|
Television news anchoring has become a sought after career
in India particularly after the flood of news channel launches
in the past decade that also threw up multiple job opportunities
for passionate youths.
While
much has been written about journalism in India there has
been a crying need to have a book on news anchoring that would
 not
just help media students to understand anchoring but also
explain what it takes to build a successfulcareer out of it.
To
fill in this need gap, NDTV India news anchor Richa Jain Kalra
has penned down a book titled 'The ABC of News Anchoring:
A Guide for Aspiring Anchors' that would go a long way to
help journalism students gain useful insight on what actually
it takes to become a successful news anchor.
The
book published by Pearson has a foreword written by NDTV chairman
Prannoy Roy. The 130-page book spanning 30 chapters has been
divided into four parts. It focuses on various aspects right
from basics of anchoring to more nuanced subjects like secrets
of being a good anchor.
The
book begins with the writer breaking several myths that people
have about anchoring and the biggest one of them all is that
news anchoring is equivalent to news reading. According to
the writer, to become a good anchor it's paramount to have
on-field experience as a reporter.
It
then goes on to explain the qualities that an anchor should
have while also outlining challenges that come with a career
in anchoring. The writer believes having knowledge of current
affairs, command over language, impressive personality, and
a good voice among others are key to becoming a successful
anchor.
In
the chapter 'An Anchors Role', the writer elucidates the entire
news process starting with how reporters add flesh to raw
news, which finally goes on-air after fine tuning information
to a proper script.
The
writer also sheds light on the 'breaking news' phenomenon
at length in the same chapter with couple of good examples
one being the example of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister
YS Rajasekhara Reddy's death when anchors had a tough time
managing the story due to lack of authentic information.
She
also explains how anchors in a TRP-driven market need to create
engagement with viewers by making even mundane news bulletins
interesting by putting emotions in words. There are other
challenges that anchors have to confront like erratic job
timings, lack of holidays and heavy work load.
Richa's
hands-on experience as an anchor comes out well in chapters
like 'Anchoring Secrets' which would help in understanding
the way a budding anchor should handle him or herself in a
tricky. Maintaining 'composure', the writer believes, is an
asset that every anchor should have.
However,
certain chapters like 'Recovering from Failure' could have
been made more valuable with real examples which would have
gone a long way in helping budding anchors understand how
they can tackle failure and bounce back.
The
book is rounded up with expert opinions from successful anchors
from different beats. The book contains views of seasoned
anchors like Rajdeep Sardesai and Vinod Dua, besides those
from specialised beats like sports and business.
Book:
The ABC of News Anchoring: A Guide for Aspiring Anchors
Author: Richa Jain Kalra
Publisher: Pearson
Price: Rs 250
|
