Handsome Anchor-- Hsieh Shang-jung

In the past, a survey done overseas revealed that attractive men and women usually had better luck in personal relationships, and better success in their careers. I admit, this has also been true for me.

I wouldn't say that I'm especially good-looking, but giving people a strong first impression certainly has been extra effective. My appearance has been quite a big help to me in my friendships and my career. But at the same time, other people may tend to be a bit more demanding of me in terms of character and job performance. "An embroidered pillow" [fancy on the outside, all fluff on the inside]-that's probably what most people think of an attractive man's true abilities.

During my school days, I constantly encountered this kind of situation. I remember when I first entered university, I tried out for an extracurricular choir group. I wasn't really very confident about my own singing talent, but I got accepted. After I joined the choir, the first time the chance presented itself, I had a look at my own evaluation chart. My goodness! The female upperclassman who'd judged me had written: "Really handsome. Accepted!" So the reason I made it was actually because I was handsome. Still, after I got into the choir, this made me work even harder. I didn't want people to think that I was only attractive on the outside.

Since a long time ago, I had the ambition to become a news anchor. On the self-introduction I wrote upon matriculating to my university, I boldly declared my career objective as television news anchor. At the time, no one made fun of me. In fact, later on I discovered that the journalism department was full of highly talented people, and if I wanted to stand out above the rest, I had to work even harder. Most of the students in my department were pursuing majors related to television news.

My first job was at TVBS. The first hurdle for being selected as a television reporter was a screen trial in front of the camera. I definitely stood out above the other candidates. But afterward there were various written exams and interviews, and I had to rely on my own genuine abilities to get the job. When I first started working at the TV station, I mostly did local news reporting, but in less than a year, I was selected as anchor.

I know that my own verbal presentation of the news might not be more outstanding than others'. But on this point, I work hard at improving myself. Every day, I record my own news broadcast, and polish and observe myself over and over again. By now there are two or three hundred video cassettes at my house.

When I found out that I'd been chosen "the most handsome anchorman" and an "object of sexual fantasies," I was actually quite happy. But I also felt a little strange, because I usually anchor the morning news. If the viewers are having sexual fantasies first thing in the morning, that can't be too good (laughs).

Everyone who wants to succeed should have a goal that they work hard to achieve. I focused on emulating the professionalism of TVBS anchor Chang Ya-chin and CTS anchor Li Sze-tuan. After working for a few years, I discovered that I was lacking in some areas, so I decided to test into graduate school to improve my professional skills. Since last year I've been taking classes at National Taiwan Normal University's graduate school of mass communications.

Maybe a lot of people think that if a guy is good looking, he must be a philanderer, and not easy to get along with. In fact, I've never had any problems relating to people. I've been faithful to my girlfriend, and have always got on happily with my coworkers.

If I were to define what makes a man attractive, I'd say that a confident, conscientious man attracts people the most. Good looks might give a person a better starting point, but if you want to succeed, 90% depends on your own hard work, because beauty only lasts for a moment, but wisdom is eternal.