Talk with Anand: Anand Unnithan sits in front of the recording equipment after filming an episode of his video podcast, Talk with Anand, in a SAIT audio booth in the Senator Burns Building on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024.(Photo by Josiah Navratil/The Press)
While commuting around the city, many Calgarians tune into local traffic radio to help them find their way.
CityNews 660 broadcaster Trace St. John energizes the afternoon drive with phrases like ‘crush of the rush’ and ‘pandemonium on the pavement’ to help get them where they’re going.
One listener took that direction a little further, and is now pursuing a broadcasting career, studying radio, television and broadcast news (RTBN) at SAIT.
We spoke to Anand Unnithan, about being inspired by St. John and his experience so far at SAIT. Below is that conversation, which has been edited for length.
Q: Why did you choose RTBN at SAIT?
A: I had inspiration from the CityNews 660 radio station. I have a few connections, including the traffic reporter, the news director and had an inspiration to become one of them in the future.
Q: How did you create those connections?
A: When I first came to Calgary, I started listening to the CityNews 660 radio station and the afternoon traffic report that they did was fantastic. The broadcaster's name was Trace St. John. He was the midday afternoon traffic reporter and then one day I just reached out to him via Twitter.
I asked if it was possible to meet him since I was greatly inspired by his voice. He agreed and invited me on a tour of the studio. Since then, we started building a friendship and connected from then on.
Q: How do you feel about the experiences you've had in the broadcast program so far?
A: So far, it has been a fun program. I have done quite a few things already. Even though it's my first year, I have done a couple of hockey tournaments, which I enjoy doing.
I have done PA announcer as a role. I've done the Rocky Mountain Classic and Circle K Classic tournament. I've also interviewed U18 AAA hockey players during pregame, postgame and intermission.
We're going into radio and TV simulation soon. So that's going to be fun.
Q: How did you stumble upon those opportunities?
A: Thanks to my instructors, Richard Stroobant, Lisa MacDonald, and even Leen Kranenburg who forwarded these opportunities to me.
They encouraged me to apply, so I sent good background information about me. I got a reply saying: ‘Yeah, you're a great candidate, come on board. We'll be happy to have you on our team.’
Q: How do you see this education impacting your future career?
A: I have a great inspiration from listening to CityNews 660. So hopefully, I can work for them one day. They are coming for a recruiting session on March 11.
I want to be a hockey broadcaster someday whether it be PA announcing, colour commentary or play-by-play commentary. I would also be happy with a sports analyst or reporter job.
In the booth: Anand Unnithan takes a selfie in the broadcast booth at Ken Bracko Arena during a AJHL hockey game between the Calgary Canucks and the Whitecourt Wolverines on Sunday, January 28, 2024.(Photo by Josiah Navratil/The Press)
Q: Can you describe the typical school day for you?
A: So, we're building the framework needed for the simulations I talked about earlier. That means going into class early in the morning, getting lectures from our instructors. We rewrite and recreate a few of the news stories.
To put them into a newscast we are using the KLZ newsroom software and then in a couple of weeks’ time we'll be starting the simulations where we'll be acting as an anchor or reporter to deliver this news.
Q: How do you feel about the upcoming simulations?
A: I'm excited about it. I've always wanted to do something real life, hands on practical learning so this will be a great opportunity to do that.
I might be a little nervous though, going into the simulations just to make sure I will have the right buttons I need to press and play around with.
Q: How do you feel about the future of news and broadcasting?
A: I've heard complicated reviews on the industry. Some people are saying it's a shrinking industry with how the online world has been developing.
But at the same time, I have optimism with our new broadcast students, especially for SAIT right now.
We are considered as one of the last broadcast news graduating classes. I am optimistic that we will be in high demand and will get lots of opportunities.
Opportunities to work and show that we can do the skills we have achieved.
Getting ready: Anand Unnithan adjusts his settings before filming an episode of his video podcast, Talk with Anand, in a SAIT audio booth in the Senator Burns Building on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024.(Photo by Josiah Navratil/The Press)
