I've never been in a focus-group meeting. I wonder how many anchors can say that.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Half the stuff I have done which has been successful would never have been made if it had been shown to focus groups.
I think the notion of traditional anchor is fading away - the all-knowing, all-seeing person who speaks from on high. I don't think the audience really buys that anymore. As a viewer, I know I don't buy it.
When I'm talking to a large audience, I imagine that I'm talking to a single person.
My father is an anchor and my brother is as well.
As any speaker will tell you, when you address a large number of people from a stage, you try to make eye contact with people in the audience to communicate that you're accessible and interested in them.
The green-light meeting, when I first started at Paramount, would consist of maybe three or four of us in a room. Perhaps two or three of us would have read the script under discussion.
I'm a fan of meeting readers face to face, at reader events, where we're able to sit down and take some time to talk.
Some people continue to pretend that anchor people are reporters.
I hate having people sit in on meetings.
The news anchor is exactly that - an anchor, a center, a focus.