ABSTRACT
The technical skills can be taught directly and there are many courses in television presenting offered within formal and informal educational institutions taken by hopefuls, although few professional presenters ever discuss having taken them. Graham Kennedy, a Melbourne ex-radio announcer, he took with him from his radio experience the practice of mocking advertisers. Comic actors may operate only from scripts, though they often improvise on them, but stand-up comedians have to be able to operate without one and handle developing situations with confidence. On occasions, potential presenters are discovered in the course of making a television programme or segment. Specialist panel game shows, like A Question of Sport, allow people from areas other than the media to gain television exposure. Even were fashion journalists trained in fashion journalism prior to working on a fashion magazine, it still does not provide the same vocational grounding as working as a fashion designer or a department store buyer.
