WTVJ/WSCV set
by Bianna Golodryga, continued from Becoming a News Anchor, Part 1 of 2
In the final installment of our guide to pursuing a career in broadcast journalism, we offer several more userful tips sure as you work toward employment.
5. Create a Demo Tape
Along with traditional paper resumes (or, these days, electronic job applications), you should create a resume tape. A good resume tape opens with your name and contact information before segueing into a montage of live shots featuring yourself. Then, conclude with three of your stories. Carefully sift through all the reporting you have done in school and choose your three best stories; second-rate reporting could cost you the job you want. Finally, send the tape along with other information requested in the job ad to the provided address.
6. Be Willing to Relocate
Broadcast journalism is a competitive field. Due to the competition, you should not be content to stay in one area and wait for a job to open up. If a job opens up a few cities away or even across the country, take it. You must be willing to move when opportunities arise, as they do not come up very often.
7. Be Willing to Work Any Shift
Relative to our previous tip, news stations broadcast throughout the day, even during extremely late and early hours. Just as you should not be choosy regarding where you work, you should take any shift available, especially when you are starting out in the business. Furthermore, your superiors might ask you to work additional shifts at the proverbial last minute; take them if offered, as such actions are always noted and appreciated by your managers.
8. Write for Television
Television writing is very different from other types of writing. Know that as you write for video, your writing should correspond perfectly with the images shown to the viewer. Do not use excessive descriptions of anything the viewer can plainly see, and try to keep the language simple yet catchy.
9. Be Persistent
Breaking into broadcast journalism takes time. Work hard and apply to jobs whenever and wherever they appear.
