Stupid anchor questions

One of the most obviously contrived practices in television news is the anchor follow-up question. You're certainly not fooling the viewer with these, unless you've got one of those mean anchors who likes to throw curve balls at reporters in an effort to show them who's smarter. But for the most part, these questions are pretty ridiculous.

It's just like a rule lawyers follow: Never ask a question unless you know what the answer will be. Lawyers, like reporters, don't want to be surprised in front of a crowd.

The problem with these questions is the way they're phrased. I've seen a reporter wrap up a package on an approaching hurricane, and the anchor ask, "So, are the people there worried?" (No, they're out flipping burgers on the grill and they're gonna play slip-n-slide to make good use of the rain.)

Most of the questions are so ridiculous and so obvious that the result is they look awfully dumb to the viewer. Since many of you are young and being tossed on the anchor desk relatively early in your careers, you need to phrase any questions to that they appear to make sense.

Instead of, "What is going to happen next with this legislation?" you might say, "I understand you have more information on tomorrow's debate... can you shed some light on that for the viewers?" Or, "You and I were talking earlier about tomorrow's debate... would you share the agenda with our viewers?"

Throwing obviously rehearsed questions at reporters has never looked normal. If your ND likes to have anchor questions, make sure they're phrased in a way that they don't appear to come out of left field.