BROADCAST JOURNALISM Techniques of Radio and TV News Third Edition ANDREW BOYD
CONTENTS Acknowledgemen ts Foreword How to use this book List of illustrations Part One NEWS GATHERING 1 What is news? Proximity- Relevance Immediacy Interest Drama.\ JL L.1.1 1 lt_l Entertainment Different types of news Emergencies Crime Local and national government Planning and developments Conflict and controversy Pressure groups Industry- Health Human interest Personalities Sport Seasonal news Special local interest Weather Traffic Animals X xi xiii xiv 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 9 9 10 Checklist 2 News sources Reporters Contacts Newsroom diary Files Check calls Emergency services radio The 10 code Politicians Pressure groups Staged events The protest The announcement The set-piece News releases Syndicated tapes Freelances Advantages and disadvantages of using stringers Tip-offs Hoaxes Wire services and news agencies The network Other news media 'Get the father...' Shared material 3 Getting the story Newsroom conference Copytasting Balance of news Visuals and actuality The brief The angle 10 11 12 13 13 13 14 15 16 16 1 1 1 1 1 1 19 19 21 21 22 22 23 24 26 2 2 2 29 29 30 30 31 31 32 Chasing the contact 34 Staged news conferences 35 Beating the clock 36 Work to sequence 36 Don't panic 3 3 WRITING FOR BROADCAST 4 Conversational writing 39 Telling the story 40 Writing for a mass audience 41 No second chance 42 Confusing clauses 44 Inverted sentences 44 Plain English 44 Familiar words 45 Easy listening 45 Accurate English 46 Keep it concrete 4 Make it interesting 4 Contractions 4 Rhythm 49 50 5 Newswriting The news angle Multi-angled stories Hard news formula The intro Placing key words Feature openers Developing the story The WHAT formula Signposting Last line Last words Accuracy 51! 52 53 54 54 55 5 5 5 59 60 60 61 63 V
6 Broadcast style book 65 Cliches 65 Journalese 6 Hyperbole 6 Adjectives 69 Quotations 69 Attribution 69 Contentious statements 0 Immediacy 1 Active 2 Positive 3 Redundancies 3 Repetition 3 Homonyms 4 Singular or plural? 4 Pronouns 4 Punctuation 4 Spelling 5 Abbreviations 5 Figures 5 Proof reading 6 Ambiguity INTERVIEWING The interview 9 The interviewer's skill 0 Different types of interview 0 A disaster story? 0 Hard news 2 Informational 3 Investigative 3 Adversarial 4 Interpretative 5 Personal 5 Emotional 6 Entertainment Actuality only Telephone or remote Vox pop and multiple Grabbed 9 The disaster story continues... 90 91 Setting up the interview 92 Background 93 A plan of campaign - the questions 93 Get your facts right 93 Fit the brief 94 Check arrangements 94 Approach 94 Pre-chat 95 Body language 96 Discussing the questions 96 The questions 9 Using notes 9 Ask questions that will get answers 9 Yes/no questions 99 Avoid questions that call for monologues 100 Short, single idea questions 100 Progress from point to point 101 Building bridges 101 Avoid double questions 101 Keep the questions relevant 101 Avoid leading questions 102 Mixing statements with questions 103 Beware of questions that would be out of date 103 Avoid sounding ignorant 103 Winding up the interview 104 Finish strongly 104 Being interviewed yourself: the О & A 105 Introducing actuality 105 105 THE NEWS PROGRAMME 9 From 2 minute headlines to 24 hour news 10 The bulletin 109 News programmes 109 Documentary 109 Verite 109 24 hour news 111 Who does what? 112 Network TV news 112 Local radio news 113 113 10 Item selection and order A fair picture...' 114 Second thoughts 116 Item order 116 1 The significance of 11 the story 2 The material impact 11 of the story 3 Audience reaction 11 4 The topicality of the 11 story 5 The immediacy 11 factor 6 Sport/specialisms 11 Linking items 11 Actuality/pictures 11 9 'And finally...' 11 Local considerations 11 Foreign coverage 119 Producing a running order 119 122 11 Putting the show together Establishing programme 123 identity Winning an audience - 124 the openers Keeping an audience - 124 headlines and promotions 124 Actuality 125 Pictures 126 Graphics 12 Programme balance - being all things to all people 12 Groupings and variety 12 Rhythm and pace 130 And now the good news 132 132 vi
12 Making the programme fit 134 Cutting 134 Filling 136 Backtiming 13 13 PRESENTING THE NEWS 13 News anchors and presenters 13 The talent 13 Anchors versus newsreaders 139 Qualities of a newscaster 140 Women newscasters 140 More than just a newsreader... 141 Professionalism 142 Voice 143 144 14 'On-air!' 146 Performance 146 Presence 14 Getting through to the audience: rapport 14 Know your material 149 Ad-libs 150 The gate 150 Making a swift recovery 151 Corpsing 153 Relaxation 153 154 15 Newsreading mechanics 156 Speed 156 Breathing 156 Projection 15 Emphasis 15 Pitch 159 Microphone technique 159 Using the prompter 161 Noise, noise, noise 163 Bringing the story to life 163 164 DUTIES AND DILEMMAS 16 Power, freedom and responsibility 16 Power 16 Regulation 16 'Independence' 16 Censorship in developing nations 169 The myth of objectivity 10 Opinion and comment 11 Campaigning journalism 12 Impartiality under fire 12 Responsible reporting 13 Reporting disorder 13 Camera bias 15 Distortion 16 Sensationalism 16 Good taste 16 Privacy 1 Internal pressures on reporting 19 Resources 19 Selection 19 Pressures of ratings 10 Pressures of advertising 10 The law 11 Libel 11 National Union of Journalists' code of professional conduct 11 12 Part Two INSIDE THE BBC WORLD SERVICE 1 The best of British 1 The newsroom 1 Foreign correspondents 19 Bi-media reporting 190 The news conference 192 The stories 192 Accuracy 194 The service 194 Newsdesk 196 Newsreaders Independence The Way Ahead? 199 199 200 201 RADIO NEWS COVERAGE 1 Story treatment Newsflash Headline Copy story Voicer or voice report Teaser or taster Voice report from the scene Interview Newsclip Package Mini-wrap THE EQUIPMENT 19 Principles of recording Tape Reclaiming tape Care of tapes Cartridges Pros and cons of carts Digital carts Principles of recording Sound How recordings are made Tape heads Tracks Video recording Digital recording Bias Equalization Noise reduction Types of microphone 203 204 205 206 206 20 20 210 212 213 216 21 219 220 221 222 222 222 225 225 22 20 Using portable sound recorders 229 VII
Reel-to reel versus cassette: advantages and disadvantages Reel-to-reel: The Uher Cassette: The Marantz Before the interview Mike handling Lining up the victim Setting up the room Dealing with distractions The level check Are you sitting comfortably? Logging the tape Maintain eye contact Adjusting levels 21 Editing Studio tape decks Marking and cutting The editing block Leader tape Dub editing 'You can't see the join... 1 Editing a thirty second bulletin clip Unethical editing Mixing Setting levels Types of fade 22 The studio today and radio tomorrow On-air studio Talks studio The contributions studio Remote studios Radio car Outside broadcast vehicle Portable telephones Telephone reports Phone levels 229 230 234 235 235 236 236 236 23 23 23 23 23 23 239 240 241 243 243 244 244 244 245 246 246 24 249 250 250 251 251 252 252 253 253 253 255 Obscenity button The touchscreen studio Tomorrow? Part Three INSIDE ITN 23 Independent Television News Cetting the news The editors The producers Getting the programme on air 24 A story is born Chasing the story The ring round Shooting the soundbite Edit suite Chasing pictures Anya Feed Piece to camera Compiling the report 255 256 25 259 263 264 266 26 20 21 22 23 23 25 26 29 29 21 21 22 23 HOW TELEVISION WORKS 25 The story of TV Early days The camera How television pictures are transmitted The TV set Satellite and cable TV TV NEWS COVERAGE 25 25 2 2 29 290 291 26 Gathering the news, 292 ENG versus film 292 The camera crew 292 Cameraperson 294 Recordist 296 Lighting technician 29 Film The outside broadcast Getting the story back Master control room 2 Camera shots The shots Camera positions Sequence of shots Shot length Grab action shots first Shoot for impact Context Pictures should complement the narrative Sound Cutaways Telescoping the action Reverses The line Continuity Pieces to camera Planning - the full treatment TV SCRIPTWRITING 2 Writing the script The cue (lead, or link) Writing to sound Keep detail to a minimum Script layout Balancing words with pictures Using the library COMPILING THE REF ORT 29 Editing videotape and film Editing videotape The tape The tape editor The editing suite 300 301 302 304 304 305 305 30 30 30 309 309 309 310 310 311 312 312 314 314 315 316 31 319 320 320 322 322 325 326 32 330 330 330 331 331 Vlll
The timer 331 The edit controller 331 Video mixing 332 Recording the commentary 332 Audio mixing 332 Playing the tape on air 333 The video cartridge 333 Editing film 333 The film 333 Different types of film 334 Editing sound on film 334 The double system 335 The film editor's eguipment 335 The enemy within 335 The editing bench 336 The sound reader 33 Marking the edits 33 Splicing 33 Leadering and cues 33 Assembling the print 339 Playing the film on air 339 Telecine 340 The rou through 340 340 30 VISUALS 341 Stills 341 Screening stills 342 Film library 343 Electronic graphics 343 Graphic stills and animations 343 Painting with light 344 Titles and captions 345 Overlays 34 Chromakey 34 Back projection 34 Inlay 34 349 THE NEWS STUDIO 31 'Standby for transmission...' The set Lighting Cameras Sound The floor manager Prompting Control room The director Other personnel Running order 350 350 351 352 352 353 353 354 355 356 35 35 PUSHING BACK THE FRONTIERS 32 Tomorrow 359 The computerized newsroom 359 Teletext 361 Next steps 363 Digital TV 363 Developments in space 365 366 APPENDICES 36 1 A career in TV and radio 36 Jobs in radio 369 Television 369 Freelancing 30 Union membership 31 Getting started 31 Approaching news editors 32 The interview 33 Training courses 33 Degree or not degree...? 35 Personal qualities 35 2 Addresses of vocational and pre-vocational courses in broadcasting 3 Glossary Further reading Index 33 391 393 IX