Exhibits, Shows and Displays

What are those standing panels on either side of a speaker?

When someone stands at a podium on TV, they are always there, on either side, black, on high tripods and angled toward the speaker. What are they and what do they do?

Public Comments

1. Oh those are so they can read the speech while they are talking. Its like 1 way glass or whatever so we cant see the words but the speakers can. EDIT: I think they are called telepromptors.