by Mike Cleaver » Tue Apr 02, 2013 10:43 pm
Most of the stuff that shows up on the prompter comes as a surprise to the anchor.
There's one guy on there who has that frightened "deer in the headlights" look on his face whenever he's on.
Can you tell I'm reading from a prompter?
Before there were prompters, you worked from a double spaced typed paper script on your desk.
You learned how to have your eyes at least one line ahead of your mouth so you could maintain some eye contact with the camera and the viewers.
Nowadays, if the prompter dies, the hilarity ensues as the anchor either clams up or attempts to ad-lib something.
Even those who have been doing it for years get that look of horror on their faces.
There used to be paper scripts on the desk but those too, seem to have disappeared in favour of a laptop but that's usually on Facebook or Twitter, not following the script as a backup.
Mike Cleaver Broadcast Services
Engineering, News, Voice work and Consulting
Vancouver, BC, Canada
54 years experience at some of Canada's Premier Broadcasting Stations