1. Radio news reviews
In this assignment I will be reviewing my three radio interviews that I put into our group
radio news production I did a copy only, live cross and Vox pops I feel I was a confident
speaker when interviewing people and was also very considerate to make sure I was
attentive when it came to listening to peoples responses.
In my first story I did a copy only story this involves me just reading out an article I had to
gather research about Manchester’s new 100 million pound cycling I also had to look for
quotes from people who were working on the scheme and for the council and also people
who were not so happy with the scheme as so to present a balanced argument and then I
gave my opinion on whether I think it would be a good project or not, I felt that I was
confident when I was talking however my research was limited because it isn’t a national
story so it didn’t make it into a lot of newspapers it was a local news piece so there was
limited coverage however it did work in my benefit at times because it was more
concentrated news it was easier to trace down proper quotes instead of just pure
speculation.
I think I could have been a little bit more formal when talking about the subject I think I was
a confident talker when running the news story I just wish I could have sounded more
formal and serious when reading out the facts I thought my less formal manner when giving
my own opinion was good, I didn’t really need to edit this storey a lot I just raised the
volume so you could hear me talk more clearly but I read it out until I got all the way
through the story with no mistakes because I wanted it to sound professional and coherent.
My second news story was definitely the easiest for me as is was right in my comfort zone I
was interviewing the head coach of Manchester ranger’s rugby league 1s team we were
talking over the phone about them taking steps forward to become a professional rugby
club, I feel my language and the way I communicated was excellent because I felt at home
because it’s a subject that I know well. I also knew the interviewee personally so I think it
helped overcome any nerves I may have had and also made the conversation more chatty
and flowing, he was also less concerned about possibly revealing too much detail.
Research was made easy as I already knew the subject in depth enough to hold a coherent
conversation with my interviewee I just made sure I picked up on little details before talking
to him, also when talking to him I made sure I was responsive to the answers he was giving I
was always trying to encourage to diverge further more in depth answers.
The editing of this news piece was easier than the other edits because the conversation
flowed so well there was very little dead air time other than when I was waiting for his
answer, however I did need to raise the volume and make his voice deeper because he was
on the phone so there was some mild interference from both ends which was audible so I
2. had to cut that out by raising my voice on the edit and also had to deepen his voice because
the phone made his voice sound crackly and occasionally high pitched.
My last story was my vox pops I was interviewing students from Eccles College about
labours new proposal to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 I went around asking students
whether from both sides of the argument meaning I asked some that were old enough to
vote and also those were too young at the moment but would have been affected by the
new rule change, I was nervous at first because I do feel out of my comfort zone talking to
people that I don’t really know so to make it easier I also asked some people that I did know
so I could get a mixture of shorter answers and also more informed opinions on the debate,
I think I was clear in the way I spoke however I would’ve liked to have had more access to
research about the topic but because it was only a suggestion there wasn’t actually much
research available so I was relying on people to have either heard about the change mooted
(politically engaged) or to at least just have an opinion on the subject.
The editing process for this news story was the toughest simply because I had to go through
each interview and pick out little bits of information that the listener would find important
and newsworthy, I did have some interviews where the question I was asked wasn’t fully
answered so I had to edit around the bits they said that were still relevant because I didn’t
want to waste any good stuff that they said about the subject, I felt my presentation was
good however I could have relaxed more we when speaking to people that I didn’t know
and that Is something that I will be working on in the future.
I also asked for feedback from people in my class to talk about my radio news pieces overall
it was pretty positive people said that I spoke coherently and with confidence but that I
could have done possibly some more research on my cover news story, they also said that at
times that I rushed a little bit of my story and that I should be calmer and just take my time
when talking.
Overall I think I did well on my news pieces I will just take on board the idea of taking more
time with what I am saying and also I will be improving my research and preparation
methods so that I will find it easier when talking to people about subjects that I had limited
knowledge I think this will improve my interviewing skills greatly.
