Portland Observer Thursday. June 26. 1900 Section II Page 7
Anchoring the News
Hy Ullysses Fucker, Jr.
Emerald Yeh look her travel lile experiences and
blended it into the academic world to come up with an
education that w ill enhance her growth as a com ­
municator.
Ms. Yeh, a recent graduate from C olu m b ia's
Graduate School o f Journalism in New York City, and
the new co-anchor lor the KF TV ten o’clock news. She
was born in Prnceton, New Jersey and spent her child­
hood days in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Hawaii, Macao, San
Francisco and San Diego.
Emerald’s extensive traveling has increased her un­
derstanding about the many races o f people in the
world, and the social, political and economic forces that
affect them. When asked about her motivation for
selecting communications as a career, she said, "C o m ­
munications is one o f the most dynamic fields around.
The key word is communications, being able to reach as
many people so quickly with important and interesting
information is intoxicating. It’s that direct link to the
community I enjoy. It’ s a challenge to learn how one
can better communicate to the audience so that they
listen to and absorb more o f what you need to tell
them.”
Before graduating from Columbia and coming to
Oregon, Ms. Yeh worked as a weekend reporter and
weekend anchor at K IT V (ABC ) in H onolulu and
KHON-TV also in Hawaii as a News Intern. Emerald
received national atte ntio n when she interviewed
Washington Post reporter Ben Bradlee on his reactions
to the Frost/Nixon interviews in 1977. It was televised
on ABC news.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin (nov. 8th, 1978) made the
following comment about Ms. Yeh’s ability in a story
reviewing television news coverage ol the November
election. "O n the local front, Emerald Yeh at KITV was
the most effective reporier. She asked intelligent,
probing questions, had clearly done her homework and
must have visited halt the campaign headquarters in
town.”
Ms. Yeh received her B.A. degree (Journalism -
Political Science, 1978) trom the University ot Hawaii
and graduated with honors from Kaimuki High School.
She was also a honor student throughout her college
career.
Ms. Yeh teels that the role ol the communicator is to,
"provide the viewer with a complete and balanced pic­
ture o f the events around him (or her) so that he can
make informed decisions about his life, so that he can
share new information with other people, and so that
new viewpoints can arise trom this constant exchange
and movement o f inform ation.”
With the recent eruption o f Mount St. Helens and the
ash fall-out plaguing the C ity o f Portland, Ms. Yeh says
that she still enjoys the "C ity o f Roses."
" I t ’s a bad time to ask,” she said with a nice smile.
"Seriously, I ’ m enjoying the city very much. Aside
from the ash, it seems very clean and spacious. Keep in
mind that I just spent a year in New York City. The
people here are gracious, warm, and haven't allowed me
to get homesick at a ll.”
Ms. > eh's advice to high school youngsters as well as
those in college wanting a career in television news is to
realize how competitive the industry is.
"The aspiring television reporter or producer should
know this is a competitive field and demands people
who are on their toes and on the lookout for better ways
to do things since the news show is a product that
requires constant improvement. My next piece o f advice
is to get in any way you can - odd jobs that can lead to
news positions. It has happened for many people. In ­
ternships are highly valuable.
You can lam iliarize yourselt with the newsroom
o peration, learn on the jo b , dem onstrate your
capabilities and make yourself known to the news direc­
tor who has the hiring power,” she concluded...
Tune in to your best choice!
EM ERALD YEH
Turn a Hobby
into a Wide Open Career
Robert Mitchell has been interested
in electronics since he was a kid He
started tinkering with radios when
he was 14 He's a ham radio
operator, and now he s turned his
’ hobby" into a career A career that
means the doors to the future are
wide open
Rob is a broadcast engineer at
KPTV After two months of training,
Rob quickly moved to a full time
position where he's perfecting the
skills he learned in school
But things haven t been guite as
simple as they sound Getting an
FCC First Class License - the key to
unlocking all those doors to oppor­
tunity - meant a lot of studying, ex­
perimenting and “really wanting to
be in electronics," according to
Rob It also meant that "no matter
what happens, you have to keep
going "
Now that Robert has his First
Class License, his opportunities are
virtually of his own making. Broad­
cast engineering, now and in the
years to come, is a field desperately
in need of qualified employees
Openings are constantly available
for interested people who have
shown their dedication by acquiring
a First Class License No matter
what their race, sex, age or
nationality
If you're interested in finding out
more about a career in broadcast
engineering, contact the KPTV
Personnel Department
KPTV 02)
EOE
«
• *
• », * X
i
I
' »