| Topic Name: |
Does Sex Sell in this Business? |
| Message Name: |
who needs writing skills? |
| Date Posted: |
06/12/2005 |
| In Reply To: |
Being attractive in television helps...trust me. It helps with contacts on both side of the business, colleagues you need favors from, and it most often helps when your foot is in the door.
But never, ever believe it is the ONLY force behind your employment. Looks fade, trends change, and your skills will keep you employed until you're ready to retire. |
| Message: |
i have to laugh when i hear well-meaning advice like the above given to young reporters.
concentrate on reporting and writing? sounds good, except that i personally know and work with (or should i say write scripts for) several network correspondents who literally DO NOT WRITE at all. how did they get hired, you ask?
they look fantastic on camera, and somebody up there likes them.
how long will they last? don't know.
would they be better off if they ALSO knew how to write and report? in my opinion, probably, but the evidence is far from conclusive.
are there male reporters who make it to the network level without being able to write? not in my experience. they might write badly, but they can't get away with asking producers "what time will you have a script for me?" and not even pretending to take part in the writing process.
so in that spirit, good luck to the "black barbie" who started this thread. hope to see you at the network soon!
|
|
