Audio describer to news anchor
An audio describer already meets 27% of what the news anchor role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
72.6/ 100
1 How much of what a news anchor is expected to do is already part of an audio describer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the news anchor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A news anchor role treats 5 of its required skills as things an audio describer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- audiovisual equipment
- breathing techniques
- present during live broadcasts
- pronunciation techniques
- vocal techniques
What stands in the way is 12 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A news anchor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an audio describer background worth leading with.
- already held work with a voice coach communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held perform improvisation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held present during live broadcasts communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held operate audio equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held breathing techniques arts and humanities
- already held audiovisual equipment arts and humanities
All 9 carried skills, including the 5 the news anchor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn interview people required
- still to learn memorise lines required
- still to learn read pre-drafted texts required
- still to learn work closely with news teams required
- still to learn adapt to changing situations required
- still to learn develop professional network required
- optional, not held adopt a relaxed posture optional
- optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
- optional, not held moderate a debate optional
- optional, not held participate in editorial meetings optional
- optional, not held rewrite articles optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- optional, not held show diplomacy optional
- still to learn grammar required
- still to learn spelling required
- optional, not held lighting techniques optional
- optional, not held photography optional
- still to learn follow the news required
- still to learn consult information sources required
- optional, not held check correctness of information optional
- optional, not held check stories optional
- still to learn editorial standards required
- still to learn interview techniques required
- optional, not held news analytics optional
- optional, not held press law optional
- optional, not held write to a deadline optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a news anchor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 9 skills that carry over
- already held audiovisual equipment knowledge
- already held breathing techniques knowledge
- already held present during live broadcasts skill
- already held pronunciation techniques knowledge
- already held vocal techniques knowledge
- already held apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- already held operate audio equipment skill
- already held perform improvisation skill
- already held work with a voice coach skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held set up sound equipment optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held news analytics optional
- optional, not held adopt a relaxed posture optional
- optional, not held check correctness of information optional
- optional, not held check stories optional
- optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
- optional, not held moderate a debate optional
- optional, not held participate in editorial meetings optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held rewrite articles optional
- optional, not held set up sound equipment optional
- optional, not held write to a deadline optional
- optional, not held lighting techniques optional
- optional, not held photography optional
- optional, not held press law optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- optional, not held show diplomacy optional
26 held skills the news anchor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt voice register to the audio material skill
- not needed by the target role add elocution techniques to recording audio materials skill
- not needed by the target role attend read-through skill
- not needed by the target role audiovisual products knowledge
- not needed by the target role communication related to hearing impairment knowledge
- not needed by the target role cooperate with colleagues skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate activities in audio recording studio skill
- not needed by the target role integrate content into output media skill
- not needed by the target role listen actively skill
- not needed by the target role manage a good diction skill
- not needed by the target role multimedia systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role plan audiovisual recording skill
- not needed by the target role record audio materials skill
- not needed by the target role report live online skill
- not needed by the target role screen reader knowledge
- not needed by the target role study media sources skill
- not needed by the target role study roles from scripts skill
- not needed by the target role support people with hearing impairment skill
- not needed by the target role synchronise with mouth movements skill
- not needed by the target role types of media knowledge
- not needed by the target role use audio reproduction software skill
- not needed by the target role use microphone skill
- not needed by the target role use office systems skill
- not needed by the target role write in conversational tone skill
- not needed by the target role write voice-overs skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn editorial standards required
- still to learn grammar required
- still to learn interview techniques required
- still to learn spelling required
- optional, not held news analytics optional
- optional, not held lighting techniques optional
- optional, not held photography optional
- optional, not held press law optional
Common questions about this move
Can an audio describer become a news anchor?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An audio describer already covers 27% of what a news anchor is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 5 of which the news anchor role treats as required.
What skills does an audio describer need to become a news anchor?
12 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is follow the news.
How hard is the move from audio describer to news anchor?
Its learning distance is 72.6 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.