BURGEO, N.L. — Growing up, Steven Hiscock never imagined he would become an on-camera personality.
As a child he used to stutter, so interviewing people was not a career path he envisioned at all.
“I was bullied, made fun of a lot. It wasn’t a good time. I, over time, I overcame it. It’s all about your breathing when you talk,” Hiscock said via a phone interview.
Hiscock has learned a few tricks to help.
“You don’t breathe properly when you stutter. And I mostly will not look at a person’s face while talking. I find that helps best.”
The self-described technophile had planned on becoming a digital animator, something that would allow him to work comfortably behind a computer.
In fact, working behind the scenes was what originally drew the Burgeo native to apply for the position with Burgeo Broadcasting System (BBS) back in 2014.
“They actually just wanted somebody for 10 hours a week because in the past the secretary had done all the work in the office and also had done the news,” recalls Hiscock.
The workload turned out to be too much for the secretary, and Hiscock quickly figured out that 10 hours wasn’t nearly enough time to set up, prep and film and interview, then edit and broadcast it.
Eventually, his position became full time, and almost five years after he first started Hiscock says he is truly content with his role.
“I work my own schedule,” he said. “I’m quite happy where I’m at. I would not want to pursue further advancement than what I’m doing. I’m pretty comfortable at what I’m at.”
Award nomination
Not only is he’s content, he’s also good at what he does.
Hiscock has been nominated for a Canadian Communications System Alliance (CCSA) Tuned-In Canada award for his work with BBS, shortlisted for the category of Best People: On-Camera Community Channel Personality.
He admitted he was thoroughly surprised.
“I was quite taken aback when (station manager) Dave (MacDonald) told me about it. He’s been working on that for months,” said Hiscock.
MacDonald gave Hiscock the heads up that he’d been selected as one of the four finalists on April 25. This is Hiscock’s first nomination and he says he didn’t realize such an award even exists.
His usual Sunday night chats with politicians, community leaders and other people of interest in Burgeo even caught the interest of CBC, which featured a small profile of Hiscock.
Should he go on to win the award, Hiscock will be granted a donation to the charity of his choice. Since a lot of his news stories originate from Burgeo Academy or feature them in some way, he’s chosen the school’s snack program as his charity of choice. It’s his way of giving back to the community he loves and where he’s happy to remain.
“I’m just honoured by (the nomination), and to be able to give to the snack program $1,000 would be amazing,” he said.
Hiscock’s Tuned-In Canada award will be determined by a voting process.
Those wishing to vote for Hiscock can do so online once a day at TunedIn Canada. Voting takes place nationwide from May 6 to 17 with the winners announced on May 29.
