Think it is easy to read a teleprompter?
Sure, President Obama and professional TV anchors have an ability to make it seem effortless. But it takes training.
Depending on the training required, Bottom Line clients are frequently educated on how to read copy on a teleprompter without looking like he/she is “reading.”
Then there are folks like “Reverend” Al Sharpton who look into the teleprompter and see names and words that are completely foreign to them. Here is a video of some of Sharpton’s better flubs.
TAWANA
I’ll bet he can say, “Tawana Brawley”.
COMEDY CENTRAL STUFF
Now THIS should be on Comedy Central. Embarrassingly, This Todd Aiken of the left has personally accelerated the precipitous decline of the once glorious NBC brand. I will suggest that any broadcast entity that puts this bozo on the air with his own show 5 hours a week has committed journalistic suicide. The peacock has lost its plumage.
SHARPTON OUT OF HIS DEPTH
One of the joys of visiting William Shatner’s web site is that it contains interviews with the people who’ve worked with him but who don’t often see their names in the credits.
One such person was a teleprompter operator who worked with the actor on PSA for the Shriners. The operator explained that operating the device can require as much discipline and training as reading off it. Essentially, the operator has to determine a speed where the reader sounds natural and poised reciting the text.
Running the machine too slowly or too quickly embarrasses everybody involved. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee have used their experiences behind the pulpit to come off well in public speeches. Sharpton, on the other hand, seems out of his depth.
A TELEPROMPTER LESSON
If you want an example of how to properly read a teleprompter, check out how Taiwanese anchor Lee Chingyu handles the unenviable task of announcing to the world that a friend and colleague has committed suicide. She had no notice until the text was placed in the machine.
While visibly (and understandably) shaken, she gets through the whole story without committing a single Sharpton-ism. This is one brave and capable woman.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/16/news-anchor-friend-suicide-taiwan_n_5338536.html?utm_hp_ref=media