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" b& x& {1 ^. H" a4 ~5 T% aDate Posted: 9/14/2004
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Olivia Cheng 曾先后就读于 Meyonohk 梅约纳小学, Ottewell 奥华初中, McNally 麦纳利高中。以电视系列剧 Daughters of Joy 成名,现正在拍摄 Look for me in American Movie Classic's ; S: _6 \- g" a5 C D5 X2 u
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0 d( @ @( [1 n& ]) V; DOlivia Cheng is becoming a recognizable name in Canada, having grown up in Edmonton, Alberta her whole life, and now becoming a familiar face on television with her job as a hard-core, breaking-news, live reporter for Edmonton's Global News. She's the one Edmonton turns to when news breaks during her 3pm to 12am shift, whether there is a terrifying police stand-off going on, a dangerous tornado hitting, or --if they are lucky enough to have one of those rare, but much-appreciated, less-intense news days --when there is a badger on the loose and police are frantically chasing it around. ) S- @) K4 i4 `0 g4 j4 d* r) l
$ V/ r9 k9 T, C$ }* eWhile she was educated at NAIT Radio & Television Arts program in Edmonton, Olivia Cheng was born for this role. When she was in 5th grade, she was the editor-and-chief of the newspaper in her Chinese-immersion program. In school, her teacher couldn't get her to stop talking. She was always broadcasting play-by-plays of her friends playing volleyball, and one time when her brother and his friends were playing soccer in the house, she pulled out a plug out of the wall to use as a microphone, accidentally electrocuting herself when she put it too close to her mouth.
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Could this potentially be some sort of strange foreshadowing, showing how, ever since she was young, she was never afraid to face danger to report the news? When asked, Olivia laughed and responded, "That's a great way of saying, 'Wow, you weren't a bright kid, were you?'"8 g7 v9 z! D0 s0 e* Z% }, `
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But seriously, this is one tough chick. On the surface, broadcast journalism may appear all glamorous, with attractive, respected reporters bringing the important news to the masses. Sure, Olivia always manages to look fabulous and calm in times of crisis. But broadcast journalism is often a gruesome job. She's been led through murder scenes, she's been charged at by angry drunken mobs, and her cameraman has been spit at. Only the strong survive. 5 p, W4 K& ^! o7 r8 W1 P
' o. s4 x# `( F$ V. d& @But Olivia Cheng is way more than this current serious persona she embodies for Global Television. She has dabbled in acting. She has interned for Star TV, VJ'ing for Channel V in Hong Kong. She writes for the Edmonton Journal, and her interests range from promoting the talented, growing hip-hop scene in Edmonton to educating people about depression in young people, a cause dear to her heart, having had personal experience dealing with the illness.
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0 i; u' l$ z. g5 ~This girl is pure passion. You can sense that her ideas and goals are so grand that she's on the brink of exploding out of the small city of Edmonton. But at the same time, due to her extreme loyalty to the beautiful place she will always call home, she'll just have to bring Edmonton along with her on her journey to greater places. With all that she has accomplished in her young age, she curiously manages to seem very normal and down-to-earth.8 `5 X! {* @/ |) t; E
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4 u; T0 w) v3 o8 D: F( ?2 ^APA: Hi Olivia! Thanks for talking to APA. Can you start by telling us what your typical workday is like?
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Olivia Cheng: It's not as crazy as the market in LA is, with 14 news stations and shootings every day, so I start my shift pretty late in the day, at 3:00. I'm more on the breaking news beat, in case something happens at night. But from then on, because we have 5:00, 5:30, 6:00 pm shows, a lot of times I end up filing reports and doing live for the 5:00 and 6:00 shows and turning around a full story for the 11:00 show and doing a live for that as well...so the days can really be go go go go go, meeting one deadline after another.
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APA: Do you feel that there are obstacles being Asian-Canadian in your industry? Do you feel like you have to work harder to break down boundaries?
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+ u8 j% [. q* J* [ H+ n" wOC: I have the perfect story to tell you that sometimes sums up the way I feel. I was covering The Junos, which is the Canadian version of the Grammys. I'm outside chatting with some cameramen, and we're comparing the two entertainment hosts, Su-Ling Goh of Global's Inside Entertainment and Tanya Kim of CTV's E-Talk Daily, who are both Asian women. And I said: "Ah whatever, they're both Asian, so I cheer for both of them." And then one cameraman goes, "Yea, they're both good because neither are offensively Asian." And I'm like, "Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Offensively Asian? Hello! Asian right here!" It just slipped out of him.
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So yeah, are there still barriers? Sure. But in some cases, on the flip side, that is important to know. Being a visible minority woman is also going to open doors for you. Slowly the industry is recognizing that you need diversity on air to represent the changing demographic of Canada. You can't just have a certain look, it's important to have different people who bring different perspectives and therefore, hopefully in theory, bring in different audiences who can relate to that person. I think that a lot of progress has been made, but that story... I'm going to carry that comment with me for the rest of my life. I think there are definitely challenges to overcome.: H( x- m, h& }9 p; s* g' V
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APA: It's definitely great though, to see these Asian faces like yours out there. It definitely makes an impact. So what can we expect from you in the future? Do you see yourself doing features and entertainment or continuing with the hard news reports?# g; t' m) N/ ` m- i! L
& ~0 H; u7 `2 N, FOC: I would like to do a blend. I don't just want to be a local news reporter down the line. I would like to fill a niche that I don't think exists yet, from the channel surfing I've done. I'd like to get into a newsmagazine-type show where I can examine youth culture issues and where I can examine news issues through the eyes of youth. I think that there's a market for it, I just think someone needs to stand up and say, "Let's crack it." I would like to be the young, hip Canadian Oprah. [laughs]
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APA: Well, I would watch it!7 I0 K' V1 L4 f( ^( E% y( W: x
: D+ X" W7 T1 N- f' F, HOC: Thanks!3 ^( t! c2 y5 N; H8 ^9 H* J
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Also, look for more information on Olivia at www.oliviacheng.com. There, you can read her articles, including her personal story about depression, and you can watch some of the other features she's done that are not posted here--such as her experience getting shot with a taser gun for a news story. She calls it a "classic from the 'What was I thinking? archives.'" I'm not really sure what she was thinking either. Check it out!
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% \# K! y4 _ m3 nlink: http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=14586 C* G) v" y: G4 u6 x
5 R. ?& x# c) x7 }; L8 Y) c5 p[ Last edited by 片儿刀 on 2005-11-27 at 01:05 PM ] |
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