Monday, January 15, 2007

From the Mailbag: Does Everyone Use Teleprompter?

From Tammy in Cleveland Heights:

Q: Do all the anchors use the teleprompter?

A: Mostly, all the anchors use the prompter to read from during a newscast. Some need it more than others, as there is way too many facts and details for the anchors to memorize. If they did, you wouldn't always get as concise or accurate a story.

The weather anchors always ad-libs (the cool tv term for it)...meaning they talk off the top of their head.

Most sports anchors also use prompter during their highlights to keep their reporting matched to the video they edited.

The one BIG exception at WKYC is Sports Anchor Jim Donovan who NEVER uses the prompter.. Every story he does is ad-lib'ed. And, it's very impressive to watch behind the scenes wondering how he keeps all the players names and stats in his head. He never misses a beat!