I Think You Missed Something

WNYW (New York) Anchor Bianca Peters took to social media to talk about the job behind the camera and microphone.

On social media, Peters writes, “There’s a version of this job that looks really good on camera. The lights, the mic, the set. The part where you look put together and confident and like you have it all figured out.

And then there’s the version nobody films.

I started in this industry with no journalism degree, no connections, no roadmap. Just a gut feeling that I could figure it out as I went. And I did. Twelve years of figuring it out in real time, on camera, in cities I barely knew, covering stories that stayed with me long after the broadcast ended.

But here’s what I’ve been thinking about lately — nobody tells you what this career actually asks of you. Not just your time or your sleep schedule or your social life. Something deeper than that. Something you don’t even notice you’re giving until one day you look up and think… wait. When did this get so heavy?

I’m not here to complain. I’m genuinely grateful for every opportunity this industry has given me. But after 12 years I think there’s something powerful about finally being honest about what it’s really like behind the mic.

So that’s what I’m starting to do.”

While Peters is quick to point out that the job can mess with your sleep schedule and social life, she never mentions journalism. She talks about how it looks good on camera, the lights, the mic, the set. The part where you look put together and confident and like you have it all figured out.”

Where is the part about reporting stories that help change laws, help a family in distress? Where is the part about shedding light on shady actions of a local politician?

If your job is just to sit under the lights and read what someone else wrote for you to say, then I can see how the job is boring and not challenging.

The job should be about so much more than looking good on camera.

Again, I feel like this is where many today’s TV news people think they are just an influencer and not a journalist.

Peters admits that she started in the business with no journalism degree and no experience. She said that she had to figure it out “on camera” and that she did that.

But, I’m not sure she has fired out OFF camera and the fact that the job of Journalist, is much more than looking “put together.”