Electronic Media: Writing, Editing and Execution

Good qualities of a TV Anchor

Writing to visuals

Good qualities of a TV anchor:

Good Communication skills: Tv reporters and anchors need to have excellent communication skills as well as excellent writing skills. They should have excellent command over the language, must speak grammatically correct language, syntax, pronunciation, tone and storytelling — no matter how stressed or tired the anchor or reporter may be.Mastery of multitasking: The reporter and the anchor should have the ability to simultaneously take in a producer’s instructions via an earpiece while scanning new information from computer messages, texts or Twitter; listen to what other reporters on the team are sharing and interviewees are adding; monitor incoming video and many others at the same time.

Interviewing skill: An instinct for what people need and want to know, for what elements are missing from the story, and the ability to draw information by skillful, informed questioning and by listening; all in a very short span of time.

Acute sense of timing: The ability to condense or expand one’s speech on demand, to sense when a story needs refreshing or recapping, to know without even looking at a clock how many words are needed to fill the minute live feed or interviewee.

Reporters /Anchors should be versatile: The entire broadcasting team is often expected to complete a number of varying duties. Reporters, for instance are often called upon to find a story, conduct interviews, shoot footage, write the story, and report the story. Everyone involved should be willing and able to perform multiple duties.

Possesses a Good Personality: Most important for those on camera, anchors and reporters should have a friendly disposition that viewers can connect with. A smiling face and a gentle tone help viewers to develop a sense of trust and rapport.

Authority &Credibility: The viewers look up to him as a role model, an icon. When he anchors, he invades the privacy of his viewers. Therefore it is a tall order for him to maintain his credible image even if he is off camera.

Good voice and diction: This includes his projection on camera, his makeup, his body language, facial expression, hairstyle, voice quality, phrasing, diction, enunciation, modulation.

Yalda Hakim - Presenter and Correspondent

Yalda joined BBC World News in December 2012 and made her on-screen debut in March 2013 presenting a special three-part series of Our World entitled,Iraq: Ten Years On. Before joining BBC World News, Yalda was the presenter of SBS Dateline in Australia. From a headline-making investigation in Afghanistan's Kandahar province to her reporting from Libya during the Arab Spring, Yalda has built up a wealth of journalistic experience around the world.

Stephen Sackur - Presenter, HARDtalk

Stephen presents the channel's flagship current affairs interview programme,HARDtalk. A BBC News journalist since 1986, Stephen has worked across BBC World News, BBC News Channel and BBC World Service. In 2010, he was named 'International TV Personality of the Year’ by the Association of International Broadcasters.

Nic Robertson, CNN, International Correspondent

Most recently Robertson has been reporting on the escalating violence in Syria, from both inside and outside the country.

He is also known for his extensive reportage on the Arab Spring and its repercussions, as it spread across the Middle East.

Oprah Winfrey

In 1986, Oprah Winfrey became the first black female host of a nationally syndicated daily talk show with the premiere of The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Oprah Winfrey became the first black female billionaire in the United States in 2003.

Billionaire Oprah Winfrey is best known for hosting her own internationally popular talk show from 1986 to 2011. She is also an actress, philanthropist, publisher and producer.

Qualities of a good television reporter

You have to be fast and accurate.

Television news looks simple but the process o make it simple is a complicated one. Gather as much information as you can and ensure that the final presentation is simple.

In television the operative word is vision. A reporter has just two minutes to give a complete picture of the news and words should enhance the pictures.

Be in the right place at the right time. In television, visuals matter, so it is not only sufficient to explain the facts, it is equally important to capture the moment.

Similarities between newspaper journalism and television journalism

Both print and broadcast journalism deal with the impartial, accurate andobjective reporting of events. They thus share common journalistic values.

Both forms of journalism involve the use of a network of reporters who rely on their news sources to uncover stories and report them.

In both print and electronic journalism, editorial control is exercised over the reporters and the stories uncovered by them are selected, edited and givenfinal shape by the editorial team.

Both seek to hold power-holders accountable to common people. In democratic societies, especially, journalism is said to be the “watchdog ofdemocracy”.

Differences between newspaper journalism and television journalism

Print journalism can reach out only to people who can read, hence its reach is also limited, whereas television and radio can reach to all sections of the society irrespective of the literacy levels. Thus the appeal of the broadcast journalism is wider.

The presentation and language of television journalism should be very simple compared to that of print. In print, the readers have the option of referring back to different sources in case the meaning of certain words and phrases are not clear. What this means is that in print journalism words exist on a page and if the reader does not understand a particular word or passage then he or she can go back to it and read it again. But in broadcast, if something is not understood, it is gone forever and one cannot go back to it. For this reason, the presentation and language of broadcast journalism tends to be far simpler and easier to understand

Differences between newspaper journalism and television journalism

Television news deals more with news events than with analysis and interpretation.

Print journalism has the luxury of being able to afford the publication of analysis, since it is meant for a literate, and often significantly educated readership which is interested in delving beneath the surface of the news.

In TV journalism, news reporting is faster as it is a 24X 7 medium and enabled by more advanced and sophisticated technology. Print news tends to lag behind in terms of speed and it is published once in a day.

TV news tends to make speed a priority while print tends to make accuracy a priority. Broadcast news is deliveredsooner, and is therefore fresher, while printed news is more reliable.

Live news exists only in the broadcast medium, but does not exist in print.

The printed word appeals more to the intellect, while the use of images, sounds and ambient noise in broadcast journalism tends to appeal,subconsciously, to people’s emotions as much as to their minds. Thus, print is a more intellectual medium, while broadcast inevitably has elements of performance built into its method, which carries a certain emotional appeal.

Differences in writing styles in print and audio-visual

Why the differences?

Writing styles have evolved in newspapers, radio and television due to the unique nature of each medium and to the manner in which its audience consumes each medium.

VS

Differences: Lead

Newspaper: A summary lead is best if it tells readers the most important of the 5W's and 1H: who was involved, what happened, where, when, why and how did it happen. However, if including all 5W's and H will clutter the lead sentence, the less important elements are reserved for the following sentences. An ideal length is 35 words or less.

Radio/Television

It is more likely that only part of the 5W's and H will be heard. The why and how will be left for a later paragraph, or not included in a short item. Unless the time is significant, it is likely to be dropped.

Differences: STORY STRUCTURE

Newspaper:

The inverted pyramid begins with the most important information. Succeeding paragraphs contain details that are less and less important. Editing can be done by cutting from the bottom of the story, but if time permits a story should be edited line by line.

Television:

Most newscast items are so short that there is time only for a few of the most important details of a report. A visual story may begin with the most dramatic footage if there is any, then show video that matches the written copy scene for scene. As already noted, if the words and pictures do not support each another they compete with each other for the viewer's attention. In that case the contest is unequal, for the pictures have more impact.

Newspaper:

A news item should contain every pertinent fact. Readers who weary midway through the report can turn to another news item. While it would be ideal if every reader read every bit of every item, reality dictates that the reader has the option of when to flip the page.

Television:

A news item should contain a limited number of the most important facts. The visual element must be taken into account. Interesting videotape may keep the attention of the viewer who otherwise may become uninterested midway through the report

Differences: STORY STRUCTURE

Differences: Sentence Structure

Newspapers: The good writer will choose sentence structure from the rich variety afforded by the English language, including long, short, active, declarative, periodic, and passive constructions, although the active voice is preferred to the passive. Clauses may appear between subject and verb or between verb and object.

Television:

The television news writer assumes that the longer the sentence the less it will be understood. Clauses at the start of sentences or between subject and verb are virtually taboo. Most clauses can stand on their own as separate sentences

Differences: Sentence Structure

Newspaper: As a general rule, short sentences are better than long sentences, but it is more important to marshal the facts necessary for understanding a news story in a style that is grammatically correct.

Television:

Short sentences are best, but the occasional long sentence is acceptable if it is not freighted with difficult words or complex ideas. If your information is not understood it is valueless.

Differences: Sentence Structure

Newspapers: Past events are told in the past or perfect tense. For eg: The police was asked to look into... or The police has been asked to look into

Television:

Some, but not all, newsrooms prefer the present tense for past actions: The police is being asked to look into...

Names, quotes and attribution

Newspaper: Direct quotations are common. The person being quoted may be identified at the start, middle, or end of the quote.

The attribution may precede, follow, or be integrated in the middle of a statement. It usually follows the statement. For eg, The crime rate in the city has increased by 50% over the last five years was reported by the city police chief yesterday.

Television:When the videotape shows the person making the statement, a character generator super/aston identifies the speaker three or four seconds into the video. Identifying the speaker in the intro copy is optional.

Attribution always precedes a statement. Effectively, the sentence begins by identifying the source, for eg, The city police chief has conceded that there has been an increase of 50% in crime rates over the last five years.

Writing to visuals

Television is an audio visual medium

In television, one writes to be heard, not read

Language is used along with visuals and sound

Language must, therefore, support the visuals and the sound

Two important rules:

one must write simply and eloquently, so that the language is understood the very first time it is heard

one must write in order to complement the visuals, so that one does not repeat what is being shown in the visuals, to supply some further information to them.

The language must be simple and understandable

One must write to complement the visuals

Numbers and quantities must be mentioned

Large numbers must be written in a combination of numerals and words

Scripts should ideally be neatly typed out

Writing to Visuals

Astons: The band which appears on screen during a person’s SoundBits, stating his or her name and designation.

Bugs: A little band which appears on any given side of a screen, stating the location or time of a story.

Slugs: A band, which appears on screen during a news story stating the headline of the story.

Ticker: A static or scrolling band at the bottom of the screen which flashes important news, text messages by viewers or share prices.

Windows: The screen is split into two or more windows showing two different locations simultaneously.

SOME TERMS

Developing a television news story in the absence of visuals

Piece to camera:

A piece to camera is the television term used for when a presenter or a character speaks directly to the viewing audience through the camera. It is most common when a news or television show presenter is reporting or explaining items to the viewing audience. Indeed, news programmes usually take the form of a combination of both interviews and pieces to camera.

When a news story starts with a PTC, it is called an Opening PTC. An opening PTC must introduce the story effectively. It is used most often when the reporter is present in a place where the interior shots of the location are not readily available, and the reporter has to fall back upon the option of using a PTC. In such events, the outdoor aspect of a location may be used as the backdrop for the PTC.

When a PTC occurs in the middle of a packaged news story, then it is called a Bridge PTC. This is to be used when the reporter is explaining something for which visuals are not available.

Opening PTCs and Bridge PTCs must be used as little as possible. This is because the strength of television is that it can show visual evidence. Only when shots are not available for some reason should Opening and Bridge PTCs be given.

When a news report ends with a PTC, it is called the End PTC or Closing PTC. This is meant to be a brief byline to the story. A byline is not merely a summary of the story, it is meant to be an opportunity for the reporter to appear on screen with a brief, balanced observation about the story

Archives:

Archives of important personalities, incidents like war, accidents, terrorist attacks etc should be properly archived so that these can be used as visuals in the absence of adequate footage. Archives help immensely when an important personality passes away, or when the TV news story needs to shoe the viewers what happened in the past.

Graphics and animation:

Graphics is a pictorial representation of mathematical figures and help in understanding the complex statistics. It allows the anchor or the TV news presenter to simplify the complex numerical representations into a more lucid language which is easy for the common man to understand.

For certain news stories for which it is not at all possible to get a footage like how a major fire broke out in a market complex and how it spread can be explained with animation. This helps the viewers to understand how an event unfolded in the absence of adequate visuals.

Different types of television news stories

Format Description

Package Stories The anchor, using a lead-in, introduces a story and a reporter. The prerecorded piece then includes a mix of video, sound bytes, voiceovers and a PTC from the reporter who explains some element of the story or summarizes the entire story.

VOSOT (Voice Over Sound on Tape) The anchor speaks over a videotape that includes someone talking. When the reporter stops, the sound on tape is turned up and the person on tape is heard speaking.

Anchor + byte The anchor reads the story without the aid of visuals which then is followed by a sound byte.

Formats of TV News

Reader copy This format is a story read by an anchor or reporter without visual or audio aid. It may have a slide or a graphic in the background.

Voiceovers A videotape of an event is shown with the sound of the event turned down. An anchor or reporter speaks over the tape to talk about what the viewer is seeing.

Live shots An anchor will introduce a reporter who is shown live at the scene of some news event. The reporter can then do one of the following: PTC, interview someone, introduce and voiceover a videotape, or answer questions from the anchor.

Formats of TV News

VOX POP

It refers to the interview of the common man on street on a specific issue affecting their daily lives in one way or the other. The aim is to get a variety of answers on a particular subject. The interviewees should be of various ages, sexes, classes and communities so that the diverse views and reactions of the general people can be gauged.

The media use vox pops for many reasons, but chiefly for the following:

to test public opinion and reactionto influence decision-makersto forecast results of eventsto stimulate public debateto promote the newspaper, radio or television station, and make it more popular

sound bite: A short segment of someone speaking, usually the most significant or interesting part of what they said. a short recorded statement that is broadcast on a television or radio news program

Soundbytes are the words of the newsmakers and is the key to telling a good news story. TV soundbytes features the faces of the newsmakers as well as their voices. A byte is also referred to as a sound on tape. (SOT)

There are certain elements a reporter wants from a SOT

It needs to contain certain relevant informationAn ideal SOT lasts 8 secs to 10 secs, else it becomes a speech

What Are Feature Stories?

•Feature stories are human-interest articles that focus on particular people, places and events.

•Feature stories are journalistic, researched, descriptive, colorful, thoughtful, reflective, thorough writing about original ideas.

•Feature stories cover topics in depth, going further than mere hard news coverage by amplifying and explaining the most interesting and important elements of a situation or occurrence.

•Feature stories are popular content of newspapers, magazines, blogs, websites, television broadcasts and other mass media.

Features

Feature is an umbrella term for a number of soft news stories that profile, humanise, add colour, educate, entertain or illuminate. News Writing and Reporting for Today’s Media by Anderson

A feature is not meant to deliver news first hand.

A feature is timeless.

A feature must give the reader new information about which he is ignorant. It must give background to the news, it includes analysis, explanation and discussion.

Features enable readers to convert information into understanding.

Features:

Explain

Expand

Explore

Investigate

Describe

Entertain

Campaign

Comment

Val Williams, Thomson Foundation

NEWS FEATURES

News is an objective and factual account of events.

Features give a new dimension to the news, it examines and dissects news.

News deals with recent and current events.

A feature can be both on a recent event or on an event that might have taken place some time ago.

News story is generally written in inverted pyramid pattern as the purpose of the news is to give a glimpse of an event.

Feature writer has more flexibility. The feature can be written in a colourful manner. The writer can communicate his thoughts in an effective, interesting and entertaining manner.

Differences between news and features

NEWS FEATURES

A news story is limited to a single time and place. It is not always a complete story in itself.

Feature is a self-sufficient and self-contained piece.

The purpose of news story is to inform, educate and enlighten.

Features entertain, guides and instructs the readers.

Ideally, lead should be in summary format. The lead in a feature may not be in a summary format.

Differences between news and features

In hard news stories, the reporter makes the point, sets the tone, and frames the issue in the first paragraph or two. In feature stories, the whole story does not have to be encapsulated in an inverted pyramid lead. The writer can develop the storyline in a variety of ways and choose to postpone the main point until later in the copy or even the end.

TYPES OF FEATURES

INTERVIEWS

Interview is a conversation between two people whereby the interviewer asks certain questions to get the perspectives of the interviewee on a particular issue.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW

Personality Interview

Personality Interview

PREPARING FOR AN INTERVIEW

• The interviewer should have thorough knowledge of the subject. A thorough understanding of the topic being discussed is essential for which research work is mandatory.

• The interviewer should also have some information about the person being interviewed.

• The interviewer should seek an appointment with the interviewee either on telephone or should meet the person and finalize the schedule.

PREPARING FOR AN INTERVIEW

• The interviewer should prepare questions and these questions should have some relevance to the news story or feature.

• The interviewer should not talk too much. An interviewer should also be a good listener.

• The interviewers approach must be friendly, courteous , conversational and unbiased.

• It goes without saying that basic manners such as dressing neatly, arriving on time, and being courteous and confident are necessary.