How to Be a Successful Newscaster

On-air newscasters must always look professional.

Newscasters are journalists who shape the news, especially when they do so on the national stage. Newscasters work at TV stations and networks to gather, examine and analyze relevant information, package it into a segment according to the station's guidelines, and deliver and broadcast the resulting news. One example is the sportscaster, a newscaster who focuses on sports news. In contrast to print journalists who deal only with the written word, newscasters must focus as much on what they're saying as on how they say it.

Things You'll Need

• Video recorder

Instructions

1. Foster your intellectual curiosity. Wonder why things happen, ask questions and find out the reasons for them.

2. Practice your speaking, presentation and delivery skills on an ongoing basis. For example, join a local Toastmasters chapter, or record yourself delivering your own newscasts, and then review the footage.

3. Practice your people skills whenever you can, as newscasters need to be completely comfortable when talking with people. They must come across as friendly, charming and communicative to win the confidence of their audience, as well as the people they interview.

4. Stay on top of current events and what's happening in the world, as well as what's happening in your field of interest.

5. Earn a bachelor's or master's degree in journalism, communications or mass communication. Do an internship at a broadcast news organization, or work at your school's broadcast station. Employers like to see that you have relevant experience even before you apply for your first job.

6. Be an honest newscaster. Meticulously fact-check, always aim to give balanced views -- even on explosive issues -- do not ever mislead viewers and inform people to make their lives better.

7. Be courageous, and don't be afraid to ask hard questions.

8. Practice relevant and proportional newscasting. For example, no matter how many deaths you may have to announce in your career, don't become numb to it.

Tips & Warnings

• It might be helpful to get inspired by the lives and deeds of famous newscasters or broadcast news anchors. Read biographies of figures like Edward R. Murrow, Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw and Barbara Walters.

References

• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011 Edition: News Analysts, Reporters and Correspondents
• Virginia Commonwealth University; Beginning Reporting, to Be a Successful Reporter; Jim Hall