newswatch 1 Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 It is a very nasty stereotype that news anchors are pretty boys and former miss America airheads, they show up 30 minutes before newscast, get handed the script written by writers beforehand, read off the teleprompter, and has producers talking in each anchor's ear; but the anchors do not know what the hell they are talking about; and smiling just hides the fact that they do not know shit about each story they are telling the public. That stereotype is not true. They show up a few hours, or more, before the newscasts. They write their own scripts, help the reporters out, get deeper into each story; and few anchors even run the show, like being news director (Joe Cole - anchor/news director FOX-21 KXRM Colorado Springs, CO); analyze the content, see how the story affect the anchors as if he or she was watching the story on TV. Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and Peter Jennings are prime examples of network newsmen who counteract the stereotypes that people put on newscasters. Rather of CBS News believed in not only Hard news, but he believed in objectivity (the goal you're trying to reach in the story you're reporting. Cronkite believed in what he was reporting on, even joining together Anwar Sadat (Egypt) and Mechanem Begin (Israel) in peace agreement, with President Jimmy Carter to seal the deal (1977). Jennings of ABC News did not talk about celebrities much, and he quizzed the reporters when they were live. Getting deeper into the story, reaching a goal in a story (Rather), being the anchor that does something (Cronkite), and being a concerned citizen (Jennings); now that is how they counteracted the stereotypes that people put on news anchors. To me, I never smile, but I do take it serious. I'm like Rather, Cronkite and Jennings. I believe in Hard news and objecivity; seeing how the story affects me as a human being before I pass it on to the public; I do my research and anaylsis, type the stories on the computer, call and ask around, and put the product together on computer before airtime. The less I smile, the more people see me as the real deal than a stereotype behind the anchor desk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbhcity 3 Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 This reminds me of a newscast I once produced in which one of my anchors (a bubbly, smily miss america type) smiled while reading a story about an abortion...yikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProButtonPusher 230 Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 The reason most people have these stereotypes is just by seeing them on air - they don't work with them on a daily basis, so that's the only way they can judge them. The stereotypes also come from people who are bitter and want to make these people look bad to others. News anchors are people that sit in front of the camera as part of their job. Not all of them are in it for the fame (then again, there are a select few who are) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucc 4 Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 A lot of new news anchors are young, but people MUST look past that, I think in order for people to see that anchors aren't in it for the fame they must get out and see people, i.e. cover stories. I think anchors should be doing "special assignment," "feature" stories, call it what you want, this way the more people these anchors touch in their reporting the better people will know them, and not have such negative stereotypes about young anchors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l14dap 1 Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 You've obviously been thinking about this for a while. The less I smile, the more people see me as the real deal than a stereotype behind the anchor desk. You can't be serious about this, right? In fact, I'd have some issues if I watched a news anchor over an extended period of time and never saw him/her smile. Now I'm not saying to be all smiles all the time. But I think newscasters can prove their worth as a news anchor or journalist without having to resort to being stoic and emotionless. I'm curious why you think that only newscasters that don't smile have "gravitas". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProButtonPusher 230 Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 A lot of new news anchors are young, but people MUST look past that, I think in order for people to see that anchors aren't in it for the fame they must get out and see people, i.e. cover stories. I think anchors should be doing "special assignment," "feature" stories, call it what you want, this way the more people these anchors touch in their reporting the better people will know them, and not have such negative stereotypes about young anchors. Usually it's not the young anchors people have a problem with - its usually the ones who have been in the business a while... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAVY 10 Fan 232 Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 What about the older stereotype about news anchors being heavy drinkers? Is this more exaggerated than in reality? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProButtonPusher 230 Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 It goes with any job - if people are unhappy about their situation, or stressed, obviously they may drink heavily...but I don't think it's any more then any other occupation which involves stress. Okay, since some 'staff members' don't like it, I won't be posting on this anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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