Very often anchors get fed up and “call out” mistakes during commercial breaks and/or the discrepancy meetings after newscasts. The comments are often not constructive. Live TV is tense. Everyone’s anxiety is up, no matter how seasoned they are. So let’s focus on how anchors can get the message across, and have it actually be heard.
These public discussions go south fast, when an anchor says “That story on (fill in blank) was awful.” or makes fun of a story. The producer gets embarrassed and will either shut down or lash out. So how do you bring up issues without setting off a firestorm?
Anchors, just think about your phrasing a bit. “Maybe it was just me, but the end of the A block felt a little uncomfortable. I know we are supposed to get more creative. But can we talk about why we did what we did, so we can figure out if there’s another way?” This gives the producer (who, remember, is likely extremely passionate, a bit of a control freak and THRIVES on problem solving) a chance to “save face” and bring up ideas as discussion points. Then you can add to those ideas. Everyone gets what needs to be said out there, and the message is more likely to be heard.
Some anchors try and use humor. That can really cause problems. And what if the ND is at the meeting? Well then there’s even more at stake for the anchor and producer.
We delve more into those scenarios on Survivetvnewsjobs, which you can read here.
Public Airing: How Anchors Can Avoid A Backlash When Calling Out Mistakes
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