Presentation Techniques for News Program

Presentation Techniques for News Program This lesson we shall deal with the presentation techniques for an effective news program. And also deal with the principles required to learn in order to become a good presenter or anchor. ____________________________________________________________________________ Objectives After going through this lesson, you should be able to: Describe the skills for TV news anchor. Describe the principles and concept of anchoring Live show. ____________________________________________________________________________ Introduction An anchor is a person who hosts a show or a program. We can also say that anchor is the compare of a program. An anchor plays a very important role in broadcasting a program. Anchors can attract the viewers and keep them tuned to the program that he or she is anchoring. Anchors can attract viewers by their charming personality and speaking skills. The anchor should sound very confident while speaking to their audience. At the networks the TV news anchors present the news. You know the people the ones sitting there behind a desk (or in the field) telling you what’s happening in the world that day. Whether broadcasting from a small local station or manning one of the network’s primetime broadcasts TV news anchors compile news stories and deliver them. ____________________________________________________________________________ News Anchoring A news anchor is a television personality who presents material prepared for a news program and at times must improvise commentary for live presentation. The term is primarily used in the United States and Canada. Many news anchors are also involved in writing and/or editing the news for their programs. Sometimes news anchors interview guests and moderate panels or discussions. And some provide commentary for the audience during parades and other events. Anchoring is the art of finding and delivering the best possible expression to any given content. It includes factors such as use of language, shot composition, choice and selection of relevant details, and an interesting and engaging way of presenting one’s subject matter. In other words, it is the skill of capturing and holding the interest of the audience. Skills for TV News Anchor Being a news anchor requires a number of skills, the first of which is a comfort 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. Few more skills are given below: Knowledge base: An understanding of issues, names, geography, history and the ability to put all of these in perspective for viewers. Ability to process new information: Sorting, organizing, prioritizing and retaining massive amounts of incoming data. 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. Command of the language: Dead-on grammar, syntax, pronunciation, tone and storytelling — no matter how stressed or tired the anchor or reporter may be. 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 skillful, informed questioning and by listening. Mastery of multitasking: Take in a producer’s instructions via an earpiece while scanning new information from computer and other sources. 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 professionals involved. Acute sense of timing: The ability to condense or expand one’s speech on demand, to sense when a story needs refreshing or recapping. Writing Your Script Most importantly: write your script to be spoken, not read. Keep in mind that your audience will hear your words rather than see them, so it’s important to write in a way that when spoken it sounds natural. Smile: Smiling is perhaps the simplest way to connect with your audience. The warmth of a smile is a must at the very least at the beginning and very end of your performance Maintain Eye Contact: The magic of the teleprompter is that it enables you to look directly into the camera lens, creating the illusion of eye contact with your audience. Take full advantage of this by not looking away. Your continuous gaze really does engage your audience. Eye movements away from the camera can make you look a little bit ‘shifty’. Roles of News Anchor An anchor performs a wide variety of roles in a news organization. Apart from the skills that he or she is expected to have and inculcate, an anchor constantly learns on the job. The News Gathering Part of the Job How much reporting is involved in an anchor’s job is dependent 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. Handling Breaking Newswithout a Teleprompter Handling breaking news is an essential part of 247 news. When you are rushing to the studio to anchor breaking news, grab all the available information you can. Dont be afraid to ask for help. You will probably be busy throwing on your make up and tying your tie. Have someone print you out the latest wire copy or jot down the latest facts. Do not wait for someone else to write a script for you. That will just delay your appearance on the air. Being first is paramount with breaking news. Good anchors get on the air first and look like they prepared all day. Besides, reading another writers script cold on the air wont be convincing. Digest the facts yourself and convey them like a pro. Reading a Teleprompter Reading a Teleprompter effectively is a lot more difficult than many people think. First of all, most people dont read aloud as well as they think they do. Add to that the difficulties of the sentences being cut up to two or three words per line and those lines moving at a distance while you have lights in your face. Meanwhile there are thousands, maybe millions, of people watching you closely. Deal with all this while appearing to not to be reading at all. Use the teleprompter as a guide. Do not try to read every word exactly as it is written on the teleprompter. Every anchor makes mistakes. Sometimes words are misspelled. Occasionally a long word will be cut in half because it is too long for a line. Whatever the problem, if you get lost in your script you will fall apart on camera. Television Anchor Makeup Women are better equipped to deal with anchor makeup for the simple reason that they are used to applying makeup. Women will only need to make a few adjustments to their makeup routine while men must start from scratch. Any men who have a problem wearing makeup while anchoring need to get over it fast. Television cameras and bright lights will change your appearance drastically. They will wash you out, flatten your features, and bring out all the imperfections in your skin. The most manly men you see on television are wearing makeup. You should too. Anchor Wardrobe Anchor wardrobe should always start with solid colors. The goal is to minimize too many conflicting visual images in your clothing when you anchor a television newscast. Begin with a solid suit or dress shirt. Women can wear solid suits, sweaters or blouses. Pay attention to the collar. Collars are very important on TV. When you appear in a head and shoulders shot, your collar frames your face. If your collar spreads apart wide, it will make your face appear wider. If your collar is long, pointed and close together it will make your face appear slimmer. Since TV makes most people look heavier than they are, most people should wear longer point collars. The same thing applies to lapels. Wide lapels widen. Thin lapels make you appear slimmer. Punch up your outfit with a splash of color. A bright tie or scarf will brighten your face without distracting. Go ahead and be bold with red, orange or purple. Even if it seems over the top in person, it wont appear so bright on the TV news. Breaking News Live Shows No skill is more vital to the worth of a television news reporter than their ability to do a breaking news live shot. They must be able to roll up to a scene, gather as much information as they can in a matter of minutes, then deliver a live report as if he had all day to prepare. They key to a great breaking news live shot is preparation in the face of limited time and resources. Don’t try to do it all on your own. Utilize all newsroom resources to gather information. The assignment editor who sent you to the breaking news live shot should have some details. This may only be what and where the breaking news happened. Press the assignment desk to get you more information as you head to and prepare for your live shot. Ask them to pull background information and file video. Biographies and historical accounts are useful. The details can help you fill time when you dont have anything new to say. Points keep in mind during anchoring live show When you arrive on the scene, finding witnesses is your first priority. They are sound bite gold. After that, seek police and other officials. They are less desirable interviews but will do if you have nothing else. If no one seems to know what is going on, look for neighbours who can put things into context. They can tell you that the incident happens all the time or is unusual for the neighbourhood. If you have time, use one of these people as an interview in your breaking news live shot. If you have a producer or intern with you, send them out to canvas the area. While you are preparing to be on the air they can gather more information and find potential interview subjects. Write down your bullet points. You dont have time to write a script so just outline the points you want to make in your live shot. Keep everything simple, straightforward and logical. Start with the latest breaking news. It may sound obvious but many reporters fail to start with what is new. Only then should you give background and establish context. The chronologic approach is not always the best way to tell the story. Tell viewers what you dont know. Reporters often do breaking news live shots without knowing any facts. In local TV news it is more important to get on the air first than to have all the details. If you are missing important facts that are essential to the story, explain that you dont know but are working to find out. It is a great way to tease that you are advancing the story for a future newscast. Viewers appreciate this. If you are missing an obvious fact but don’t mention it they will wonder why. Once you are done telling your story stops. Dont talk too much. Reporters often lose track of what they are saying in breaking news live shots and start to yammer. Often a reporter will do a great breaking news live shot only to ruin it by dragging it on too long.

House of Sand and Fog Essays -- essays research papers

I read House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. This story is one of classic tragedy which also contains a nearly unbearable amount of suspense. It tells a story of the conflict between people of different races who have an inability to understand each other. They each want possession of a small house in the California hills but for very different reasons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On one side, there is Kathy Nicolo and Sheriff Lester Burdon who want the house from which Kathy was evicted. It previously belonged to Kathy’s father and she is reluctant to relinquish possession of it. Then there is the Behranis, a Persian family who was forced to flee to America in fear of their lives. They want the house because it symbolizes their rise from poverty (they had to leave everything behind and were quite poor when they arrived in the United States) back to affluence which, to this family, will help to restore their family’s dignity, lost when thrust into poverty. The story centers on gaining possession of the house. Unknowingly, all of these characters are doomed to tragedy by their inability to understand each other, hurtling down an explosive collision course.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main characters in this story are Sheriff Lester Burdon, Kathy Nicolo, Massoud Amir Behrani, Mrs. Behrani, and their son, Esmail Behrani. Lester has a very soft spot in his heart for battered and abandoned women, an outlook that Burdon attributes to his father's having left his mothe...

Executive Women: Substance Plus Style :: essays research papers

Executive Women: Substance Plus Style PSYC 4310 Executive Women: Substance Plus Style The article "Executive Women: Substance Plus Style" deals with the issue of whether the "abilities and attitudes of male managers are different from those of female managers" and that these differences have been used to keep women out of managerial positions. Furthermore, it suggests that it has now become "fashionable" to state that these differences are favorable and complement the business environment. Lastly, the article focused on several strategies that women should follow in order to succeed as a middle or upper level manager within a large corporation. The authors refute the notion that the differences between male and female managers are great. They mention that "the few studies that have looked at women and men in comparable managerial roles have discovered more similarities than differences across sexes" (Catalyst, 1986). A test bank from "thousands of managers and professionals in management development programs from 1978 to 1986" was cited as another reason why they believe there are few differences between male and female executives. The tests revealed that executive men and women scored equally on most areas and that executive women are just as capable at leading, influencing, and motivating groups, as well as analyzing problems. The authors go on to show that, despite these similarities, women are disproportionately represented in the ranks of Fortune 500 company executives. Repeated references are made to studies that were conducted with 22 people, 16 men and 6 women, whose job is to select executives for top jobs. These people are continually referred to as "savvy insiders" throughout the article. These so called savvy insiders were tasked with providing an example of what they considered to be a woman who "made it" and one who "derailed". They describe what basically amounts to a woman who utilizes characteristics of both masculine and feminine personalities. They came up with these four contradictory sets of expectations that women must overcome: take risks, but be consistently outstanding; be tough, but don't be macho; be ambitious, but don't expect equal treatment; and take responsibility, but follow others' advice. The research was based on a comparison between male and female managers and by tests that measured personality dimensions, intelligence, and behavior in problem-solving groups. As I had learned in a previous psychology class, personality tests are not really an effective measure of personality, nor is an intelligence test necessarily an accurate means of determining ones' success in the future. I would have been more convinced by experimental research rather than by a review of tests or an interview with 76 people. I have noticed a trend that has been

My Metamorphosis to a Reasonably Confident Adult :: Personal Narrative Writing

My Metamorphosis to a Reasonably Confident Adult In grade school, I can remember being insulted and humiliated because I displayed traits some of my peers thought were feminine. I was informed that I walked, spoke, and generally behaved like a girl. I recall feelings of anger and resentment mixed with shame and self-consciousness. I wondered why I was being singled out. Now I realized that every boy who showed some trace of femininity was singled out, not just me. At the time, of course, I thought I was the only one. I tried to hypothesize about why I was being insulted. Maybe this pink shirt is too girlish, I thought. Maybe my hair is too long. Maybe there is just something wrong with me. As I entered junior high, I began to consciously eliminate any behaviors, mannerisms, etc. that could possibly be perceived as feminine. After all, fitting in with my sexist, homophobic peers was my main objective. I wore "masculine" clothing (dark colors, button-downs, workboots), got a short haircut, and lowered my voice about three octaves when I spoke. Gym class was my worst dread. As Cooper Thompson says, "Competitive activites . . . too easily become a lesson in the need for toughness, invulnerability, and dominance." This was one-hundred percent true in my junior high school. The most violent kids ruled the gym class, and they received the most recognition from the teacher. If one of them made a violent tackle in a football game, for instance, he would be applauded by the teacher, who called such kids "men." Of course, I felt like less than a man, because I couldn't play sports for my life. This horrible truth was exposed every time gym class met, and I was mortified. Frustrated with my ineptitude, I spent hours practicing by myself: shooting baskets, hitting baseballs, anything to gain some physical coordination. In retrospect, I laugh about how much effort I put into impressing my peers in gym class! Eventually, P.E. didn't humiliate me as much, but fear of ridicule prevented me from ever trying out for a team. In high school, I made a few good friends-people who like me for the way I was and didn't care if I was inept at certain things. However, feelings of insecurity still lingered. I was terrified that girls wouldn't like me if I didn't act like a real man (whatever that is).

Keeping Google Googley

Key factors that were crucial to Google’s early success can be attributed to the following: 1. Partnered with right companies such as AOL & Yahoo spring boarded the company in success with more than 100m search enquiries per day paving the way for subsequent successes. 2. Had the right products such as Adwords, which had 4x more click-Â ­? through rates than competing products. The company followed up with Google toolbar that further penetrated the market and expanded into the right area of search for mobile devices. 3. Quickly expanded relevant services such as Google news, finance, book search, gmail, calendar documents etc. It also includes strategic acquisition of YouTube & Picasa that provided users with majority of Internet services and it increased stickiness to users achieving the results of 62. 4% for searches by December 2007. 4. Mesh organizational structure ensured shares responsibility and teamwork by enabling all parties involved to work together in the case of AdSense. The non-Â ­? departmental segregation increased teamwork and primed the organization for success. 5. Fast expansion outside of US enabled he company to operate in a global scale that in turn boosted its revenue with more than half generated outside US. About 40% of total headcount was outside US indicating aggressive expansion plans. 6. Googleplex promoted community building and was a platform for people from various business units to meet and mingle. This encouraged cross-Â ­? pollination of ideas and more importantly fulfilled the purpose of providing social interaction and intimacy that would make working with someone you already knew easier. 7. Operate as market-Â ­? based company that listened o the needs of users. This is manifested in the number 1 of Google’s ‘Ten things’-Â ­? ‘Focus on users and all else will follow’. Beta test versions allowed feedback from public that enhanced features before general release. 8. Decision based on consensus ensured that all opinions are equally respected and taken into consideration before a decision is made. A consensus meant everyone understood and agreed with the best decision, which reduces resistance later in the project. 9. New hires provided with training and induction into the company that bolstered their apabilities and reduced their learning curves, enabling them to hit the ground running at the shorted possible time. As evidenced by the above, the 5 Words to describe Google’s culture are: (1) Fast-Â ­? moving environment (2) Community environ ment (3) Innovative spirit (4) Training as a way of continuous improvement and (5) Consensus-Â ­? based decision making process. To effectively retain the Google culture, I would suggest the following: 1. Continue to employ people with the culture and values close to the company’s values. Alternatively, take in young graduates s interns to spruce idea generation in the company. 2. In tackling geographical expansion, Google can promote externships that encourage employee exchange to other locations. This will aid them in meeting colleagues from other parts of the world; promote cross-Â ­? border learning and import good practices to their local offices. 3. Continuously develop new products and services that perpetuate innovative spirit. Having more products and services gives employees variety of thought that could ensure continuous flow of ideas that can be self-Â ­? reinforcing.

Attitude Towards Women Essay

Richard is portrayed in many different styles through-out the play; from charming and cheeky to manipulative and arrogant.  He obviously has a clear set judgement on women, which to the audience is perhaps more apparent than to the characters in the play. He has a down cast view on them, and thinks the same of who continue to be intrigued by them, therefore mimics them. We can see this in Richards opening speech of the play.  In Richards opening speech he is addressing the audience directly, which was good on Shakespeare’s behalf, as it then gives the audience the feel that they are involved from the very beginning. In his opening speech, Richard states †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦To strut before a wanton-ambling nymph,†, referring to men trying to impress women. It shows he see’s women as flirtatious, loose, easy even. It shows Richard had not yet any respect for women, why we do not quite know; but it sounds as if he feels they are game playing and men who fall for the game’s he frowns upon. Perhaps there is a reason for Richards dis-interest. In his opening speech he also tells the audience about his deformities. It is possible that maybe Richard puts up a barrier to women to avoid rejection, getting hurt, as he feels they won’t love him due to his deformities. He perhaps feels he is at a disadvantage to other men, which is why he shames them, perhaps it is even jealousy. We know of his down glance on men who fall for women, and of his self pity, as earlier in his speech he claims †He capers nimbly in a ladys chamber, To the lascivious pleasing of a lute. But I that am not shaped for sportive tricks nor made to court an amorous looking glass,†. In this, he mimics men who allow their attention to be swayed by women. He believes men should concentrate more on what they are fighting for (in battle), rather than paying attention to vain women. Another speech that highlights Richards’s attitude to women  Is the one at the start of Act 2 Scene 1, the speech he makes before he goes to speak to Anne.  In this speech, he shows confidence. He knows he is able to manipulate Anne and feels proud of what he knows he can accomplish. This is shown when he predicts the outcome from saying †For then I’ll marry Warwick’s youngest daughter .. What though I killed her husband and her father? † He in a way makes it out to be a joke. As he can see how ridiculous the outcome he predicted may seem, for why would Anne want to marry Richard after what he has done to her family. Richard knows this and is proud to know he has this power of manipulation. He also shows his confidence in manipulation when saying † The readiest way to make wench amends † , meaning for himself rather than her, this shows a type of irony. Richard tells the audience how he wants to be in power; and he feels this power in knowing he can influence other people’s decisions and actions, in order to help himself. He wants to be seen as Anne’s father figure as well as her husband, as it is known how fathers in traditional life guide their daughters decisions, which is exactly what Richard would like to do to Anne, This is a perfect example to show how crude, snide and bitter Richard is, seeing as he killed both her husband and her father. The audience can see Richard wants to use Anne but what for exactly we are unsure. This of course is good as it leaves the audience with a sense of mystery and suspense. There are many reasons why Shakespeare has made Richard into such a character. Perhaps Richard is portrayed like this to the audience because he feels that women are to blame for his  deformities, which he had from birth and obviously have quite an effect in him. Perhaps he feels as he was born with them, from his mother (who is of course female), all women are capable of affecting men in such a way. And Richard of course believes  They have no right to, especially as then he feels he (or men in general) have no sense of power in such an event. Therefore Richard ‘punishes’ them through what he may see as his gift of manipulation. I think the way in which Shakespeare has portrayed Richard to the audience in this play is very clever. As it leaves the play with a constant air of suspense. Of course I do not agree with how Richards view and attitude towards women is portrayed, I find it appalling, but I do believe it gives the play an extra feeling of suspense as it does truly entice the audience. What really stands out as good to me is how Richards’s speeches are shared in confidence with the audience. It allows him to show more emotions and therefore the audience know that whatever act he may put on to others, his true colours are dark, and he is really a very snide and bitter person. This also shows what a brilliant play act Richard is portrayed as. His private speeches give the audience a feel as if they where actually involved in the play. Like they’ve been let in on a secret, just not all of it, so they need to wait through the play to discover what Richards’s true plans are.

Principles of Starting a New Business Essay

The formation of a new business is a challenging endeavor when the fundamental areas of focus in managerial incompetence, neglect, weak control systems, and insufficient capital is not mastered. Therefore, a careful analysis of the areas is needed to sufficiently evaluate the operations specifics of the new business to determine what effective measures to implement (Armstrong and Kotler, 2007). The new business with an associate to partake in a cookie gift basket provides a wonderful partnership agreement that levels the responsibility field of handing the operations. The agreement will outline the borderline to which jurisdiction each partner will cover, in order, to present a well organized business. The new business will acquire three managers to actually supervise in the store that covers the different shifts for maximum coverage and leadership. In addition, the three management team will have a unique personality that loves the initiative of business of specializing in selling cookies. This will bridge a synergy with the actual partners/owners of the new business to achieve its quest for ultimate success. The employees selected will be chosen by all level management personnel that will present a commitment to weed out unacceptable individuals that does not have the type of personality traits needed. Those traits are relevant to present the enjoyment of serving customer’s through-out the day and render the best customer service, in order to generate positive word of mouth. In addition, to secure a successful start of the new business certain areas of focus will be reviewed and address to provided the preferred results. Direct Action Plans To Areas of Focus For Success Managerial Incompetence or Inexperience The partners of the new business have over several years of banking and financial experience to start the new cookie business. The partnership agreement will be stimulated to hire experienced managers that have related skills and knowledge of the industry. The directive in the partnership agreement will outline the fundamental requirements from potential managers to have a college degree, previous work experience, and professional references that will be vetted to ensure the personality is on track to the synergy of the new business. The directive will also outline measures to ensure no failures of an incompetent manager or bad decision making that costs the new business financial harm. The measures are to begin an assessment of the situation from the manager level to identify all details of the issues. The assessment period will provide a needed communication model that provides senior management and managers to discuss the issue in a leadership environment. The outcome of the assessment phase will provide which direction to proceed in applying the next step to remedy the situation. If the issue is with an employee, the manager will apply the correct application to address the issue with the employee. The manager will follow up with the partners to have the sufficient next step of documentation and any additional notation concerning the action taken with the employee. If the issues are with company policy that a consumer is debating to change, the partners will approve the updated policy and communicate to all staff to follow suit. The overall focus of the action plan is to streamline an orderly process that follows the channel of command aspect within the new business. In this approach of steps, the process to involve the communication model through the resolution of the issues will eliminate the potential costly errors to the business. Neglect The objective to assure that the new business does not neglect imperative areas of focus that entails; employee satisfaction, customer service, hiring practices, and the pursuit to keeping costs down. The directive is to addressing incidents proactively by following the steps that includes; project risk management reporting, communication model, and the strategic management protocol. The project risk management reporting will be a weekly reporting with all management personnel to identify and discuss for immediate implementation to reduce such neglect (Robbins and Coulter, 2005). The communication model will be illustrated in order to streamline the findings of the reporting for management to implement what decisions and conclusions for the best remedy. The communication model will also provide a written documentation mechanism that outlines what was covered, how the strategy plan will be implemented, and any additional criteria to roll out for employees. Next, the follow up session is performed with management to showcase the incorporation of all prior decisions on needed corrections to accomplish the desired results. Weak Control Systems The control systems that are apart of the commitment to assure the new business a success will cover two team leaders to monitor quality management (Evans, 2007). The measures will start with routinely check points on processes that assist in identifying weak control systems. The reporting by the team leads, in which one lead for every five employees, to then address the identified weak issues to then be presented to management. The next step for the team leads will take initiative to solve issues that can weaken the control units from quality, direct marketing to customers, to the under-performance of sales clerks in which the team lead will follow the directive to seek management for any additional assistance. Insufficient Capital The goal of the new business is to establish a winning coalition of a talented team working together to control costs that can jeopardize the capital (Scarborough and Zimmerer, 2006). The strategic plan of action is to develop and sustain an internal cash management system from the senior management level to the managers. The most known factors for business failure are due to insufficient cash flow and poor cash management creates insufficient capital (Wild, Wild, and Han, 2006). Therefore, the internal system to manage and identify the cash flows and balance sheets of the new business that will be one of the main objectives to cover in the weekly communication model. The next measure is for the management to use the weekly review and within 48hours access any improvements to keep amounts of capitol in balance – that guarantees a financial stable business. Distinguish the differences between the major forms of business organizations and be able to know and identify the characteristics of each. There are three main forms of business organizations that an individual or group can formulate, in which offers many different aspects. The sole proprietorship is an easy start up, profit incentive, and total decision-making authority. The partnership organization is also easy to establish with more than one individual, division of profits, and much larger pool of capital for the business. The corporation organization can be a limited liability of stock holders, ability to attract more capitol, and transferable ownership that offers a wide range of possibilties for expansion. The decision to go into business stems from the objective on how it will be proceed to run the operation in the desired form of a business organization.