The Newsroom

Could I ever become a newscaster?

(April 2015)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
SO
southern_boy
A very strong delivery with just a couple of negligible pronunciation issues. Well done!
MO
Mouseboy33
Well even this "bedroom" production is far superior than some of the rubbish currently on the some the local channels (SheffieldLive Im look at you.) Well done. If I were you. I wouldnt dawdle. I would try to get into one of the local stations. Even if you are volunteering as a newscaster/anchor/presenter (like it really matters) I think you are quite good on air. I do think you have an "easy going" natural mannerism. Keep developing that. I hate the wooden stiff delivery you currently see nowadays. To its fake and cheesy. And avoid the catchphrases. "Thank you very much indeed" "We'll leave it there for now" Frankly your delivery ( slight accent aside) is actually better than that deadpan Mr Baxter on LondonLive. That guys sounds like he's delivering the news on sick ward in a hospital... all quiet and hushed. Hate that. I like someone to deliver the news with presence, gravitas and authority and a louder authoritative vocal range works IMO. Well done.

Dont limit yourself to thinking you have to start at newspaper. (ugh) You can get your journalism chops, by going to school and hopefully hooking up with one of local stations and get on your way. Fill up that CV. IMO broadcast and newspaper journalism are two different beasts, one might have to tendency to "taint" the other. In the writing style and delivery. If I want to listen to someone read a newspaper. Id read it myself. IMO its a bad combination and its problem that I notice. These deadpan, expression-less talking heads reading newspapers. Ugh. If you wrote that copy for the stories you read out. Well done. I would practice ad libbing breaking stories. Give yourself a breaking story topic (ie a fire, building collapse,etc) with a few details, record yourself vamping for 15 -20 mins....see how long you can go with little information, except what you know about the area and what you can cull at a moments notice online. To me, that is the mark of true journalist. Anyone can train to be a half decent "newsreader", thats why they are newsreaders, because they just reading off a teleprompter/autocue. But if you fly by the seat of your pants...now you've got something to work with. Well done.
CH
chris
Am I getting déjà vu? I'm sure we've had this exact same thread and conversation before.
Stuart, Brekkie and davidhorman gave kudos
JO
Jon
I want to become a journalist first. I'd love to go into print journalism, but I just filmed this because way into the future, I would love to be a broadcast journalist!

I don't want to just be a presenter. I'd go the proper route!

Make a report for fair sized Bristol news story, hope Made in Bristol haven't managed to get a report on it. Send it in to them and they might just use it. That's how you could get your foot in the door.

I like your subtle ITV regional news set by the way!
Last edited by Jon on 4 April 2015 10:13am
NJ
news junkie
I want to become a journalist first. I'd love to go into print journalism, but I just filmed this because way into the future, I would love to be a broadcast journalist!

I don't want to just be a presenter. I'd go the proper route!


Hi, just a little bit of advice which I got from a lot of senior broadcast journalists, I was told to specialise in a certain subject (e.g. politics or something like that) and to do that as an undergrad degree and then do the postgrad broadcast journalism course. Apparently this will set you apart from the other candidates.

Good luck!
TM
Telly Media
chris posted:
Am I getting déjà vu? I'm sure we've had this exact same thread and conversation before.



Indeed, we have.

I'm not complaining though. I think these videos are great ... really hope to see Scott on telly one of these days.
JW
JamesWorldNews
I want to become a journalist first. I'd love to go into print journalism, but I just filmed this because way into the future, I would love to be a broadcast journalist!

I don't want to just be a presenter. I'd go the proper route!


Apart from the "cheesy wink" at the end, I thought your dummy broadcast was excellent and your delivery was very good indeed. As good as some real presenters I've seen around the world.

Good luck! Go for it!
CH
Charles
I think you have a chance! You have a face for TV, and if you're genuinely interested in being a journalist unlike the millions of other people who just want to sit in an anchor chair and look pretty someday, then you're doing it for the right reasons.

I do have to disagree with what Mouseboy posted above though. If there's one skill that will help you the most, it's knowing how to write. Everything that you see on TV news has been written and rewritten beforehand. I learned how to write best not through a video production background but rather when I spent my university career writing for the school newspaper and working my way up to an editor. Finding people to interview, telling their stories, going to city council meetings and covering them- these were all things that real reporters do that I did all the time in university. These are all things you can do on your own in order to build your own portfolio. If you have the ability to transcribe recordings, select quotes, and break down complicated concepts through writing for your audience, you'll prepare yourself well for a career in television journalism. I never intended to get into print journalism, and in the brief period when I worked at a local newspaper, it was depressing. But once I stepped into the TV world, I felt that I was at an advantage over my peers because very few if them had as rigorous of a writing background as I had.

I don't think you need to wait to get hired by itv or whoever else in order to start your career— find every oooortunity that you can to work and practice as a storyteller — at school, starting a news blog, doing freelance writing, shooting your own video and posting it online, working in radio, etc.

(And after my rant in writing, this was written on an iPad, so any typos are unintentional and unironic...)
BR
Brekkie
Well if you're lucky we'll be able to drag this video out in a decade or so time to cause you maximum embarrassment, although there isn't much to be embarrassed about to be fair. Far better effort than many of the local TV examples I've seen and indeed some previous questionable efforts which have been posted here.
JW
JamesWorldNews
Well if you're lucky we'll be able to drag this video out in a decade or so time to cause you maximum embarrassment, although there isn't much to be embarrassed about to be fair. Far better effort than many of the local TV examples I've seen and indeed some previous questionable efforts which have been posted here.


Even better than some "fillers" I've seen on World News of late, let alone local TV.........

That's another story, though.....
EL
elmarko
Way better than I was expecting. Good job.
BB
BBC WORLD 24
Brilliant Job I thought. Well put together. Good pace and natural in your delivery. You strike the right balance of being serious enough yet pleasant. You need to work on your pronunciation of 'th' so that 'thousand' and 'thanks' don't sound like 'fousand' and 'fanks', but otherwise all the best!

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