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by james macgregor | November 30th, 2001 | contact: james@netribution.co.uk

Scotland’s Latest Newsreader Is Virtually Tireless

Scotland’s hottest new news presenter is ambitious, beautiful ... and a digital image. She is 28-year old Seonaid from Bellshill. She’ll turn a mind-numbing speech on the Stone of Destiny into something more readily digested, especially if you like big green eyes and a curvy female in a top that looks like it’s been painted on.

Don’t start zapping the TV because you won’t find her there. Seonaid (pronounced Shona) stands for Scottish Executive Online News And Information Distributor and is a character in cyberspace, created by Digital Animations Group, the minds behind the world’s first cyber news anchor, Ananova. Featuring on the Junior Exec section of the Scottish executive news website, she might well be the first of her kind to be employed by a government.

Seonaid’s task, making politics more fun and accessible for young people, is certainly not new. But today’s fresh-faced, hi-tech generation is more likely than any other to seek their news on the internet. For somebody who taps into a cyber society to meet old and new friends, an animated news presenter will be appealing, goes the logic.

Although physically based on children’s television presenters, such as Konnie Huq of Blue Peter and Melanie Sykes from Big Breakfast, and influenced by newscasting role models, Seonaid has her own personality.

Her stated ambitions are: "To do my best and for people to think that I’m the best and most respected virtual newsreader in the world." Nice but not very impressive. She’s a please-all girl - pretty, but not so much as to undermine her credibility. Young and confident, she’s intended to be a role model for kids.

Among her animated friends, Seonaid is the first to be capable of reading text that has just been typed in. She is controlled by a software that co-ordinates the movement of her lips with natural facial expressions and body movements.

Research shows that effective teaching is related to the motivation and enjoyment of students: interactivity increases learning.

The Junior Exec website has a user-controlled interactive environment. One can decide whether to read about a subject or to see Seonaid present it in her online studio or in various exotic environments. There’s also a forum to air opinions on how to run the country, something that new First Minister Jack McConnell may find useful. But he should be careful not to spend too much time staring at Seonaid. Her constant swaying movements can make you a bit seasick.

Even if the hype of the digital newscaster is greatly overblown, Seonaid shouldn’t fear unemployment. With her skills and charm, it’s almost certain she could work for The Avastar Agency, an organisation for virtual characters set up by Glasgow Animation. Stars in the stable appear in advertising, sign film deals and interview celebrities. Proof that there is intelligent life in cyberspace.


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