DAR ES SALAAM SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM

 MODULE NAME BASIC TV BROADCASTING

 MODULE CODE JST04201
 DEPARTMENT JOURNALISM
 MODULE LEVEL NTA LEVEL 4
 MODULE SEMESTER SEMESTER TWO
 TUTOR‘S NAME REMMY VALERIAN AKARRO

OUR MOTTOR: MEDIA FOR DEMOCRACY

 TOPIC 1
 TOPIC 4
INRODUCTION TO TELEVISION REPORTING EDITING BASICS AND NEWS GRAPHICS
TOPIC 2  TOPIC 5
WRITING FOR THE TELEVISION NEWSCAST NEWS GRAPHICS; ANCHORING AND BUDGETING:.
 TOPIC 3
Camera Basics
OBJECTIVE OF COURSE

 Learning to write to visuals, combining words with pictures

 Learning to write the headlines, voiceovers, piece to camera, anchor reads

 Acquire ability to write to visuals and develop a style for writing for television

 Develop ability to write for all elements of the news bulletin.

 To understand the qualities required by TV reporters

 Understanding usage and importance of the piece to camera

 Learning the art of compiling a news story

MODULE DESCRIPTION
This one-year course is designed for the study and practice of the basic
elements of broadcast journalism and video production. The course will
emphasize news-gathering, writing, video recording, editing, and the study
of mass media. Students will learn the basic elements of news value and
vocabulary specific to broadcast writing. They will also identify various news
sources and use interview skills to create stories using video and editing
software. This course also explores the world of digital video and television
production. Students learn on professional equipment in a modern digital
TV studio. Students work in collaborative teams to produce projects using
cameras, while learning the basics of studio and field production, lighting
and sound
1. TELEVISION REPORTING
Definition of television

Television (TV), sometimes shortened to tele or telly, is a telecommunication medium used for

transmitting moving images in monochrome (black and white), or in color, and in two or three

dimensions and sound. The term can refer to a television set, a television show, or the medium

of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, entertainment, news,

and sports.

An electronic system of transmitting transient images of fixed or moving objects together with

sound over a wire or through space by apparatus that converts light and sound into electrical

waves and reconverts them into visible light rays and audible sound
The Origins of Television
Inventors conceived the idea of television long before the technology to create it appeared.
Early pioneers speculated that if audio waves could be separated from the electromagnetic
spectrum to create radio, so too could TV waves be separated to transmit visual images. As
early as 1876, Boston civil servant George Carey envisioned complete television systems,
putting forward drawings for a “selenium camera” that would enable people to “see by
electricity” a year later (Federal Communications Commission, 2005).
During the late 1800s, several technological developments set the stage for television. The
invention of the cathode ray tube (CRT) by German physicist Karl Ferdinand Braun in 1897
played a vital role as the forerunner of the TV picture tube. Initially created as a scanning
device known as the cathode ray oscilloscope, the CRT effectively combined the principles of
the camera and electricity. It had a fluorescent screen that emitted a visible light (in the form
of images) when struck by a beam of electrons. The other key invention during the 1880s
was the mechanical scanner system. Created by German inventor Paul Nipkow, the scanning
disk was a large, flat metal disk with a series of small perforations arranged in a spiral
pattern. As the disk rotated, light passed through the holes, separating pictures into
pinpoints of light that could be transmitted as a series of electronic lines. The number of
scanned lines equaled the number of perforations, and each rotation of the disk produced a
television frame. Nipkow’s mechanical disk served as the foundation for experiments on the
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transmission of visual images for several decades.
Early Broadcasting
Television broadcasting began as early as 1928, when the Federal Radio Commission
authorized inventor Charles Jenkins to broadcast from W3XK, an experimental station in the
Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. Silhouette images from motion picture films were
broadcast to the general public on a regular basis, at a resolution of just 48 lines. Similar
experimental stations ran broadcasts throughout the early 1930s. In 1939, RCA subsidiary
NBC (National Broadcasting Company) became the first network to introduce regular
television broadcasts, transmitting its inaugural telecast of the opening ceremonies at the
New York World‘s Fair. The station‘s initial broadcasts transmitted to just 400 television sets
in the New York area, with an audience of 5,000 to 8,000 people (Lohr, 1940).
Television was initially available only to the privileged few, with sets ranging from $200 to
$600—a hefty sum in the 1930s, when the average annual salary was $1,368 (KC Library).
RCA offered four types of television receivers, which were sold in high-end department
stores such as Macy‘s and Bloomingdale‘s, and received channels 1 through 5. Early
receivers were a fraction of the size of modern TV sets, featuring 5-, 9-, or 12-inch screens.
Television sales prior to World War II were disappointing—an uncertain economic climate,
the threat of war, the high cost of a television receiver, and the limited number of programs
on offer deterred numerous prospective buyers. Many unsold television sets were put into
storage and sold after the war
7https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYpWYJ3f7Jw
NBC was not the only commercial network to emerge in the 1930s. RCA radio rival
CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) also began broadcasting regular programs. So
that viewers would not need a separate television set for each individual network, the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) outlined a single technical standard. In
1941, the panel recommended a 525-line system and an image rate of 30 frames per
second. It also recommended that all U.S. television sets operate using analog signals
(broadcast signals made of varying radio waves). Analog signals were replaced by
digital signals (signals transmitted as binary code) in 2009.
With the outbreak of World War II, many companies, including RCA and General
Electric, turned their attention to military production. Instead of commercial television
sets, they began to churn out military electronic equipment. In addition, the war halted
nearly all television broadcasting; many TV stations reduced their schedules to around
4 hours per week or went off the air altogether.

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 Color Technology
Although it did not become available until the 1950s or popular until the 1960s, the
technology for producing color television was proposed as early as 1904, and was
demonstrated by John Logie Baird in 1928. As with his black-and-white television
system, Baird adopted the mechanical method, using a Nipkow scanning disk with three
spirals, one for each primary color (red, green, and blue). In 1940, CBS researchers, led
by Hungarian television engineer Peter Goldmark, used Baird‘s 1928 designs to develop a
concept of mechanical color television that could reproduce the color seen by a camera
lens.
Following World War II, the National Television System Committee (NTSC) worked to
develop an all-electronic color system that was compatible with black-and-white TV sets,
gaining FCC approval in 1953. A year later, NBC made the first national color broadcast
when it telecast the Tournament of Roses Parade. Despite the television industry‘s
support for the new technology, it would be another 10 years before color television
gained widespread popularity in the United States, and black-and-white TV sets
outnumbered color TV sets until 1972 (Klooster, 2009).

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The Golden Age of Television
The 1950s proved to be the golden age of television, during which the medium experienced
massive growth in popularity. Mass-production advances made during World War II
substantially lowered the cost of purchasing a set, making television accessible to the
masses. In 1945, there were fewer than 10,000 TV sets in the United States. By 1950, this
figure had soared to around 6 million, and by 1960 more than 60 million television sets had
been sold (World Book Encyclopedia, 2003). Many of the early television program formats
were based on network radio shows and did not take advantage of the potential offered by
the new medium. For example, newscasters simply read the news as they would have
during a radio broadcast, and the network relied on newsreel companies to provide footage
of news events. However, during the early 1950s, television programming began to branch
out from radio broadcasting, borrowing from theater to create acclaimed dramatic
anthologies such as Playhouse 90 (1956) and The U.S. Steel Hour (1953) and producing
quality news film to accompany coverage of daily events

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 Two new types of programs—the magazine format and the TV spectacular—played an
important role in helping the networks gain control over the content of their broadcasts.
Early television programs were developed and produced by a single sponsor, which gave
the sponsor a large amount of control over the content of the show. By increasing
program length from the standard 15-minute radio show to 30 minutes or longer, the
networks substantially increased advertising costs for program sponsors, making it
prohibitive for a single sponsor. Magazine programs such as the Today show and The
Tonight Show, which premiered in the early 1950s, featured multiple segments and ran
for several hours. They were also screened on a daily, rather than weekly, basis,
drastically increasing advertising costs. As a result, the networks began to sell spot
advertisements that ran for 30 or 60 seconds. Similarly, the television spectacular (now
known as the television special) featured lengthy music-variety shows that were
sponsored by multiple advertisers

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The Rise of Cable Television
Formerly known as Community Antenna Television, or CATV, cable television was originally
developed in the 1940s in remote or mountainous areas, including in Arkansas, Oregon, and
Pennsylvania, to enhance poor reception of regular television signals. Cable antennas were
erected on mountains or other high points, and homes connected to the towers would receive
broadcast signals.
In the late 1950s, cable operators began to experiment with microwave to bring signals from
distant cities. Taking advantage of their ability to receive long-distance broadcast signals,
operators branched out from providing a local community service and began focusing on
offering consumers more extensive programming choices. Rural parts of Pennsylvania, which
had only three channels (one for each network), soon had more than double the original
number of channels as operators began to import programs from independent stations in New
York and Philadelphia. The wider variety of channels and clearer reception the service offered
soon attracted viewers from urban areas. By 1962, nearly 800 cable systems were operational,
serving 850,000 subscribers.

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 Cable‘s exponential growth was viewed as competition by local TV stations, and
broadcasters campaigned for the FCC to step in. The FCC responded by placing restrictions
on the ability of cable systems to import signals from distant stations, which froze the
development of cable television in major markets until the early 1970s. When gradual
deregulation began to loosen the restrictions, cable operator Service Electric launched the
service that would change the face of the cable television industry—pay TV. The 1972
Home Box Office (HBO) venture, in which customers paid a subscription fee to access
premium cable television shows and video-on-demand products, was the nation‘s first
successful pay cable service. HBO‘s use of a satellite to distribute its programming made
the network available throughout the United States. This gave it an advantage over the
microwave-distributed services, and other cable providers quickly followed suit. Further
deregulation provided by the 1984 Cable Act enabled the industry to expand even further,
and by the end of the 1980s, nearly 53 million households subscribed to cable television

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 The Emergence of Digital Television
Following the FCC standards set out during the early 1940s, television sets received
programs via analog signals made of radio waves. The analog signal reached TV sets
through three different methods: over the airwaves, through a cable wire, or by satellite
transmission. Although the system remained in place for more than 60 years, it had several
disadvantages. Analog systems were prone to static and distortion, resulting in a far poorer
picture quality than films shown in movie theaters. As television sets grew increasingly
larger, the limited resolution made scan lines painfully obvious, reducing the clarity of the
image. Companies around the world, most notably in Japan, began to develop technology
that provided newer, better-quality television formats, and the broadcasting industry began
to lobby the FCC to create a committee to study the desirability and impact of switching to
digital television. A more efficient and flexible form of broadcast technology, digital
television uses signals that translate TV images and sounds into binary code, working in
much the same way as a computer. This means they require much less frequency space and
also provide a far higher quality picture. In 1987, the Advisory Committee on Advanced
Television Services began meeting to test various TV systems, both analog and digital. The
committee ultimately agreed to switch from analog to digital format in 2009, allowing a
transition period in which broadcasters could send their signal on both an analog and a
digital channel. Once the switch took place, many older analog TV sets were unusable
without a cable or satellite service or a digital converter.

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The Era of High-Definition Television
Around the same time the U.S. government was reviewing the options for analog and digital
television systems, companies in Japan were developing technology that worked in
conjunction with digital signals to create crystal-clear pictures in a wide-screen format.
High-definition television, or HDTV, attempts to create a heightened sense of realism by
providing the viewer with an almost three-dimensional experience. It has a much higher
resolution than standard television systems, using around five times as many pixels per
frame. First available in 1998, HDTV products were initially extremely expensive, priced
between $5,000 and $10,000 per set. However, as with most new technology, prices
dropped considerably over the next few years, making HDTV affordable for mainstream
shoppers.

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As of 2010, nearly half of American viewers are watching television in high definition, the
fastest adoption of TV technology since the introduction of the VCR in the 1980s (Stelter,
2010). The new technology is attracting viewers to watch television for longer periods of
time. According to the Nielsen Company, a company that measures TV viewership,
households with HDTV watch 3 percent more prime-time television—programming
screened between 7 and 11 p.m., when the largest audience is available—than their
standard-definition counterparts (Stelter, 2010). The same report claims that the cinematic
experience of HDTV is bringing families back together in the living room in front of the
large wide-screen TV and out of the kitchen and bedroom, where individuals tend to watch
television alone on smaller screens. However, these viewing patterns may change again
soon as the Internet plays an increasingly larger role in how people view TV programs

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 OPIC 2: WRITING FOR THE TELEVISION NEWSCAST

Introduction

The first thing to be said to the apprehensive newcomer about writing for television news is

there are any number of broad guidelines but few hard and fast rules. This makes sound

common sense in a medium where so much depends on instant reaction in the field or in

the newsroom, up to and often including the time of programme transmission.

Television style

Attempts at some kind of standardization do, of course, take place from time to time, with

varying degrees of success. Editors looking for continuity will occasionally assign senior

journalists to produce lists of preferred spellings, titles and phrases to match the standards

of ethical Behaviour they expect from their staff.

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 All the big news organizations have their own style guides dealing with the way language
should
be used. There is, however, no argument about the basic principles of television news
writing:
Be direct, simple and precise.
Use short words.
Use separate sentences rather than a maze of sub-clauses.
Be brief. You write for the ear and eye.
Prefer active to passive verbs ('he did something' rather than 'something was done').
Use familiar phrases but avoid the tired ones.
Prefer vivid language to the bland.
It may seem obvious to say that broadcasting English is based on the spoken word, not
written word.
But try reading a few scripts under your breath and the good ones will stand out.

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If you're new to television, watch how many excellent writers do read to themselves. The
good scripts sound as if the presenter is talking to the viewer, not just reading out loud...
Scripts are meant to be read by presenters from autocue ... complex numbers should be
written out. Writing Rs.17.4m is likely to make the presenter stumble. This should be written
as seventeen-point-four million rupees)
Complete control over every single word spoken by every single contributor - whether they
are reporters, interviewees or participants in some other way - is unachievable in any
practical sense, and while it is certainly desirable and possible to lead the viewer from event
to event by the proper use of visual signposts, combined with careful phraseology, what
occurs within the brief timescale of many a broadcast news item is open to each viewer's
personal interpretation of what is being seen and heard. It is this extra dimension, which
helps to place television in its unique position among methods of communication. A
newspaper's verbatim report of an important political speech will give a clear record of what
is said ... a newspaper reporter's word picture will give, at one remove, an interpretation of
what is meant. A direct radio broadcast will enable what is said to be heard complete with
repetitions, hesitations and 'bad' grammar. But only the television viewer, sitting in domestic
comfort, is given the full information from which to make a personal assessment of the way
things are said, together with the sidelong glance and nervous twitch which accompanies the
confident - sounding delivery.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TihxEkJ_sR8

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 Combining Words and Pictures
The battle over which are more important in television news-the words or the pictures-is
endless.
There is no doubt that words are vital and that some broadcast writers use them more
effectively than others. The ability is to strengthen the pictures with words. Great pictures
and great words make great television news.
'-
The beauty of good pictures is that they do not need a lot of words-just some good ones.
The challenge for TV writers is to avoid clashes with the video. Do not tell viewers what
they are seeing. Instead, support the video by saying what the video does not or cannot
reveal. Fill in the blanks, but do not overpower the video. Give your viewers time to savor
the pictures.
Such advice assumes that you have good pictures to work with. If you don't, then the words
do become crucial because they are needed to prop up the video. But because TV news is
not about using poor video, stories with bad pictures are likely to be dropped for more
appealing ones unless the messages they convey are too vital to be eliminated completely.
If the pictures are poor, however, you can be sure you'll be asked to tell the story quickly. A
common criticism of television news is that it relies on the pictures too much, but right or
wrong the formula is not likely to change: poor pictures, short stories; good pictures, long
stories.

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 Sound Bites

As in radio, sound bites, the words of newsmakers, are key to telling a good TV news story.
An advantage for TV writers is that TV sound bites feature the faces of the newsmakers as
well as their voices. Good TV news writers weave their copy between and around the sound
bites, much in the way that radio writers create wraparounds. This combination, called a
package, is the best way to tell a news story on television.

The Television News writer

In television, as in radio, a writer's duties depend on the size of the newsroom. In a small
market-and even in some medium-sized markets-no one is assigned solely to writing. The
anchors, reporters, producers, and perhaps an intern from a local college write the news.
Television newsrooms in big markets and at the networks usually have several writers and,
perhaps, associate producers who also write. Those who write television news have three
basic writing tasks: read stories, voiceovers, and lead-ins.

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 Read Stories
Read, or tell, stories are read by the anchors without the use of pictures except for those
that usually appear next to the anchor's head. Visually, read stories are the least interesting
in TV news. They are virtually the same as radio copy.
Sometimes, read stories are used because no video is available.
Read copy might even lead the newscast if it is about a breaking story that is just
developing.
Read stories are most often those that are not important enough to require video or whose
video would be dull. At the same time, read stories play a major role in the TV newscast-
they break up the other types of material.
Too much of anything tends to be boring, so the read stories provide a change of pace.

Finally, read stories are easiest to work with in a newscast because they are flexible. They
are the putty that fills in the holes of the newscast.
Read stories often play the same role as radio pad copy; they provide an opportunity to
make adjustments that guarantee that the newscast gets off the air on time.
If the TV newscast is long, the read stories are the likely stories to be dropped. If the
newscast is short, more read stories are likely to be used.

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 Voiceovers
The second "type of assignment given to TV news writers is the voice over (V/O), copy that
the anchor reads while video or other graphics are shown. The video can either be silent or
have a soundtrack that is kept low for natural effect, a technique referred to as sound under
or natural sound.
Remember: The copy must complement the video. It should not duplicate what is obvious
to viewers. Avoid phrases such as "what you are seeing here" unless the video is difficult to
understand. For example, if you are showing video of a train derailment, rather than tell
your viewers "What you are seeing is the derailment of a western railway freight train that
left its tracks last night," you would say "A Western Railways freight train left its tracks last
night," and let the pictures show the derailed train.
To write voiceover copy intelligently, you need to look at the video and take notes. When
viewing the video, use a stopwatch to time each scene. The cameraperson sometimes shoots
a series of short shots that may require little editing, but individual shots are often too long
to use without editing. Let's consider a train wreck story.
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 Use these 10 tips to help you write broadcast copy so that viewers and listeners can get
the main points right away.
1. Did I write in the active voice?
One way to write for the ear is to use the active voice. In most cases, the active voice will
make your story clearer and will force you to write in a linear order: subject, verb, object.
Often, the active voice will also make your story shorter. When precious airtime is
involved, a few seconds really do matter.
(Note: Sometimes writing in the active voice means you will need more information.)
Passive: The man was arrested.
Active: The Park Patrol officer arrested the man.

2. Did I write in my own voice or did I use the words of a wire service or
officials?
3. Do I stick to one simple idea per sentence?
4. Did I eliminate unnecessary information?
5. If I were telling this story to my mother or friend, how would I say it?
Broadcast writers often write the way they think they should in order to make a story
sound more informative. Good broadcast writers work hard to figure out how they would
tell the story in casual conversation. Then, they clean up the story to get rid of bad
grammar or inappropriate slang. So, I probably wouldn't say, "Hey Mom, a Peoria man
was found in the woods!" Perhaps, I'd say, "They found that guy from Peoria. You know,
he was lost in the woods for a couple of days!"

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 6. Did I attribute important facts to appropriate authorities? And did I make

sure to put the attribution first?

In your effort for brevity, did you forget a basic tenet of journalism? It's easy to get

caught up in the quest for short and snappy and leave out who provided this information.

Wrong: Prosecutors charged a suspect with vehicular homicide. The man was weaving

in and out of traffic before he hit a pedestrian.

Better: Prosecutors charged a suspect with vehicular homicide. Police say the man was

weaving in and out of traffic and that he hit a pedestrian. Also, naïve writers often lead

with an outrageous or catchy statement and then attribute it in the next sentence. This

leads to confusion for a listener or viewer. Remember linear order: subject, verb, object.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srrxAlgMIUI

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 7. Do I overwhelm my audience with too many numbers or names?

If your audience can't go back to hear a story again, then it stands to reason that you should

keep numbers in a story to a minimum. Simplify whenever possible. For example,

Rs.950,000 becomes "nearly a million Rupees" in broadcast copy. Spell out any symbols like

Rs. Or % (percent). Also, ask yourself whether an unfamiliar name is necessary to your

story.

8. Have I used a sophisticated or intellectual word, when a common word or

phrase would do?

Hopefully, you're not in broadcast to impress people with the breadth of your vocabulary.

When you're writing a story about a fire, you don't need to "mix it up" by changing the word

to conflagration, blaze, spark or inferno. Likewise, you don't need to come up with other

words for "says." The word is simple and unbiased. Stick to it.
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 9. Did I leave any unanswered questions?
All stories (broadcast or print) should have a beginning, middle and an end. Sometimes
reporters figure out a great way to start the story, add lots of facts and details to the
middle, then find themselves with no space or time left at the end to wrap things up. In
this scenario, you might be tempted to cut the story short and just stop writing, but that can
lead to confusion and unanswered questions for the audience. Instead, you should know
how you're going to end the story before you begin. If a story needs to be shortened, you
can usually cut from soundbites or "extra" facts in the middle without hurting the story's
essential structure or main points.
10. Was I fair, and did I tell the truth?
Truth is a funny thing. It changes significantly based on one's perspective. A journalist is
trained to interpret events and characterize them for an audience. However, sometimes
news writers stretch the truth to get a good lead. Was the mayor's victory really surprising?
Did the event really shake up the
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAdZP2I5SPc
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 Twelve Factors in Newsworthiness
As the TV news business continues to grow, so does demand for better journalists. Stations
are meeting that demand by sending their staff to educational seminars and workshops, and
by investing in more on-site training. Those involved in broadcast news must understand
12 factors that constitute news value, or newsworthiness.
¤ Timeliness
¤ proximity
¤ exceptional quality
¤ possible future impact
¤ prominence
¤ conflict
¤ the number of people involved or affected
¤ consequence
¤ human interest
¤ pathos
¤ shock value
¤ titillation component

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 TV REPORTING BASICS, VISUALISING NEWS

Introduction
Good reporters first must learn to write, but just being able to write well does not guarantee
that a person will make a good reporter. Many additional skills and abilities, unrelated to
writing, are required.
Although print and broadcast reporters need many of the same skills, broadcast news
reporters face challenges not encountered by their print counterparts, or even by broadcast
journalists of the recent past. Electronic News Gathering (ENG), which relies on videotape
or digital equipment and microwave technology, places demands on TV reporters that were
unknown when reporters filmed stories and had the luxury of writing their scripts while the
film was being developed. Broadcast journalists today need to think faster and to prepare
their reports more rapidly, often while the story is still going on around them. They also
need to learn about the different types of assignments they are likely to cover and the best
way to perform them.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofzt8G870Xo

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 THE BASIC SKILLS REQUIRED OF SUCCESSFUL REPORTERS
The most important skill a reporter needs is accuracy.
At first, this may not appear to be a skill, but being accurate requires a lot of attention-
checking, and double-checking information demands concentration. Errors usually
creep into copy when reporters become too relaxed. Nothing should be assumed or
taken for granted
Reporters also must develop news judgment. They must understand what news is and
be able to recognize that certain stories are more important than others. That skill
sometimes takes time to
develop.
Reporters must also be curious, showing an interest in everything and everyone
making news-whatever the reason.
Reporters must be concerned, sometimes alarmed, often angered, and always caring
about the major problems that face the communities and world in which we live.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHcw0edw18Y
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 Reporters often can do little to correct injustice or unfairness, or the misery, suffering,

and critical problems of certain segments or groups in our society, but they should have a

desire to do so. Their weapons are enlightenment and information.

Reporters must be determined and persistent in their search for facts and details.

Reporters must be aggressive, walking a thin line between tenacity and belligerence. For

many people entering journalism, some of these characteristics seem to come naturally,

whereas others need to be developed.

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 Piece to Camera
Of all the skills needed for television news reporting, the piece to camera is among the
most frequently used , and remains a sure and straightforward means of giving the news on
location. It has three advantages. It immediately establishes the reporter's presence on the
spot; it is extremely simple to execute, and it is fast enough to be considered a kind of
contingency sample, rather like the dust scooped up by the first men on the moon in case
they had to return to Earth rather
hurriedly. -
Chiefly because of its speed and the fact that there may be no other pictures to supplement
it, the piece to camera can be designed as a complete report by itself, yet it probably has
greater value as one ingredient within a comprehensive news report, being versatile enough
to be slotted in at almost any point, not necessarily at the opening or closing stages.
The term 'piece to camera' is self-descriptive, being, those words which the reporter speaks
aloud while looking directly into the camera lens and, through it, to the viewer. The
technique depends on an ability to write spoken language and to remember it word for
32word when delivering it to the camera.
Studio spots

If the piece to camera is a vision story delivered on location, the studio spot is ,a vision

story delivered in the studio by someone other than the main newscaster or presenter.

Usually it is a specialist correspondent or reporter who is called upon to draw together the

elements of a news story and tell it to the camera in the studio, often standing and with the

aid of graphics on a massive 'video wall‗ behind the journalist or to one side. Sometimes the

correspondent also links in and out of clips of videotape.

For many reporters, these appearances aggravate the underlying nervousness already

discussed, largely because of an awareness that such performances are invariably live ones

made in the context of a programme as it is being aired, and that the smallest mistakes are

therefore incapable of being corrected. That said, there are considerable advantages for

those making studio appearances.

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 First, the script can be prepared up to the time of transmission, making it possible to

include the latest information about a running news story. Second, the performance is

made in the reasonable comfort

Of the studio rather than on location where other people and the elements make the

situation harder to control. Third, and probably most important, the reporter may not need

to rely on memory, for as well as the written script available out of shot, there will be a

device displaying the words so that the speaker appears to be looking directly at the

viewer while reading.

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 Putting the Television Story Together
When reporters leave the newsroom on assignments, they never know how their stories
will turn out. The producers and assignment editors may be looking for a package-a story
that includes one or more sound bites, the reporter's narration, and video. Sometimes they
must settle for less, however, because the story itself turns out to be less important than
they originally thought or because the interviews are not strong or the video is weak. When
that happens, the story often becomes a voiceover-sound on tape (VO/SOT), or is relegated
to the simplest type of picture story, a voiceover (VlO).
There also are times when the assignment editor knows in advance that a story is not
worthy of a package. A cameraperson may be sent on a story without a reporter just to
shoot video and natural sound. The producer will be made aware of that situation and will
plan on covering that story in the as a VO/SOT or VlO. This chapter discusses these types
of television stories.

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 The Package

A TV newscast is mostly made up of packages. That's because, if they are done well,

packages have all the elements that bring a story alive: good pictures, interesting sound

bites, and a well-written script. As mentioned, if any of these elements is weak, the story

may be downgraded or kept short. In other words, the quality of the video and the sound

bites often determines the length of a package. But even great video and excellent sound

bites do not always guarantee. fOR long package. It depends on what else is going on in

news that day. Even on slow days, packages rarely run longer than a couple minutes may

not have every detail pinned down, but they generally decide on some fundamentals, such

as whether they are going to do the open, the close, or a transition in the middle on camera.

If one of these on-camera options may be needed, it should be shot just in case.

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 TV News reporting

This Topic offers some suggestions for handling the special pressures and

responsibilities that reporting live places on broadcast journalists. Reporting live from

a mobile unit has always been routine for a radio reporter. Immediacy has been radio's

big advantage. Since the early days of radio, people have been accustomed to getting

the first news of an important story from that medium. Often, the news has come from

a radio reporter at the scene.

Radio has lost some of its advantage as new technology has made it possible for

television to put a live signal into homes almost as quickly and easily as radio does.

Radio continues, however, to be first in reaching a large portion of the listening

audience those traveling on the highways.

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 Organizing Thoughts

Because they broadcast live so often, radio reporters learn early in their careers how

to organize their thoughts quickly. They also develop the skill of ad-libbing. Radio

reporters are often expected to report from the scene of a breaking story for much

longer periods than their TV counterparts because radio is normally not under the

same time limitations as television. It is much easier to interrupt a music format on

radio with a breaking story, for example, than it is to interrupt a soap opera on

television. Lost advertising revenue is far less expensive for a radio station than for

television, and it is much easier for a radio station to make up lost commercials.

The best way to organize material for a live report is to use a reporter's notebook.

This device is particularly handy because it fits into a handbag or jacket pocket.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nC0U5rnO44
38
 take more than one pen or pencil. (In freezing weather or pouring rain, a pencil works
a lot better than a pen. In anticipation of going live from the scene, broadcast reporters
must keep notes on a variety of happenings. First, they must keep track of important
comments that are made, whether during a news conference or a one-on-one interview.
They must note exactly when the remarks were made so they can be located quickly
on the videotape or audiotape. Some reporters take courses in speedwriting; others
develop a system of their own. Experienced reporters learn that they cannot get so
involved in taking notes that they lose control of the interview. They make entries only
when comments are important enough to be used as a sound bite or in the narration
that will surround it. TV reporters who have a camera with a time code recording
system that shows the actual time of day that each scene is recorded only have to note
the time when they hear something important.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVCk_wgK8nk

39
Reporting live presents different problems for radio and TV reporters. For starters,
radio reporters work alone, whereas TV reporters have at least one and sometimes two
people with them in the microwave truck.
A TV reporter than by a radio reporter also handles the production of the live report
differently. Sometimes the news conference or individual interview is micro waved back
to the station while it is in progress. An associate producer or a writer at the station may
monitor the feed and make notes. When the feed is over, producers can quickly confer
with the reporter on which sound bites he or she wishes to use and then instruct the tape
editor to cue them up. The reporter then does a live from the scene, and the sound bites
are played from the station. The reporter returns after the bites to do a live close.
It is also possible to do everything from the mobile unit. New technology allows TV
crews to record and edit video in the truck, add the reporter's narration, and actually play
the story from the truck without using any of the support equipment at the station.
Another major difference between reporting live for radio and TV is obvious: The
audience does not see the radio reporter. It does see the TV reporter, which adds some
complications. The radio reporter can get comfortable in the front seat of the mobile unit,
cue up her tape, spread her notes out, and concentrate on delivering her narration without
worrying about anyone seeing her. Meanwhile, her TV colleague may be memorizing his
script so that he is not constantly looking at his notebook during his time on camera.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeyn3kLd1Y0

40
 Let's examine a typical live report filed by a radio reporter :trom the scene of a fire:
Two people are known dead in a fire that swept through. An apartment house on Rose
Avenue in the suburban West End community of center city. Fire chief John O'Hara says
he doesn't know if everyone else in the building
escaped.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSc8ej7QyhA

41
 news anchor
Two people are known dead in a fire that swept through. An apartment house
on Rose Avenue in the suburban West End community of center city. Fire chief
John O'Hara says he doesn't know if everyone else in the building escaped

sound bite)
"We think everyone but the one couple got out of there, but it's too early to
tell. So far no one has reported anyone missing, so we are hopeful."
(reporter)
The dead have been identified as Barbara Swift and her husband Robert. It's
believed the fire started in their apartment shortly after midnight and spread
to the rest of the building. So far, there's no information on what caused the
fire, which was brought under control about an hour after it started. More
than two-dozen people were in the building. One woman who escaped, Val
Hills, said she is happy to be alive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvSDQmo-Wbk

42
 (sound bite)
"There was so much smoke, that's what scared me the most. When I heard some
shouting,
I got up and I knew there must be a fire. Fortunately, I was able to get to the stairs and
get
out."

43
 Font: Laura Lewis
O/C two shot
O/C tight shot of Heather
V/O
Shots of building and firefighters wetting it down
Shots of smoldering building
(Heather)
With me now is Fire Chief John O'Hara. Chief, do you think everyone is out of there?
(Chief)
"Well, we're hopeful. So far no one has reported anyone missing so that's a good sign.
But you never can be sure."
(Heather)
Do you know how the fire started?
(Chief)
"Well, we think it started in the apartment of the couple who died in the
fire and then spread to the other apartments, but so far we aren't sure how it started."
(Heather)
Thank you, Chief.
The couple that died in the fire have been identified as Barbara and Robert Swift. There
was no other information available about them.
V/O
As you can see, this building is completely gutted, and if everyone else got out alive
it would be amazing. Apparently some two-dozen other people were in the building.
About 50 firefighters have been battling the blaze. They brought it under control around
44
 (reporter)
Some 50 firefighters and 10 pieces of equipment are still at the scene. Some of the
firefighters are still hosing down the building and others are going through the debris just
to make sure no one else is in there.
Once again, two people are dead in this Rose Avenue fire in the West End. It's believed
that everyone else escaped from the building. This is Frank Sneed. Back to you, Bill.
Meanwhile, a TV station was carrying this story from its reporter at the scene via
microwave. The story opens up with the reporter on camera and the fire scene behind her:
Ole Heather
Two bodies have been removed from. this burned-out apartment building
on Rose Avenue, and it's not yet known if there were any other fatalities.
The fire started around midnight in one of the apartments and spread
quickly through the rest of the building. Earlier, we spoke with a couple
who escaped from the burning building.

45
 Ad-Libbing
Certain methods can help reporters improve their ad-libbing ability, or speaking without a
script. Word association is one common method used by reporters to make sure they do
not run out of things to say during a live remote. Many reporters write down a list of key
words or phrases in the order in which they want to cover their material. When they
exhaust all the information dealing with a key word, they move to the next one on the list
until they have covered everything. Good ad-libbing reporters need only that one word or
phrase to keep them going, which is important because reporters are often forced into
remote situations that require a considerable amount of ad-libbing.
Former CNN News anchor and correspondent Bernard Shaw also raises some
questions about the new technology. "We can fire up, and fly in or roll in portable
satellite earth stations, slap on a wireless mike, report live, and not wait for tape at 11.
We have digital this and digital that, telephones that connect to a satellite, fiber optics in
the wings, and technology that will provide even smaller satellite dishes and antennas
that will fit in an oversize briefcase. But," asks Shaw, "how are we using this stuff?"
46
Memorizing and Delivering Live Reports

Some reporters have an amazing abili1y to memorize scripts. For most reporters,

however, memorizing one minute of copy presents a problem. Because all TV reporters

are asked to do live reports, they must either develop the abili1y to memorize their material or

use some tricks to help them. Most stations and networks have no problem with reporters

glancing down at their notes during live reports, particularly during a breaking story. It's less

acceptable, however, especially in a routine live report outside a ci1y-council meeting or the

mayor's office, to see a reporter's head bobbing up and down every few seconds to read notes.

Former CBS News correspondent Ben Silver says it sometimes helps "to just throw the script

away." Silver recalls: "I was having trouble memorizing the close to a story andI must have

done it 10 times when the cameraman finally said, 'Give me the script.' Hetook the clipboard

from me and I did the close without any problem."

47
 Changing Lens Shots

On particularly long, taped standups, some reporters have the cameraperson change the

shot during the delivery. The opening camera shot might be wide as the reporter delivers

the first part of the standup. Then, the reporter can pause while the cameraperson moves

in for a tight shot. The reporter then delivers the second half of the script, and the

audience is unaware that any break in the delivery occurred. The two shots have to be

drastically different to avoid a jump cut-the jerking of the head that would be seen if the

camera shots were too much alike.

Activity:

Meeting a reporter from a leading channel and discuss and share experiences on

live reporting

48
 ASSIGNMENT
 Watch a news channel and observe how the headlines, anchor reads, voiceovers,
piece to camera and graphics are written for a story.
 Meeting a reporter from a leading channel and discuss and share experiences on live
reporting
 explain the elements of newsworthiness in TV reporting
 Prior to World War II, television was in the early stages of development. In the years
following the war, the technical development and growth in popularity of the
medium were exponential. Identify two ways television evolved after World War II.
How did these changes make postwar television superior to its predecessor?
 Compare the television you use now with the television from your childhood. How
have TV sets changed in your lifetime?
 What do you consider the most important technological development in television
since the 1960s? Why

49
 References
Boddy, William. ―The Seven Dwarfs and the Money Grubbers,‖ in Logics of Television:
Essays in Cultural Criticism, ed. Patricia Mellencamp (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University
Press, 1990), 98–116.
Federal Communications Commission, ―Visionary Period, 1880‘s Through 1920‘s,‖ Federal
Communications Commission, November 21, 2005,
http://www.fcc.gov/omd/history/tv/1880-1929.html.
KC Library, Lone Star College: Kinwood, ―American Cultural History 1930–1939,‖
http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade30.html.
Klooster, John. Icons of Invention: The Makers of the Modern World from Gutenberg to
Gates (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2009), 442.
Lohr, Lenox. Television Broadcasting (New York: McGraw Hill, 1940). Steinberg, Jacques.
―Converters Signal a New Era for TVs,‖ New York Times, June 7, 2007,
mhttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/technology/07digital.html.
Stelter, Brian. ―Crystal-Clear, Maybe Mesmerizing,‖ New York Times, May 23, 2010,
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/business/media/24def.html.
World Book Encyclopedia (2003), s.v. ―Television.‖
50
 Full name: REMMY VALERIAN
AKARRO
Department: JOURNALISM
Email Address: [email protected]
Phone number: 0687347535/0719293363

CONTACT TUTOR IN CHARGE

THANK
S!
Any
questions?

52