LUTV Blog Post 5: Done!
I am done with anchoring but I’m not done with producing.
My last day anchoring
I anchored for the last time today and I am relieved because I don’t have to do it again. Now, I don’t want to sound like I hate anchoring. It’s actually not that bad. I realized, after anchoring a few times, that I don’t mind being in front of the camera. I don’t get nervous and I try really hard to do a good job. Every time I read a story and I don’t mess up, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. I think anchoring takes me back to high school when I acted in drama club. I never got the parts I wanted but I did my best with the few lines I had as a minor character. So I treated anchoring as if it was acting. I would watch news anchors on tv and I would try to copy the way they spoke. I must have done a good job because people told me I was natural on camera. I’m not good at many things but the things I am good at are things I hold dear to my heart.
The positive feedback about my on-camera work was nice to hear but it’s still not enough to convince me to pursue anchoring as a career. I would gladly accept a role in a play or a movie where I can be someone else, but in anchoring I have to be myself for the most part and that is no fun. I am much more comfortable working behind the scenes. There, I can dress comfy and not have to wear makeup. I would like anchoring a lot more if I didn’t have to dress up. Nice clothes, makeup, and styled hair is just not me. It’s too much work and I like sleep/saving money.
Another reason why I wouldn’t want to pursue anchoring is the competition. I read an article called Treat each new job like a classroom and in it, Harris Faulkner from FOX News talks about how she worked her way from obscurity to prominence. She kind of avoids answering a question about being an African American woman in the industry. I agree with her that a person’s appearance shouldn’t have anything to do with a getting a job in the news industry but in reality it does matter. I wish I could be seen as another American but unfortunately people don’t usually see me that way. People judge based on appearance, especially on tv. I don’t think I would want to compete for a job that will openly judge what I look like.
What I learned
I learned that doing news is something you have to be a part of to better understand it. By this I mean, I didn’t know anything about television news production before taking a news course at Lindenwood University. I’ve watched news before but I never analyzed it. After taking a couple of news classes, I was able to understand the purpose of news and how news operated. I can’t watch news without thinking about the writing, stacking of stories, graphics, and so much more. I have more appreciation for news anchors and news producers. I am impressed when I watch a newscast that has no mistakes. At the same time, when I do see mistakes, I am not critical of the news anchors or reporters. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, and it doesn’t feel good to make a mistake in front of a lot of people.
On to the next one
The next time I come into class, I will be producing. I’ve been looking forward to produce again. I’m glad I’ll get to produce three days in a row because I don’t do so well with time off from producing. I forget things and I make too many little mistakes. I definitely need more practice. So for next time, I will be ready to produce in comfy clothes and with a bare face.
Here’s the newscast we did today:
