awareness and career guidance. Media Center-IMAC specializes in Post-Graduate/Under-Graduate diploma courses in Media SZtudies and Mass Communication & TV journalism. With practical oriented and industry specific course, Media Center- IMAC is a prominent institution in Delhi.

Our alumni have proven themselves in the media world and are currently working at prestigious media organizations and top news channels. Besides full time diploma courses, Media Center-IMAC also offers specialized certificate courses in TV reporting, Digital marketing, video editing, radio jockeying, photography and many more.

For more info, visit: http://www.mediacenterimac.com/
Or email at: mediacenterimac@gmail.com
Or call at: 011 43489010, 8076807939.]