'I had to pause, swallow my saliva and just continue': News anchor Glenda Chong on reading story that almost made her cry

News anchors are known for delivering their stories with calm and poise, but even they can get affected by emotional news.

In a video uploaded July 28 to the YouTube channel You Got Watch, Mediacorp presenter Glenda Chong shared that she tries to "prep" herself to deliver sad stories but recalled one that nearly made her cry.

"I remember the first time reading a very, very sad piece of news, and that was the separation of North Korea and South Korea — the families were separated," the 51-year-old, who has been a news presenter since 1997, recalled.

"I remember reading that story and I was going to tear up. I just had to pause, swallow my saliva and just continue presenting the news."

As she reads the stories beforehand, she manages to prepare herself for an upcoming sad piece of news.

"Even then, it's still very emotional for me," she added.

Despite this, Glenda added that she does have fun on the job.

While she currently hosts News Tonight on Channel 5 and Asia Now on CNA, she previously enjoyed reading the morning news because of her co-presenters.

"I remember it being fun with Suzanne Jung and Steven Chia," she said. "Well, Steven's a real joker so you can see that translate on TV as well, and that made it fun."

While showing their emotions is a no-go for hard-hitting stories, Glenda added that it was a different case for positive news.

"I mean, if it's a happy or happy-neutral story, for instance, if it's a panda story — yes, you're allowed to show that you're happy," she said. "Because everybody loves pandas, who doesn't?"

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSlmhUN69AI&ab_channel=YouGotWatch[/embed]

'I just want you to know I love you'

Glenda answered some assumptions about herself on the You Got Watch video, and one of them was that "news presenters get affected by [the noise and chaos around the world] as it messes with your head".

She agreed that "it really does" and shared tips on what she does to unwind.

Glenda still watches TV when she gets home, but she'll watch cartoons, cooking shows or "anything that doesn't require a lot of extra brain power".

She recalled a story she covered that affected her greatly — when she was a correspondent living in Shanghai and worked on the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

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"That took a toll, I have to say," Glenda said. "I remember calling my parents and family members almost every night and saying, 'I love you, I love you, I love you. If anything happens to me, I just want you to know I love you'."

She added that it was one of the most "challenging and stressful times" she's faced.

The earthquake measured 8.0 on the Richter scale and resulted in 69,180 known deaths.

"When you're there, you just do it because it's a job," she added.

"At the end of the day, [it's about] speaking to people that ground you, like family members."

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drimac@asiaone.com

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