A wake up call from Patranya Bhoolsuwan to anyone who'd like to be a reporter: if you just want to be a “traditional” TV journalist, without understanding social media, you’re never going to get the job. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada with CBS-affiliated KLAS-TV, Patranya is a rare Thai face anchoring and reporting for top-rated weekend morning and prime-time daily newscasts. After 15 years broadcasting in the US, she is still going strong and the Emmy Awards she has received for reporting are the icing on the career cake.
Along with the Northern California Emmy Award she won in 2008 and 2009 for best morning newscast, the 38-year-old also won best reporter from the Nevada Broadcasters Association in 2012, although it should hardly be a surprise. Her work-ethic shines through during our conversation, and reveals how passionate she is about what she does.
“There are lots of reporters who’ll do it for the day and just leave it at the door,” she said. “But as a reporter, you’re never done. It’s 24 hours of thinking about what will be a good story tomorrow and who you’ll have to talk to. You’re always thinking about different perspectives you can report on and even when I’m travelling on holiday, I’m thinking how this and that would make a good story back home.”
While being Asian may have given her a shot at jobs in smaller places that needed to fill their “Asian quota”, cities like San Francisco or Los Angeles are full of people just like her, where you simply have to stand out.
“I don’t think of it in terms of working harder because I’m Asian, I think you just have to work harder period,” she said. “Even someone who is not Asian has to put in the work too to get to the next level.
“However, much of the management is still very white in the TV news business in general. I think it’s more important now to get minorities into management positions because that makes more of a difference. I can try to pitch stories that touch on Asian communities, but without Asian managers or reporters, these perspectives often don’t get told.”
Even though Patranya was recently on holiday in Thailand, she remains plugged in to what is happening and continues to check her email and update social media to connect with her viewers. The Internet-savvy anchor doesn’t see it as a curse even if it is more work.
“It sort of makes your job easier because you can find information really quickly, whether it’s online or whether you talk to the audience,” she said. “It’s really easy to get their reactions these days and to understand their opinions or take on things before you go out to meet them.”
Yet, the Internet has also changed how the industry is run. When the Thai-native snagged a TV job right after graduating from University of San Francisco in 1998, it was well before Twitter or Facebook was around. Today, she believes it is hard to get a foot in the industry without being a digital journalist too.
“It’s just the way it is now because not everyone comes home to watch TV anymore,” she said. “It’s not about who gets on the air first at 5pm, it’s whoever can get the news alert out as it happens. Today, half of viewers are online or on their smartphones, so knowing how to communicate and being social media savvy is a big part of the job. People take in news differently so it’s not enough to be a traditional journalist.”
Even so, the news in Nevada starts airing as early as 4am and Patranya must be in by 2am to get her looks and lines down. It’s not just about reading headlines either.
“If you say something wrong factually, it’s on you because the viewers don’t know who wrote the story and you’re the one reading it,” she said. “I think as a good anchor and responsible journalist, you have to rely on yourself and cannot just think that the producer has already approved it, as people do make mistakes.”
On days that she is out in the field reporting, her day starts at 8.30am pitching stories in the newsroom. She then goes out with her camera crew to get the story and interviews — all of which must be put together and edited before going on air at 5pm sharp. Every day there is a deadline and to find a good story is always a looming challenge.
“Everyone can cover a fire or murder,” she said. “Finding a story no one else has talked about is about not being lazy and just covering press releases. Even if we do cover a murder, it’s about getting something no other reporter has, by talking to someone nobody else has talked to so the story is more interesting.”
From California, Washington DC to Nevada, Patranya is steadily making her way to bigger audiences. Global stations like CNN might be her endpoint, but for now, she is enjoying local news and the feeling of being part of a community.
“The best stories actually come from people you meet who tell you stuff,” she said. “I’m glad too when people come up to me and say they’re glad that their kids can see me on the news and feel that it’s something they can aspire to. To be a role model for someone who doesn’t see a lot of Asians on the news is a good thing.”
The articulate and American-accented anchor may seem more foreigner than Thai, but she makes sure the name Patranya Bhoolsuwan is plastered across the screen, rather than chopping it up or changing it to something more Western-sounding.
“I’ve always thought of myself as Thai first and I’m very proud of that,” she said. “There aren’t a lot of us out there who are 100% Thai and on TV — it’s mostly Chinese, Koreans and Filipinos. I’m glad I can represent that so I always put it out there first that I’m Thai.”
Patranya Bhoolsuwan anchoring a morning weekend show.
Patranya Bhoolsuwan with her colleagues at the channel.
Patranya Bhoolsuwan in the field reporting.