The Information You Need If You Want to Be a News Anchor

In an era of global technology, instant news, infomercials, electronic town meetings, and “Made for TV Documentaries,” the borderlines between news and analysis, news and entertainment, news and fiction are constantly shifting.

Taylor Sampson interviewed Jay Welsh, current Florida Virtual School instructor in Journalism and seasoned broadcast journalist to talk to him about the career of journalism. When asked what would all aspiring journalists study and do before entering the profession he states “Number one is a great writing education. Very little is done without a script, and you are responsible for writing that script.” He also says to follow your passion “There is all types of different fields (for journalism careers). Mine was sports. For others it might be politics, fashion, wild life.” He even says every aspect of life has a journalist path. “The last thing would have to be comfortable speaking. You’re going to be in front of people. It can be a bit egotistical if you like being the center of attention; because that’s what you are.”

There are many challenges that are faced daily when becoming or being a mandated reporter.

Media corporations have been merging into fewer (and larger) entities which are better able to control the flow of information to the public. Because of their size and power, they can prevent unfavorable coverage of their activities in the media outlets they own. In 1983, 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all news media in the U.S. In 1992, fewer than two dozen of these corporations owned and operated 90% of the mass media; controlling almost all of America's newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations, books, records, movies, videos, wire services and photo agencies. Now only 5 huge corporations - Time Warner, Disney, Murdoch's News Corporation, Bertelsmann of Germany, and Viacom (formerly CBS) - now control most of the media industry in the U.S. General Electric's NBC is a close sixth. Democracy can't exist without an informed public. We rely on unbiased news from independent

The military and U.S. government have the ultimate say in what is broadcasted. For Operation Iraqi Freedom, the military came up with new press rules that addressed previous criticisms that it did not allow journalists contact with fighting troops in combat situations. The Pentagon now allowed reporters to travel with U.S. military units as long as they followed a strict set of rules. These rules basically meant that the military could censor and monitor all outgoing broadcasts and reports from the war. If any of the rules were broken, the reporter would be immediately sent out of contact with the military. This makes it very hard to believe the broadcasts coming from the conflict, yet the American public accepted them as the truth which is exactly how the government had designed.

Broadcasting is media programming that focuses on many genres of television. For instance, on a broadcasting channel, you can watch a drama, comedy, and news all in the same day. The three broadcasting networks, known as “The Big 3”, are ABC, NBC, and CBS. When these broadcasting channels present news, they want to stay as close to the middle of the political spectrum as possible. The goal of a broadcasting channel is to appeal to everyone and the more neutral, fact-based information released, the more views “The Big 3” will get, resulting in more money. However, narrowcasting is media programming that is focused on a particular audience. Examples of narrowcasting networks include C-SPAN, ESPN, Fox News, and CNN. ESPN stands for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network so they specialize in sports news and cater to the sports audience. Unlike broadcasting, narrowcasting will not try to appeal to the majority of Americans, so it can lean left or right on political issues and interject slightly more opinions.

In the late 1950s and into the 1960s responsibility played a large role in how news was distributed. Three television networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC, were among the outlets with formally trained news anchors who brought forth a sense of unity in the country. But, as the years progressed and people began to develop special interests, the ways news was relayed transformed (Turow, 1997, p. 40).

The public can now have a say in what they see, and this differs from ‘old guard newsrooms.’ Liquid journalism is intertwined, being a very fluctuating version. Generalizations do not seem to be the same words one would associate a journalist with. TV was free, but now people pay for in time and money. They are constantly looking for profit centers. Antitrust rulings keep companies from owning too much, and the companies are no longer stopped from syndicating by fin-syn. Buying smaller channels is a way for bigger companies to make money, too. CBS and NBC were the first two major companies for broadcasting. The FCC limits the sizes of conglomerates, questioned by the NRA. Critics argue that owning so much of each media type (radio, tv, newspaper) decreases competition of

Every news broadcast begins with music and progresses, just like any narrative. There are characters, a setting, rising actions,a climax and a resolution. These

When watching the news, we often take what we see and hear as fact, rather than checking with other sources to make sure that what is being said is true. This is because we see these newscasters as credible sources to be listened to without question. These news channels have gained this credibility through many different methods. First, they do their research and check their facts for accuracy. They may omit some details, but never do they expressly lie. This is how they maintain credibility even when stretching a story. Second, they report on sensitive subjects and subjects we think are important. They like to phrase things to make it seem like they are they good guys and those who try to keep the information quiet are trying to keep their audience in the dark. By sharing these sensitive and controversial topics they are seen as more trustworthy, as though by telling us about these heinous acts even though they’ve been told not to is a heroic act. Third, they include interviews with people who have knowledge of the field they are discussing. For example, in the news broadcast I

The first source illustrates a cartoon that presents an electronic store displaying different forms of the news, including TV stations, newspapers, and a radio. Deviations in their names are evident. Yet, the pronunciation is the same. The radio and newspaper also are homophones of The Merger and ConglomoCorp owns them all. The cartoonist uses this to highlight how oblivious people are to this problem. The news sources are placed near each other to allow the audience to realize that the same company owns them all. The news sources are questioning why media concentration is considered as bad in society. Media concentration is the process of individuals or a corporation owning increasing shares of mass media. The cartoonist believes that the

In today's society television news is an entertainment medium which was intended to provide information to the public on current issues, but that is not its prime function any more. It's also meant to help viewers see issues from different perspectives. Being objective on a certain issue cannot always exist so there is a bias of some sort in every news station. Each news station has a specific point of view and they try to persuade the viewers to agree with them. To do this they use specific evidence to support the idea, and specific language to help you to believe that idea.

Newspaper Owner 1 is a “diversified media company that generates most of its revenues through newspapers sold around the country and around the world” (pg. 122). Competition for subscribers and advertising revenues

This guide is intended to define the approved processes for interacting with the news media. “News media” refers to journalists and content creators for local, regional, and national newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations, and online publications.

The belief that journalism is in decline has triggered major alarms, because society needs an informational environment that is easily available to all citizens such as newspapers. There is a large body of journalist that suggests that if television has taken over from the press as our main source of news this may limit our capacity to learn about public affairs; newspapers are believed to be far more effective than television at conveying detailed information necessary to understand complex and detailed issues. There is also widespread concern that if journalism fails as a profession it will not be able to reach large sections of the community, particularly younger or less educated readers. This may reinforce a growing gap among citizens between the information that they receive.