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Th Cani!i mhrn F!ay n cmbe? 2004-81 DisovryChannel columnist explores something new daily Cist By STEPHANIE THIESSEN Te: h Champion Fax ant to work in TV'? the L Go to college or uni- VVc versity and study it. hir That's the simplesi advice former men's Miltontan Shannon Bentley, pritducer of B00 Discovery Channel's Daily Planet, cao 25I1 t gîve... alihough she's the firsi 10 admit il's a Mi6 'Do as 1 say, nol as I do' kind of staitement. Coni You se., Ms Bentiey -who lefi Milion Tel: tii he a smaller fish in a higger sea in 1995 Fax: actually has ni formai educatirin in lietp broadcasting. She ment to universiiy where debt she eamed a degree in psycbology mbj whch. wih a chuckie. Ms Benîley tai0 explained isnt as off the mark as you mîght al! think. ioi 'They do say psychoiogy isnt a bad i degree 10 have workiog in TV -ecause ,GEORGETOWN Z1 CINEMAS f235 GUELPN S73"'T- ___ oTHE INCREDIBLES Daily 645Op.m & 90 oOm. Satarday & Sanday 2.00 p.mý R THSON E SONG80 R AEPANS M E Saturday & Suna 2:00 p.m. ACP' SPoLAR EXPRESS Diy6:45 p.m. Saianiap & Sunday 2:00 p.m. .'\> RAY la Daily 9:00 p.m. Mc Theatre Parking Avaiiabie ai R.a, îhey're ail Bentley saîd of tîose in her beîng a pro- - ducer for Daily Planeî an style nems pro- àgram about Shannon Bentley science -Ms Bentîcy's also an on-air columnîst for her own meekly segment, Shannon's Gadgets. in wbîch she explores and reviems various producîs fromt mini motorcycies 10 celi phones mith video capabilities. Currenîly living iii Markham. Ms Beniley works ai the CTV building near Hwy. 401 and MeCowan. A graduate of Milton District High Schosti, the 30 something producer ioade no qualms about the tact she îook the hard way of getsing a job in TV. But, she said, she's neyer been one 10 allom somethîng as mînor as a lack of qualifications to prevent her from reacbîng her goals. While looking tor a job afier aniversîîy Ms Bentley saîd she heard about Neistar a company thaïs svine become part of Bell Globe Media, a media conglomnerate. They had job openmngs. but she had ni experi- ence. So for the nexi six months. Ms Benîley said she 'hung aroîînd" the studio, ieamîing the ropes and volunteering wsithout pay. She said she knew rîghî away TV mas where she wanîed tu be. When a job for a production assistant came up at TSN. she jumped ai the chance. Two years later she moved oser to the ~~j U WmIaaTes f1hha frM s --R v9mr Photo by ASHLEA WESSEL 'On stagtie Country singer Alysha Kobow, 18, pertorms aest Friday at the Mohawk Inn durlng the release party for her new CD'Nuthin' but a Che"y'. HU PAN SAL LIIGARTS CENTR DEC. 10, 11 & 12 Fri. 12-9pm Sat. 1O-7Dm Sun. 1O-5D)m Fraie frttiL New and Used Pianos & Digitals including: Niemeyer, Kawai, Samickj1 Yamaha, Young Chang. For information cuit: 1-800-281-7172 1Financing Available O.A.C. www.pianos.ca Ca ANN, LAS Mlt Dîscovery Chiannel. Alihough she descrihed beîng a productint assistant as one of the highesî pressure jobs oui there. Ms Benîley said she thrived. "In my spore limne 1 started working on stortes oit my own." she said, adding they began gomng oin air. She moved up to associate producer, got the stint as an on-air columnist. and ihen hecamne a producer. On Shannon's Gadgets, Ms Bentley said il's important thai she sîay on top of trends and siay one step ahead of the viemers. An upcoming show miii feature gadgets that'il be bot items on Christmas lisîs, including high-tech toys. '* flot only let themn knom about the prod- uct, 1 teach them how il morks and somne of the science involved.' she said. Wîîh each day's focus ai mork ranging from giant squîds te, Russian scîeoîîsts te, MP3 players. il's a pretty safe bel 10 say no Imo days are alike for Ms Benîley. Although Ms Bentley said each day has a typical start. thaïs as for as the sense of rouîtine goes. Her meekly segment involves genîing the featured gadgets. making arrangements for the shooîing of the segment. researchîng the produci and mritîng the script. "When 1 gel il (the producîl 1 have 10 fig- ure oui hom il morks and leam the ins and otîts of the produet." she saîd, adding she mas almays interested in technology and mas often the one 10 come 10 the rescue mhen a computer masn't morkîng. Jusi lasI year, Ms Bentley travelled 10 South Korea miîh a gvoup of Canadian joumalisis to leam about LG electronics, iîîîînng the production bouse and develop- ment centre. Ms Bentley said she îhinks il's ber *see BENTLEY on page B4