During an appearance on a talk show, Pakistani television host Waseem Badami opened up about his journey as a news anchor and revealed that he was rejected by many channels just because of his appearance.
Badami said he always wanted to become an anchor, “My friends used to ask me to focus on something else since they considered this a hobby. They used to ask me how I’d be a journalist since there were none in the family to put in a good word so that I could get a job. I used to go and give my CV at channels and radio stations myself because I wanted to become a news anchor.”
Badami disclosed, “I auditioned for a very big news channel in Pakistan and they sent me back from the gate, even though I went there through a proper process. A shift in-charge came out and asked what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to be a news presenter, after which he looked me up and down and said, ‘I have 23 years of experience in this field and I am telling you newscasters don’t look like you. You can’t do this, so go out’.”
He continued, “I told him I only wanted to sit in front of a camera out of curiosity so just let me audition, the rest is up to you. So, he responded a little more loudly saying, ‘Newscasters look like you? No, they don’t. I know this, so leave’.”
He added, “That day, when I was going back home on the bus, I spoke to God and told him that I’m giving myself five years and that I will give it my all during this time. You have to help me out. Two years later, I was at ARY and four years after that episode, I got an offer from the same channel.”
