A device designed to make everyone on camera seem spontaneous
Thom Tanner is the CEO of PresenterTek , maker of the TeleStepper , a robotic teleprompter used by President Joe Biden .
The Newest Iteration of the 70-Year-Old Teleprompter Connects Nevada City to the White House
BY Ed Goldman PHOTO BY Fred Greaves
If you think that TV news anchors , U . S . presidents and even the person running your company ’ s Zoom call have an amazing ability to memorize news stories , policy decisions and new HR rules , think again . Most of them aren ’ t reciting anything by rote : They ’ re reading it verbatim off a teleprompter .
A 1948 invention that ’ s been updated more times than even the “ breaking news ” it often heralds , the teleprompter allows people on camera to seem as though they ’ re looking directly at you , the viewer , when they ’ re actually reading vertically scrolling words that they can see but you can ’ t .
While the teleprompter ’ s first celebrity user after its invention more than 70 years ago was former President
Herbert Hoover ( who was worried about flubbing his lines on national television at the upcoming Republican convention ), one of the device ’ s newest iterations has Capital Region roots .
PresenterTek , a Nevada City manufacturer of electro-mechanical speaking products , created the TeleStepper just six years ago : It ’ s an automatically-adjustable robotic teleprompter invented by company CEO Thom Tanner and fellow engineer Steve McNerney . PresenterTek has a partnership with the White House Communications Agency in Washington , D . C ., as the exclusive supplier of teleprompting equipment for U . S . presidents for their speeches and news conferences . In fact , says Tanner , “ The agency has TeleSteppers in the White House Green
Teleprompter Facts
• While former President Herbert Hoover is believed to have been the first president to use a teleprompter ( in 1952 ), Dwight D . Eisenhower was the first president to use a teleprompter for a State of the Union address in 1954 .
• You too can buy a teleprompter for your next on-camera reunion , partners meeting or sermon ! Prices range from about $ 100 for kits ( but you ' ll need to use your own smartphone or tablet ) to many thousands of dollars for pro models with their own large built-in screens .
• You can also buy an app called The Virtual Teleprompter , which facilitates your reading copy while you appear to look directly into the camera . While the app will automatically scroll through your text , you ’ d still better practice , making sure you don ’ t scroll too quickly or too slowly .
• And no , in answer to a surprisingly common inquiry , when the newscasters stare through teleprompters into the camera , they can ’ t see you .
96 comstocksmag . com | August 2022