Dear Teentalker,
Thank you for writing to us about your query. Becoming a TV anchor can be pursued with any subject, including Biology.
The specialized fields like TV News anchoring requires extra domain knowledge of current affairs and discussion skills. Overall, the anchor is a link between the actual show content and the audience. He or she guides the viewers through the story of various kinds of shows such as comedy, reality, crime report or news.
Steps involved in becoming a successful Anchor:
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Interpersonal skills are vital in anchoring. One should be able to connect with viewers and studio audience naturally.
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A confident personality is a big plus for the job of an anchor.
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Command over multiple languages including the language of the broadcast is necessary.
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Minimum education is a graduate degree.
Some post graduate diplomas are being offered by many institutes in India now. Anyone can appear for the entrance exam with a bachelor’s degree.
These courses focus on practical aspects of the field such as voice modulations, pitch, diction and facial expressions. These institutes are giving specialized training to anchor chat shows, interviews and news. An anchor should also have good understanding of technical aspects of the field such as camera angles, equipment and script writing.
The Chennai based Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) provides post graduate diploma in journalism (specialisation in television). The college conducts annual entrance exams for admission. It also offers adequate job placements.
Government run Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) has centres across the country to train future TV anchors. The institute offers post graduate courses in TV and Broadcast journalism. Just like ACJ, IIMC conducts an entrance test annually.
Those who aspire to be anchors of light hearted TV and radio shows can apply for certificate programs by National School of Event (NSE) based in Mumbai, Centre for Research in Art of Film and Television (CRAFT), New Delhi and Jaipur based International Institute for Media and Films. Along with these top names, there are many private institutes which provide professional education in TV anchoring.
Anchoring is not a typical job with an 8 hours shift. You have to work in multiple shifts many times and work schedule is not fixed.
Hope this has been helpful. If you wish to discuss your query further, please chat with us from Monday through Saturday between 11am and 8pm or leave us an offline message.
Regards,
Expert Teentalk India
