Mass media in the Philippines, with its oligarchic and liberal nature has evolved along the fusion of principles and theories of Western (American and European) traditions of liberal ethics and practices.

The task of effectively delivering messages (information and entertainment) is over and above practitioners and individual personalities.

Everybody in the media industry is a slave to such ethics and practices indeed.

Filipino radio broadcasters schooled in the western tradition but faced with unique local context have institutionalized ethical principles and discipline on time observed through the years

Late submissions of scripts, materials, execution, preparation, among many others, are met with stringent sanctions----------suspension or job loss!

Power holders in the radio industry put primary emphasis on urgency through live on the spot coverage or intermittent flash reports of day’s news.

Academic institutions teaching radio production must therefore reflect such realities in the industry.

No student should pass courses on media production without strictly understanding the value of time.

In media, “TIME IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN GOLD” Newsworthy events neglected by undisciplined broadcasters

are profits lost for an enterprising broadcasting company. Death is the only reason a broadcaster can explain his/her

tardiness or absence. NO REASON IS REASONABLE FOR ABSENCE OR TARDINESS IN MEDIA PRODUCTION

In class, mentors must subject tardiness and absence as misbehavior getting conditioned or failed mark!

Cue needed soundtracks 3-5 seconds before the target sound

Based on its sequence in the script, record soundtracks alternately in two disks (e.g. MSC 1 in CD1 and MSC 2 in CD 2). Back-up these in at least another pair/s of disks.

Rehearse, record, and wisely revise script, at least five times before actual prod with all needed materials, complete cast and crew.

Manual SFX and soundtracks must be placed and sequenced as they appear in the script. Prepare them without inviting accidents such as choking and electric shocks.

Always remind everyone of their major roles and additional tasks.

Begin and end rehearsals on time using hand signals and cue cards rather than loud shouts and nonsense laughs.

Wise revisions of the script means minor touches during rehearsals and major modifications after group brainstorming sessions.

Retain the 5W’s and 1H of news and information scripts. Retain the creative elements of narrative scripts (normal conditions, problem-conflict, heightening of the problem until the climax, resolution and reversals). All creative revisions should retain such elements whether it goes for compression or expansion.

Directions should be well-thought and planned as one re/writes the script. Poor timing are partly due to non-sense arrangements and transitions of soundtracks.

In a group of more or less 8-10 members, 5 will do the role of the production crew and cast, the remaining 3-5 will be AD’s to maintain the IDEAL LEARNING AND COMMUNICATION FLOW in class.

As the production crew does the exercise, the AD’s will prepare the critique of the performance. Other class members uninvolved may prepare their critique as well.

Other than the instruction from the professor, all communication once the activity begins should be done in hand or cue-card signals.

SANCTIONS WILL BE STRICTLY OBSERVED.

During production examinations, reflecting the actual radio-airing of a produced material, the professor will determine the group grade------EVERYONE GETS THE SAME GRADE. Reasonably, the group deserves the freedom to assign roles to capable and excellent members.

The logic for group grade comes from the fact that in real radio programming, actual airing or productions are done only once. Success or failure, it happens only once.

Oral examinations will be graded individually. Questions will be based on the experiences learned,

principles applied, and theories understood by students from lectures, discussions, and production exercises.

Moreover, a special emphasis will be given to student’s awareness of the actual production conditions reflected by realistic radio programs in major station------DZMM, DZBB, DZRH, AND OTHER REIGNING FM RADIO STATIONS.

Students are thus advised to voluntarily research or fulfill assigned interviews of the reigning production practices in the industry.

Radio news is technically less complicated but demands accurate content and requires the in-depth practice of broadcast journalism

Radio news greatest challenges are in the gathering of the news content, writing it into an effective script and airing it on time.

Poor stingers and wrong choices of theme/signature MSC/SFX may prove news program ineffective though.

Live radio prod requires spontaneity while recorded ones requires further creativity

Radio news and musical programming are mostly done live while narrative programs are usually recorded.

Production crew and talents for live prod are required to be flexible and spontaneous while the well-rehearsed nature of recorded narrative are well-written and performed following brevity and well chosen word-content that warrants replaying.

In the radio, all productions aired are recorded anyway

Stingers should be produced from the combined music, SFX and voice that mentions the slogan, program title, or the popular name of a radio news anchor

Stingers must sound striking, provoking, and stimulating. Theme or signature music/SFX are supposed to reflect

the urgency and compelling nature of radio news and public affairs program. As BG, it must be lively and worth one’s attention and memory.

In a group of 8-10 members, formulate a proposal plan of a radio news program with complete parts as rationale, objective, conceptual strategy/method, airtime, budget, etc.

Submit a recorded stinger (3-5 seconder) and a theme music/SFX (30-seconder or 1-minuter)

Proposal should be defended and critiqued in class Stinger and theme music/SFX will be evaluated as to its

relevance to the proposal and its technical and creative aspects.

In a group of 8-10 members, conceptualize A) a 30-seconder ad-commercial about an existing

product exclusively assigned by the mentor and; B) a one-minute flash-report/newsbreak which details

will be given a few minutes before the production. Group members must have different concept,

strategies, format, and genre for the ad. Both ad and flash-report/newsbreak must use distinct

and different BGM and SFX. Entire production ends at exactly one minute and thirty

seconds.