Peter Overton came to visit us on Tuesday. We were lucky enough to be there to learn about what a day in the life of a news reporter looks like, what skills you need in this job and ask him some questions.
Peter Overton is the Chief Reporter on Channel 9 News. He also reports on 60 Minutes. He said he usually wakes up at 3am and reads news websites and he reads the paper when it is delivered to his house. After he has all the information he needs, he goes to the studio and gets into a suit, has his make-up done and gets ready for filming. He has travelled the world and met lots of different people.
He told us about some of the skills you need to be a news reporter. He said that you need to be a good listener to tell a good story but also to do a good interview. One student said that listening might help to ask follow up questions. He said it is important that you keep the stories real, don’t exaggerate but make sure you keep it interesting. He said it is good to use humour and a tone of voice that matches the scene. For example if it was a really sad story, he wouldn’t speak in a happy tone of voice. Sometimes on the news, when he is presenting, he gets sad when he is talking about something bad that happens, especially when it is about children. This is because it reminds him of his two children. He said you need to keep your emotions in check so the audience is free to feel their own emotions.
We asked him about the most inspiring person he has met and he told us it was a man without arms and legs that he had interviewed 3 times. He found him inspiring because he made his own dreams come true. This included having a family and walking his daughter down the aisle. Most recently he interviewed him and his wife on Malibu beach.
Some students were able to ask questions at the end of the session, and some students were able to high five him. When we asked Peter if he would say he met us on the news, sadly he told us he couldn’t. But he told us that he would wear an Emanuel coloured tie when he read the news that night. And he did!
By Mia, Year 3 and Archie & Talia, Year 4