EmailCCTV.com: What did you expect when you got job?
VK: I’ll tell you what I didn't expect (laughing)… I didn’t expect that this schedule and literally ‘living in a parallel time zone’, would rule my life. And I must say, it's not been easy on my friendships, and certain relationships, but the people close to me are very supportive and we're slowly getting more in sync.
Also, I wasn’t expecting so much media attention, so soon. In the past month I've been inundated with interview requests and I've had to be quite selective with whom I talk to. I was very hesitant at first; I was even scared to tell my bosses because I'm still new, I'm still learning, I'm still figuring out my own style, and I have a long way to go before I feel I can be a credible spokeswoman for my role as the first African news anchor, let alone CCTV. CCTV has been here way longer than me. I just felt I needed more time to settle in before I deserved any acknowledgment. But, after getting my bosses ‘blessings’, per se to go ahead with the interviews - the reactions and responses have been so encouraging, especially from Chinese viewers and the African viewers that the interviews have attracted. I do feel now that I did the right thing by speaking to the media.
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VK in the CCTV-9 studio |
CCTV.com: You read the news very early in the morning. Can you describe your typical workday?
VK: (Smiling) I love talking about my schedule; it makes for great dinner party conversation, because I can’t believe how surreal my life is now. I broadcast between 5am and 9am on the hour, nearly every hour from Monday to Wednesday one week, and Monday to Thursday every other week.
So what this means is that I must be up and out of bed showering and eating breakfast between 2:00 - 3:00am.
3:40 - I’m in a taxi, telling a sleepy taxi driver to speed across the west side of town
4:00 - I’m in makeup
4:30 - If I’m lucky, I may have just a few minutes to check the script
4:50 - script gets printed
4:55 - script gets put in my hands
4:57- positioning myself in front of camera and going over stories with director through earpiece
5:00 - clearing my throat and reading headlines… making edits with my pen as I read the news to you. (Chuckling) Half the time I can’t even see the edits I’ve made on the teleprompter.
6:00 - 9:00 - the process repeats itself 30 minutes before every broadcast…
10:00 - 2:00pm - I arrive home from the subway, eat lunch do an interview, have a meeting or catch up with friends
2:00 – 5:00 – I’m in bed
5:00 – 9:00 – I work out, eat dinner, catch up with work and am back in bed
2:30 am – Wake up!
