"What makes you, you, makes you stand out"
Broadcast Media had a special visitor come by and talk to students about her job as a reporter. Right here from Sacramento, Frances Wang! Frances works for ABC10 News Station. As students are just learning about jobs in the media, it was exciting to get an insight on what it is really like to work out in the news world.
Frances grew up in Sacramento and knew she wanted to be a newscaster ever since she was ten years old. What sparked Frances interesting News was when she was interviewed about her moms business at the Arden Fair Mall by Walt Gray. Her parents, being from China, had certain ways they wanted their daughter to grow up. She shared to the class how her “tiger mom” sent her to St. Francis so she wouldn’t be “distracted by boys.” During high school, she had to tell her parents about her dream to be a newscaster and they weren’t too happy as they planned for her to become a doctor. She won them over eventually and went to USC to study Broadcast Journalism. Francis took part in ten internships to prove to her parents that she was serious about becoming a news anchor - telling the class, “I’m what my friends like to call extra.”
After college, she held her first job in Washington, but eventually moved back to her hometown. She says she loves working in Sacramento, as it is “more fulfilling to report at home than somewhere else.” When a student asks her how she presents herself on television, Frances says, “I like to be authentic. I want to be relatable to the viewers rather than too professional. I want people to think that I am just having a conversation with them. I want them to recognize me and say she did a good job.”
At the end of class following today’s Tiger Talk, which ended in memory of Jamari Moore, Frances shared a personal story. One of her friends had been killed in a drive by some time ago and she was displeased by the lack of media on it. However, when the media did do a story on it, Frances did not believe it was respectful of the victim or their loved ones. Now that she is a newscaster, she always strives to make the stories that are sad more of a tribute piece "because it should be respectful no matter the circumstances."
As the class ended, Frances took group photos with all the students. An important piece of information she shared was: “You should always be yourself, because what makes you, you, makes you stand out.”
Go Tigers, Growl!