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Inspiration August 10, 2016
You park yourself on your couch and entertain yourself by watching the news on TV every night. You watch the anchors relay the latest stories in the world and wish to be in their places. You’ve told everyone since the age of thirteen that you want to become a news anchor; you just don’t know how to get there.
ENTITY is here to help! Here are three tips to help you become a successful news anchor.
As a news anchor, you will be responsible for covering whatever the day brings you. This means that you will, of course, be responsible for a fatiguing list of information and stories, but you will also be responsible for staying tirelessly curious. Your curiosity is what will lead you to learn, to think and to conduct great interviews.
Curiosity will also lead to finding what you’re inspired by and finding what you’re good at. Not every news reporter is meant for hard-nosed news. Some experiences will lead you to question if you’re in the right field, and that’s okay. Of her experience as a more serious-minded news reporter, Oprah Winfrey says, “Knowing what you don’t want to do is the best possible place to be because knowing what you don’t want to do leads you to figure out what it is you really want.”
Never underestimate the power of an entry-level internship for building your network and your value. Don’t be afraid because you are young; instead, use this to your advantage. Take it from Catt Sadler, E! News correspondent and reporter, who served as a valuable asset in the workplace not in spite of her youth, but because of it.
Sadler says, “While interning at Fox, there was a segment that aired on the 10 PM news, Youth Matters, which was targeted toward teenagers and young adults. It was a total break that the news director and producer gave me the opportunity to get involved with the segment. That was my first time on the air. So, I was a part-time reporter while I was still finishing college—it was a dream come true and a massive learning experience.”
Being a television news anchor isn’t as glamorous as it looks. Often, especially in the beginning, it means working overtime and being underpaid. It’s an unpredictable job that takes a lot of work, a lot of learning, and a willingness to succeed. Of the importance of work ethic in young journalists, Barbara Walters says, “Be the last one out. Do your homework. Choose your battles. Don’t whine and don’t be the one who complains about everything. Fight the big fights.’”
Although being a television news anchor is a profession that is arguably incomparable in difficulty, it is also a job that offers experiences incomparable in reward. If you’ve set your sights on becoming this kind of journalist, it’s going to be tough, but with enough work, education, and experience, you will find yourself hearing “Lights, camera, action!” in just three… two… one!
