Life as an Anchor


When I first auditioned to become an anchor I was nervous that I wasn't going to be selected. As weeks passed, I grew anxious that I would never get the call. Finally, when I found out I was WUFT's newest sports anchor I was overjoyed.

My anchoring career debuted when I was a seventh-grader at Bridgewater Middle School. It's funny because I would sit between the president and vice president of the school as I read the telepromenter announcing what lunch would be served that day, and which sports students were available to try out for. We would even have special guests come on such as the media specialist, whom I'd toss to. Thinking of that now cracks me up, as I toss it back over to the news anchors.

The days I anchor are long and sometimes stressful but the show goes on.

Typically, I arrive to the newsroom around 10:30 a.m. to check through which videos we have. I typically look for highlight reels made by the beat reporters, and soundbites from the corresponding coaches and players. After I have an idea of what I want to present in the show, and made sure we have supporting video, I meet with the sports director to get the OK and any more suggestions, and the ball is rolling.

I begin to write my scripts, starting with a tease heading into the commercial break. Going through each story, I write original scripts and production commands, as well as tell the production crew which graphics I want in the background. I must transcribe all of the soundbites, create lower-third and location graphics, as well as full-screen graphics when needed. Each story must be newsworthy, timeley, and of interest to our viewer demographic. The entire segmant from the tease to the chat-out with the anchors runs about 3 minutes and 15 seconds, however it takes almost the entire day.

Additionally, there is a daily meeting with the producer, anchors, weathercasters, managers and production crew to make sure everyone is on the same page for the rundown of the show.

The show goes live at 5 p.m. and ends at 5:30, and it is followed by a feedback meeting.

It's a long day, but nothing beats the experience of reporting live on TV, where anything could go wrong.

I've had a great time, and I am so thankful to have anchored my final show on Tuesday. I can't wait to see what the future holds for myself and the other students who report on camera, work the cameras, and who are behind the scenes and talking in my ear directing me.



For more information on the amazing students who play different roles within the newsroom, visit their blogs:

Justin Ahlum, Anchor
Alexis Pastore, Reporter
Lucki Henry, Anchor
Courtney Mims, Sports Anchor
Amanda Cheney, Sports Anchor
Veronika Vernachio, Anchor

You won't regret it! The show is a team effort, and everyone's role is important to make the entire show run smoothly.

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