TV Presenter

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What you do: The range of the job.

You are effectively the final link in communicating a programme's subject or message to viewers. From sports reporter to gameshow host, to war correspondent, the jobs vary wildly but there are certain characteristics and abilities they share.

Qualities: What you need to be able to do the job

You will be a natural communicator.


Whilst it helps if you're a show-off, it's not always the loudest person in the bar who makes the best presenter. Sometimes the quietest of people come to life infront of camera.


You certainly don't have to look like a supermodel, but how you present yourself is important - TV is a visual medium and you will be on display.


An ability to memorise and recall facts, figures and storylines is invaluable - this can be cultivated and developed quite easily.

Career path: How you start and where you can go with it.

Presenter's career paths are as varied as the programmes they present.

A TV news reporter will have studied journalism and probably have spent time in local radio or newspapers. Presenters of programmes with specific subjects will usually have an expertise in that subject - from health issues to interior design.


An agent can help develop and manage your career, but getting an agent can be very tricky unless you have already developed a career! Sometimes it's easier to get your first few days' work as a presenter than it is to get an agent!


Financial rewards vary hugely too. From nothing to a hundred pounds a day for a fledgling presenter reporting into a satellite programme, to many thousands a day for 'big names'.


It is very common for a presenter to make the move into production after a while - particularly as people tend to have a 'shelf-life' as a presenter.

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