Transcript Creating Television News

Creating Television News
Creating Television News
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Before the new Millenium, most
people got their news from TV,
radio and newspapers.
Today, about half of the general
population gets their news from the
Internet.
From 2007 to 2008, this number
jumped 10%!
Blogs
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Blogs -- short for web logs -- are
viewed by about 30% of Internet
users and all major news
organizations. The writers of
blogs use their web sites to post
news they uncover, photos and
videos, personal reactions to
events, rumors, and even their own
personal diaries.
Blogs
The more valued blogs are
often the source of leads that the
mainstream media develop into
major stories.
 Here is a list of the major blogs
used today:
Major Blogs and News Sources
 TV News also frequently source
both Youtube and Myspace in
news stories!
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Blogs
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This means that today, anyone can
be a journalist….. Good or Bad!
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We want you to be good,
responsible journalists and report
news in a fair, impartial manner!
ENG and EFP
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ENG (electronic newsgathering) is a part
of EFP (electronic field production)
Electronic Field Production (EFP)
includes many other types of field
productions, including commercials,
music videos, on-location dramatic
productions, and various types of sports
coverage.
EFP work generally provides the
opportunity to insure maximum audio
and video quality.
ENG and EFP
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In ENG work the primary goal is to
get the story.
In 90% of news work there will be
time to insure audio and video
quality, which is what the news
director and producer will expect.
The Influence of Broadcast News
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We can see just how important broadcast news
are to governments simply by looking at their
attempts to control it.
Whenever a country experiences a coup or
takeover, the media is the first thing that is
controlled.
Oppressive governments, like Cuba or China
control the media and their messages.
This is called PROPAGANDA
TV anchor Edward R. Murrow, became a
journalism legend by using the medium to bring
down an overzealous Senator Joseph McCarthy
who was spreading fear of Communism to
Americans
Youtube Video
Censorship
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Although censorship is often justified as
a way of protecting values or ideals,
history has repeatedly shown that
censorship leads to a suppression of
ideas and often to political, military or
religious control.
Even with its First Amendment to the
Constitution guaranteeing free speech,
the United States has a long history of
censorship attempts.
The Reporter’s
Responsibility
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The FCC expects networks and stations
to present opposing views - especially if
they represent major factions. Not to do
so can spark legal action and station
license challenges.
“Biased" is a word that you don't want to
hear about your work (especially if you
plan to broaden your employment
opportunities), you don't want to promote
your own view on an issue and not seek
opposing views.
The Reporter’s
Responsibility
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Part of your responsibility as a
newsperson is to bring out the
various sides of an issue.
This means you allow each side to
state their views as strongly and
convincing as they can.
Not only is it the professional thing
to do, but it will also add interest
and controversy to your news
stories.
The Reporter’s
Responsibility
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Again, here are the
Basic Do’s and Don’ts For
Interviewing
Who Does What in TV
News
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The news producer is the person who is
directly in charge of the newscast.
He or she makes the major minute-byminute decisions on both the technical
and content aspects of the newscast.
Larger stations have segment producers
in charge of specific stories or newscast
segments.
Some stations will have an executive
producer who is over the producer(s).
Who Does What in TV
News
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The news director is the top person
in the News Department. This
person controls the budget, hires
and fires personnel, and has
ultimate responsibility for the
station's news.
Who Does What in TV
News
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Much further down the chain of
responsibility is the on-air director
for the newscast. This person's
responsibility is to take the plans of
the producer and "call the shots" in
the on-air phase of the broadcast.
Who Does What in TV
News
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As the title suggests, the ENG
coordinator starts with the story
assignments made by the assignment
editor and works with reporters, ENG
crews, editors, technicians, and the
producer to see that the stories make it
to "air."
ENG coordinators must not only
thoroughly know their studio and location
equipment, but also understand news.
The Reporter’s Checklist
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Broadcast news is a highly competitive
business and in the rush to get a story
on the air it's sometimes tempting to
guess at facts or use information from a
questionable source.
However, errors in stories not only
damage a station's credibility but they
can derail a reporter's professional
future. Here are five points to keep in
mind when writing news stories.
The Reporter’s Checklist
1. Question those who claim to be a
witness to an event and confirm
that they really were in a position
to see what happened.
2. Use a second source to doublecheck information that seems
surprising or may be in doubt.
The Reporter’s Checklist
3. Double-check all names, titles,
and places, and, when necessary,
write out the pronunciation of
names phonetically.
4. When writing the story, carefully
check spelling and grammar; do
the math on numbers.
The Reporter’s Checklist
5. Make sure that sound bites
selected during editing accurately
reflect what the person meant.
The Producer’s Checklist
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Once reporters turn in their stories and
a news producer or director takes over,
many decisions must still be made
before the stories are ready for
broadcast.
Among other things, the stories must
be reviewed for balance, lead-ins (story
introductions) must be written, and
appropriate graphics must be prepared
to support the stories.
Here are five points that should be
considered before the newscast goes
on the air.
The Producer’s Checklist
1. Review stories for a balance in views,
gaps, and missing information.
2. Double-check phone numbers by
calling them; double-check web
addresses by visiting the sites. (People
are known to get very upset if their
telephone number is erroneously given
out and they have noting to do with the
issue.)
The Producer’s Checklist
3. Check graphics for accuracy.
4. Make sure the lead-ins to stories and
related news promos accurately reflect
the content and nature of the stories.
5. Step back and view the overall
newscast and make sure that the most
important stories of the day have been
covered and that they accurately reflect
the most current information and
developments.
12 Factors of
Newsworthiness
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Timeliness:
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News is what's new. An afternoon
raid on a rock cocaine house may
warrant a live ENG report during
the 6 p.m. news. However,
tomorrow, unless there are major
new developments, the same
story will probably not be
important enough to mention.
12 Factors of
Newsworthiness
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Proximity:
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If 15 people are killed in your
hometown, your local TV station
will undoubtedly consider it news.
But if 15 people are killed in
Manzanillo, Montserrat,
Moyobambaor, or some other
distant place you've never heard
of, it will probably pass without
notice. But there are exceptions.
12 Factors of
Newsworthiness
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Exceptional quality:
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One exception centers on how the
people died. If the people in
Manzanillo were killed because of a bus
or car accident, this would not be nearly
as newsworthy as if they died from an
earthquake or stings from "killer bees,"
feared insects that have now invaded
the United States.
Exceptional quality refers to how
uncommon an event is. A man getting a
job as a music conductor is not news—
unless that man is blind.
12 Factors of
Newsworthiness
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Possible future impact:
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The killer bee example illustrates another
news element: possible future impact. The
fact that the killer bees are now in the
United States and may eventually be a
threat to people watching the news makes
the story much more newsworthy.
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A mundane burglary of an office in the
Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC, was
hardly news until two reporters named
Woodward and Bernstein saw the
implications and the possible future impact.
Eventually, the story behind this seemingly
common burglary brought down a U.S.
President.
12 Factors of
Newsworthiness
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Prominence:
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The 15 deaths in Manzanillo
might also go by unnoticed by the
local media unless someone
prominent was on the bus—
possibly a movie star or a wellknown politician. If a U.S.
Supreme Court Justice gets
married, it's news; if John Smith,
your next-door neighbor, gets
married, it probably isn't.
12 Factors of
Newsworthiness
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Conflict:
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Conflict in its many forms has long held the
interest of observers. The conflict may be
physical or emotional. It can be open, overt
conflict, such as a civil uprising against
police authority, or it may be ideological
conflict between political candidates.
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The conflict could be as simple as a person
standing on his principles and spending a
year fighting city hall over a parking citation.
In addition to "people against people"
conflict, there can be conflict with wild
animals, nature, the environment, or even
the frontier of space.
12 Factors of
Newsworthiness
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The number of people involved
or affected:
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The more people involved in a
news event, be it a demonstration
or a tragic accident, the more
newsworthy the story is.
Likewise, the number of people
affected by the event, whether it's
a new health threat or a new tax
ruling, the more newsworthy the
story is.
12 Factors of
Newsworthiness
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Consequence:
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The fact that a car hit a utility pole isn't
news, unless, as a consequence, power
is lost throughout a city for several
hours. The fact that a computer virus
found its way into a computer system
might not be news until it bankrupts a
business, shuts down a telephone
system, or endangers lives by
destroying crucial medical data at a
hospital.
12 Factors of
Newsworthiness
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Human interest:
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Human-interest stories are generally soft
news. Examples would be a baby beauty
contest, a person whose pet happens to be
a nine-foot boa constrictor, or a man who
makes a cart so that his two-legged dog
can move around again.
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On a slow news day even a story of fire
fighters getting a cat out of a tree might
make a suitable story. Human-interest
angles can be found in most hard news
stories. A flood will undoubtedly have many
human-interest angles: a lost child reunited
with its parents after two days, a boy who
lost his dog, or families returning to their
mud-filled homes.
12 Factors of
Newsworthiness
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Pathos:
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The fact that people like to hear about the
misfortunes of others can't be denied. Seeing or
hearing about such things commonly elicits feelings
of pity, sorrow, sympathy, and compassion. Some
call these stories "tear jerkers."
Examples are the elderly woman who just lost her
life savings to a con artist, or the blind man whose
seeing-eye dog was poisoned.
This category isn't just limited to people. How about
horses that were found neglected and starving, or
the dog that sits at the curb expectantly waiting for
its master to return from work each day, even
though the man was killed in an accident weeks
ago.
12 Factors of
Newsworthiness
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Shock value:
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An explosion in a factory has less shock
value if it was caused by gas leak than if it
was caused by a terrorist. The story of a six
year-old boy who shot his mother with a
revolver found in a bedside drawer has
more shock (and therefore news) value
than if same woman died of a heart attack.
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Both shock value and the titillation factor
are well known to the tabloid press. The
lure of these two factors is also related to
some stories getting inordinate attention,
such as the sordid details of a politician's or
evangelist's affair—which brings us to the
final point.
12 Factors of
Newsworthiness
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Titillation component:
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This factor primarily involves sex
and is commonly featured—some
would say exploited—during
rating periods.
This category includes everything
from the new fashions in
women's swim wear to an indepth series on legal prostitution
in the state of Nevada.