Lunchtime news
noxolo mtshali may have stumbled across presenting by accident, but the bubbly news anchor is a perfect fit when it comes to talking and having people listen. the sports management graduate started her career in 2009 as a presenter on sabc1’s kids’ news (2006-current) before becoming a “weather girl”, then “graduating” to news bulletin anchor in less than a year.
Why news and current affairs? i didn’t choose it [laughs]. i studied sports management at the university of johannesburg from 2005 to 2008 and when i was done, most of my friends were still students, so i’d sometimes walk them to campus. on my way back one day, i spotted a long queue at the sabc and joined it and was singled out for my passionate, pure zulu dialect to host the kids’ news show on sabc 1. that was my first job. and now here i am! What did you want to be as a child? i never really gave it much thought, but i knew that i wanted to do something that would make people want to listen. for a while i thought it was singing, because that’s a secret talent of mine. So what’s your ultimate career goal? i don’t want to be put in a box and after pulling this off, i’ve learnt not to limit myself. i’d like to be my own brand and uplift and inspire young men and women. Share with us your most embarrassing on-air moment. it doesn’t happen often, but when the teleprompter goes off suddenly and you must look through the script to find your last line is the worst, although we’re trained for those kinds of things. And what’s the best part of your job? when people, especially the elderly, stop me in the street to tell me what a good job i’m doing. i recently won the zululand district award for best tv presenter, so being recognised by my community is nice.