Anjali Rao - Television Journalist
Anjali has spent over 20 years working in the top tiers of television journalism. After working as a presenter and anchor for Sky News and CNN International, Anjali won the top prize in the 2004 Amnesty International Human Rights Press Award and was named Best Current Affairs Presenter at the Asian Television Awards.
Anjali also hosted CNN's flagship chat show TalkAsia, speaking with household names such as the Dalai Lama, Rihanna, Bill Clinton, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kevin Spacey, and is a regular guest panelist on The Project and Studio 10.
Anjali on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anjalinicola/
Verbatim from the transcripts — each quote links to the moment.
“It's all in your head and you're just thinking, please don't let me, you know, stuff this up in any way or say something that's wrong.”
“He's a sneaky little dog.”
“It's like trying to nail custard to a wall.”
“If you're susceptible to anxiety, you shouldn't be in TV. You just shouldn't be in TV.”
“How dare you fine people for, uh, for not coming out to vote. If you had anybody worth voting for, perhaps we would. Bloody hell, North Korea is laughing at us.”
“You just pray for an ad break.”
“Vox Pops are the lowest form of journalism, but they're our favourite.”
How do you get high-profile, guarded interview subjects to open up?
Deeply research subjects beforehand to find details the audience hasn't heard, aim to make them forget the cameras are there so it feels like a real conversation, but accept that with politicians and A-list athletes you sometimes just have to admit defeat.
How do you stay composed during a live broadcast mistake or memory blank?
Never let your nerves show outwardly; project calm confidence even if you're panicking internally, focus on your breathing and the immediate moment, and if things go wrong (laughing fits, blanks), try to buy time until an ad break.
How do you pronounce very difficult foreign names or words on live TV?
Say it confidently and slowly 'Britishly' rather than phonetically spelling it out in a stilted way—committing to the attempt makes the audience believe you, even if you're unsure.
Should aspiring journalists study journalism at university?
Anjali Rao advises against studying journalism alone, recommending a complementary degree such as psychology or law so you bring a distinct perspective to reporting and have a fallback qualification as the industry changes rapidly.
Rao recalls being home when 9/11 happened, then coming into the newsroom the next day for her first-ever breaking news assignment covering the aftermath.
Rao describes anchoring what was expected to be a quiet Boxing Day shift on Sky News UK when the Asian tsunami hit, watching the death toll climb from 9 to over 360,000 across an 8-hour shift.
Rao recounts being sent to a centuries-old British boarding school at age 11 and twice sleepwalking into the school's actual dungeons in the middle of the night.
Rao describes being warned by Rihanna's publicists not to mention Chris Brown before an interview, only for Rihanna herself to bring it up unprompted once they connected, while handlers tried unsuccessfully to steer the conversation away.
Rao recounts asking Kevin Spacey about his reaction to a past GQ profile, which he misread as a question about his sexuality, reacting defensively; she was later made by his publicists to apologise in his trailer for a question she never actually asked.
Drawn from the episode transcripts.
Anjali Rao advises against studying journalism alone, suggesting a complementary qualification like psychology or law instead, since outlets value journalists who bring a different perspective and have a fallback skill as the industry changes.
From episode 544→Rao explains anchors never let nerves show, use breathing techniques, and sometimes just have to push through blank prompters or laughing fits, occasionally splitting a script paragraph-by-paragraph with a co-anchor until they recover, while praying for an ad break.
From episode 544→Rao describes deeply researching subjects beforehand, going off-script to catch unscripted moments (comparing politicians to 'nailing custard to a wall'), and navigating publicist boundaries, as happened when she was forced to apologise to Kevin Spacey despite not asking about his sexuality.
From episode 544→Every episode featuring Anjali Rao on The Daily Talk Show.
