As part of the understanding the media sector unit i had to research a specific area of the media industry that i would like to go into. As i would like to be a tv presenter in the near future i have chosen to research what it takes to break into the industry.
What is a presenter and what does the job entail ?
Presenters are the face/voice of tv/ radio . They introduce and host programs, interview people and report on issues and events entertaining and informing audiences on national and regional television, and satellite and cable channels.Presenter doesn’t just sit in front of a camera and read off an autocue. They are usually involved in pre production so research and rehearsal before a show is filmed or goes live. They ensure that the production runs according to the schedule. They are given instructions from the production team via an in ear mic of the autocue and have to respond to any changes made. Presenters also need to be able to adlib when necessary
The route/Qualification/Experience ?
From my research i have found that there is no official route to becoming a tv presenter, majority of the time it is down to be in the right place at the right time or working there way up from the business.Also with presenter it is about looking the part . A lot of presenters start there careers as actors/actresses,models, musicians or DJs or tv personalities. Others have trained in specific areas such as health, fashion, sports etc . For example “Embarrassing bodies ” The presenters on the program are doctors and ” How to look good naked” presented by Gok wan who is a fashion consultant.
Aspiring presenters usually start young to gain practical experience within the industry so whether thats hospital radios, student productions work placement etc. Experience is essential within this industry not to say that qualifications aren’t as important.But in saying that allot of presenters do in fact have higher level qualifications in a specific area that have no clear link to a presenting role . For example the big brother bit on the side co host Aj Odudu went to university to study English and Politics.For a lot of programmes the right look and and out going personality are more essential than qualification (exception being current affairs and the news)
Different styles ?
As a presenter you can work on a range of productions live or pre recorded
- news and current affairs
- sport
- music shows
- chat shows
- children’s entertainment
- game shows
- special interest programmes such as travel or history.
Skills and knowledge a presenter should possess ?
A presenters personality is essential to the role . They need to be confident , outgoing and enjoy socialising. Even though a Tv presenter is on screen they still need to be aware and have a sufficient knowledge of what is going on behind the scenes. This is essesntial as the presenter is part of the production team and ti makes it a lot easier to communicate with each other if they are aware of what is going on around them.
I had a look a numerous sites to see what skills they felt a presenter should poses and this is what i managed to collate
- confidence and an outgoing personality
- excellent communication and presentation skills
- a flexible approach
- the ability to ‘think on your feet’ and ad-lib when necessary
- research and interviewing skills
- calmness under pressure
- the ability to work to strict deadlines
- multi-tasking ability
- a good memory, for recalling scripts and facts
- the ability to work well as part of a team.
Working hours/Contracts ?
A lot of Tv presenters are freelance and for the ones that aren’t they are usually signed to short term contracts. For example Emma Willis the big brother host is signed to a short term contract while the show is live on air and she would be paid a fee for each contract. With freelance presenters payments vary as they can be negotiated on your terms or your agents based on how experienced you are and the type of production.
The amount of hours a presenter works all depends on the shooting schedule , type of production it is and whether you are signed to a short term contract or working as a freelance presenter.News presenters usually have time slots e.g itv news presenter Alastair Stewart OBE presents ITV News at 1.30pm and co-presents ITV News at 6.30pm. So he would be paid on the basis of how many hours he is on air.
Salary ?
Again depending on the contract a presenter can earn
£14,000 – £100,000+ a year.
References
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/tvpresenter.aspx
http://www.creativeskillset.org/tv/jobs/performers/article_1921_1.asp
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