How much of TV is scripted or cue-carded? During the lead-up to a televised Canucks game, I was trying my best to watch commentator Dan Murphy's eye movement which I think were scanning a teleprompter. It's fairly difficult to tell whether someone is reading off a teleprompter, but sometimes you know it's there. For music and award shows, we know there's a teleprompter, and the presenters (musical artists in particular) occasionally slip up when they present in pairs or trios. Late-nite talk show hosts generally seem to have cue cards, which appear on camera from time to time.

What about the Evening News? Does the newscast use a script or just prepared material?
Other TV shows? Game shows? Alex Trebek (did you know he was a news reporter on CBC)?

It makes me wonder whether or not there are any natural un-aided presenters out there. When you hear a speaker or a lecturer, and they're good at what they do, you know. You are there with them, you know that they aren't reading off a machine feeding their lines, and you can respect their trade, on top of their message/content. On the other hand, what could make you say that a TV personality is a good presenter?

Anyway, maybe not a very intriguing subject.