Newscast

Brigida Mack is news anchor for WBTV-TV.  She was nominated for an emmy in 2004 and has won many awards in Creative Loafing magazine under "Best of Charlotte" section. She came from WSOC.  Brigida enjoys watching Tar Heel basketball, working out, traveling and spending time with family and friends.

On Tuesday I watched the news on WBTV with Brigida Mack.  Her presentation is always very professional but at times she talks with too many pauses in my opinion. Sentences come across as poor pausing techniques. I guess this is a good thing because it allows her to have inflection in her voice by taking her time and paying attention to her speech.  Her tone was not as dramatic as most news anchors.  She comes across to me as just a normal news anchor, whereas, so many add color to their newscast to draw you into the stories.  I would much rather have her professionalism than the news anchors that try to be humerous and get so dramatic.  For instance, Eric Thomas, when he does the weather.  He is definitely one that adds color to his presentations.  He has a lot of inflection and use of tone, a very dramatic presentation, especially when there is exciting weather like tornadoes, hurricanes, etc that he gets to use his new technology.  Interesting point about someone that adds the dramatic aspect, will always be remembered more than the anchor that tends to sway more to the monotone area.

Announcer Profile

Although I don't see Billy Graham as an announcer, he is at the top of my list of favorites.  Working at BGEA I saw firsthand a closer look at his life and commitment to his beliefs. He was very careful not to ever put himself in a questionable position.  He definitely was a motivational speaker with great impact as he changed and influenced so many people of the world and his ministry still is changing lives today.

Of course, I like mine, Harry Smith.  He always comes across very professional and relaxed.  

Dane Cook and Glen Beck are two I would put at the top of my list also.  They are very colorful in their expressions and performances.  Dane Cook has an exceptional ability to draw a mental picture and put you right in the story.  He has great eye contact with his audience.  Glen Beck uses such drama and creativity to draw you in to his statistics and data you can't help but watch.   It will be interesting to see how successful he will be on radio because he won't have the luxury of all the props and media he used on television. (Trey had a very good presentation of Dane Cook)

I do like most sports announcers as they tend to show a lot of excitement.  Stuart Scott and his famous catch phrases create an entertaining as well as informative atmosphere which draws in his audience.  Will did a great presentation, well rehearsed and knowledgeable of his subject.

Jay Leno and Jon Stuart are two I don't really care for.  I do not care to listen to negative people bashing.  I know in politics it is popular to trash your opponents or the "other party", but I do not care for that.  It does not benefit anyone and I personally think there is much better material for comedy than constantly degrading people just for a laugh.  I try to stay away from negative as much as possible. I did find it interesting that Jay Leno built his career on personal experience and that his 5th grade teacher said if he were a comedian, he would be a star.

Lastly, didn't care for Dick Cavett either.  Video clip didn't really show me enough of Dick Cavett, it focused more on his guest.  He really didn't seem to have control of his show. Maybe I would have a different opinion if I knew more about him. I have never watched his shows.

Interesting array of different announcers.  Each one has their own unique way to connect with their audience, some more colorful than others.  It takes many different personalities and approaches, and knowing your audience will determine your success.

Broadcast Challenges

In summary, the most challenging skill I will face in broadcast speech will be my southern accent and my posture.  I tend to slump and not be in the best physical condition.  My southern accent is very strong and I never realize it until I hear myself on video.  My perfectionist attitude and determination to complete a project sometimes can be more of a hindrance than an advantage because I end up spending too much time on my projects and making them late.  I look forward to working on these skills and getting that southern accent a little less noticable.

Osama or Obama

It was very exciting worldwide to hear the news that Obama bin Laden, I mean Osama Bin Laden was killed by Navy Seals at his compound in Pakistan.  As my husband told me, he had to correct himself because he first said Obama. As the day progressed, I continued to watch news updates and each time there were new video images released to the media.  Americans in joyous celebration, chanting U-S-A, U-S-A on college campuses.  Every channel had some coverage of this historical event as it unfolded and the news traveled. Late last night on the Jimmy Kimmel show, he did a segment to recap clips from reporters from many different stations.  To my surprise we were not the only ones that mistakenly said Obama instead of Osama. There were quite a few.  Many, many years ago we would never have imagined that our President would be questioned about his Muslim faith, his name would be Barack Hussein Obama, and there would be an issue with his birth certificate. We can only imagine what the future holds for us.

Osama Bin Laden Killed

  I did not find Osama Bin Laden was killed until around 8:30 am yesterday morning.  As the day progressed and more updates were being revealed, along with video images from celebrations all over the world, the reality of just how significant this was became evident.  The images from the site of the World Trade Center and surrounding in New York were extreme jubilation.  It was a strange feeling to see the images from Americans in celebration over killing someone.  That is something we only see in other countries where they are in celebration and are burning flags and images of some political figure.  And the preacher that burned the Koran is another news story that you wouldnn't expect to hear about in America, but we did.  What does this say about the direction our country is going?  It was sad to see the families of those that lost loved ones in the 9-11 attack, but joyful for them to express their sentiments of having closure in a sense.  They have waited ten years for this day and in some strange way brought some peace.  The media reported how the attack on the World Trade Center changed so many lives and brought many changes to our way of life. We will continue to see the changes and stand guard for what door this event will open in our future.

Spring Semester

It is hard to believe we are at the end of this semester.  Where did the time go?  Having spring break and easter break made the time fly by.  I traveled back to Florida over Easter break.  My daughter, her boyfriend, and myself traveled to Orlando for a few days and then to Daytona.  What an awesome place to visit.  On Tuesday and Wednesday the temperature broke records in Orlando, topping out at 95.  The next couple of days it was in the 80's and on Saturday, after the cold front moved through, it was 73 in Daytona.   What a great day on the beach with clear, blue skies, the ocean breeze brushing across my face, and relaxing in the lounge chair soaking up that golden sunshine.  I could feel the heat on my legs as the beams of sunshine were getting me ready for a night of burning.  But, I was not alone, the cool day was quite deceiving, as others didn't realize the sun quietly burning our skin under the covers of the wind.  As nightfall approached and the sun had gone for the day, it's work did not go unnoticed, for everyone was walking around quite different from the morning.  It was as if some artist had brought his palette of only red paint and highlighted the exposed skin of the beachcombers.  Everyone that stepped on the beach that day, walked off with a new glow.

The adrenaline and excitement of the Endeavor shuttle launch was incredible.  It was like a festival as vendors selling shirts, hot dogs, jumbo boiled peanuts, and drinks were everywhere.  The bridge over the bay in Titusville was buzzing with people as they claim their spot to watch this historical final launch of Endearvor.  Photographers were everywhere.  Tripods and cameras ready for the big lift-off.  The roadside was lined with campers and RV's, canopy's, television crews, folding chairs and people were tailgating.  This was a big event and a crowd of over 750,000 was expected to view the 3:47 launch.  But, around 1:00 p.m., officials were driving up and down the road making the announcement the lift-off had been scrapped until Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m.  What a group of disappointed people.  Thousands all along the coast from Titusville to Cocoa beach.  It was like getting ready and no where to go. Everyone was set and waiting, waiting for what?  Nothing, nothing but heavy traffic and hours of waiting to be told there was going to be no show here today!  Despite the disappointment of the launch being cancelled, it was an awesome experience just to see the excitement and festival atmosphere that goes with a shuttle launch.  I was so surprised to see the tailgating, the campers, the RV's, all the vendors and television crews.

This was a trip to remember with some excitement, but I did not forget I was in school.  I took my work with me only to have that same cloud of technological problems follow me.  I was limited on what I could do.  I logged into the youtube video site to upload my art video and it would not let me log off.  This created a roadblock and would not let me log into my facebook or email account. After hours of frustration, I just closed the computer and went to the pool.  It sure gets discouraging when there are so many problems hindering your progress.  I just hope I have enough motivation finish out these last two weeks.

Gaston College Broadcasting

 The Gaston College Broadcasting Program continues to grow and improve.  New equipment and program updates are elevating the program to a professional level preparing students for entering the media industry.  The program allows students opportunities to participate in field trips to top media outlets, like WSOC, WBT, WBTV, NASCAR, and many more production studios.  This gives you a broader prospective of the opportunities available to you and opens your eyes to some of the requirements.  It is very inspirational in directing you into the specific area that may interest you. Often times during the field trip, there are always questions that enlighten you to things you don't even think about.  Students should always take advantage of the opportunities to visit the local media outlets.

Next semester will be even better when the new video recording studio will relocate to the CASS building with the other Broadcasting Programs.  Having all the Broadcasting classes centralized to one location will benefit the students and staff as well.  New students in the fall will have the new restructured program which has been updated where the classes flow better.  Many of the classes will now have prerequisites that will enhance the learning in other classes.

The video section uploads their work to  youtube.  There has been a lot of progess and improvements over the quality of work that has been produced.  I am sure this will continue as improvements are made with equipment and curriculum.

Thanks to our program directors for your efforts in continuously working to make the Broadcasting Program at Gaston one of the best in the area.  It is such an asset to the student when we have a staff that continues to try to improve the program.