Asheville News

Teleprompter troubles, or just tongue-tied?

Jason Sandford June 7, 2005

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

Victoria Dunkle sure had a hard time reading the news today at noon. What was going on? Dunkle is normally pretty smooth, but she sure stumbled today. Slow down, girl!

Speaking of trouble reading, Scott Wickersham sometimes reads so slow that you can pick up the breaks in the words as they scroll down the Teleprompter. Scott, don’t you review your scripts before you go on the air?

I usually don’t have problems with Tammy Watford, one of the best local personalities. She’s fun, truly funny at times, and is a master of those usually awkward transitions, or “throws” or “tossbacks” or whatever the hell TV people call that “happy talk” crap.

But Tammy does have a hard time pronouncing unusual words. One of the funniest I recall – Tammy was talking about a hot new movie out at the time, a biopic about a famous painter known for his splatter style. His name is Jackson Pollock, and the movie was titled “Pollack.”

Only Tammy pronounced it “Pole-lock,” like the derrogatory term for a Polish person, when the name really sounds like “pallack.” Too funny.

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

Gold Hill to reopen

Again with the podcast?

4 Comments

WLOS Insider June 9, 2005

It should be noted that Victoria and Scott both came from the same station in Michigan. Don’t know if that has anything to do with their ability to read the news.

Reply
R.T. June 8, 2005

Mark is right.
Victoria can never get through a newscast without messing up.

Reply
Bulldog June 8, 2005

Hey, those “smart glasses” really work if you replace the clear glass with prescription lenses. Maybe it’s time to bring them back into style.
On pronunciation: The one that stands out for me was a couple of years ago when their short-time reporter — let’s call him “Shaft” — with the sunglasses and leather trenchcoat, took a shot at entrepreneur and came up with ahn-TREP-inure.

Reply
Mark June 7, 2005

I usually watch the morning news while I’m getting ready for work and I’ve known for a loooong time now that Victoria can barely read a teleprompter. It’s not just a one time thing, it’s all the time. If I remember correctly, she stumbled her way all the way through reading the stock market numbers yesterday morning. Thankfully, I only watch for a couple of minutes. Any longer and I would get too frustrated.

Reply