Journalists Meet – presenting news ‘on air’

It was my intention to discuss ‘copyright’ and ‘plagiarism,’ but frequent requests from particularly broadcast journalists has urged me come up with the topic ‘news on air’ so as to refine performances of Sierra Leonean TV anchors/ presenters when reading the news.

It is true that television is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn’t have in your home.

Please know this today that news reading is the point where the business of information and the game of show business meet.

This is so because the glitziness or glossiness of the presentation will depend on how far the TV station has travelled down the road to entertainment.

Trust me, as an anchor/presenter you have a duty to entertain.

Even among the ‘heavy’ set of newsreaders most outwardly disdainful of TV’s gloss and glamour, the act of being oracle to more than a million viewers will always have something of self-esteem trip about it… however hard they may try to deny it.

Be it known that as a TV presenter, you should be mindful of the cut of your suit or the shape of your tie- no wonder professionals say ‘erratic dress foretells erratic reporting.

When your performance begins to fade, the audience may take offence and what you will see them do, is change to other channel.

‘TV presenters should never let their dress sense get in the way of their news sense,’ says BBC presenter Sue Lawley: if you have a funny haircut or too low a blouse or something that’s too dramatically fashionable people will say, “Look at her, ‘what she has got on? Gosh!” Then they are looking at her and not listening to what she is saying.

So, your dress has the potent chances of detracting audience’s concentration of the news presented by anchors/presenters.”

Conservative without being dowdy is probably the safest dress style to aim for.

Similarly, presenters’ mannerisms can sometime draw more attention than the stories they are reading.

Leaning back or forward- a fault observed in good number of Sierra Leone’s TV anchors, is unprofessional.

Swaying from side to side, scratching the nose, licking the lips, blinking hard or waving the hands about, are tics which the budding anchor may have to iron out by patient practice in front of mirror, or better still, a video camera, before risking his or her reputation before an audience.

Please tell it to the absentees that ‘Journalists Meet’ improves skills of media practitioners generally.

As usual class, bye and see you in our next session.

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