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Jonathan Cooper
Mary Jo Reiff
Public Writing
5 December 2010
News Package Scripts Analysis
Every night millions of people around the world watch the evening news. It
keeps us updated on what is happening around us. It keeps us informed, but more
importantly gives us a sense of place. Reporters work relentlessly to convey this
information to the general public. One of the ways they do this is through news
packages. News packages are edited stories that include interviews, voice-overs, and
sound bytes that are presented in a broadcast form. People see news packages on
television everyday, all being used to convey a story to an audience. News packages
include scripts that tell the story, but few people see this form. It is a unique public
genre that the audience only sees through a visual medium. I analyzed different
news package scripts to better understand the broadcasting of information. The
script forms of these packages are some of the most unique and distinct types of
public writing that lend to an incomparable medium. By understanding news
packages roots, we can gain a better perspective on its purpose, but more
importantly understand the similarities that ultimately tell us the news.
Broadcasting is a very diverse aspect of news. The ways that information is
conveyed in a broadcast form can include an anchor reading the news, a reporter in
the field, news packages, and various other facets. A news broadcast usually
contains all of these aspects. When analyzing news packages specifically, it is
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important to understand the different kinds. The evening news mainly includes
simple packages that focus on a current event. Others however, can include in-depth
investigative reports, human-interest stories, biographical features, and humorous
reports. I analyzed different forms of news packages and the ways they are
presented and written. While each form covers a variety of subjects and different
stories, I discovered that all news packages have underlying similarities that are
universal across broadcast journalism.
In addition to analyzing scripts, I watched several different types of news
packages to get a better understanding for the finished product. Since scripts are
only a small aspect of news in general, it is important to see how they transfer from
paper to a visual medium, which will help in understanding their similarities. Most
news packages are created by a group of two to three people: a reporter, a
photographer, and an editor. Sometimes these positions are interchangeable. When
creating a story from news, the reporter must find a plot. This is different than
fiction in that the plot is just the angle the reporter wants to take on a subject. When
structuring the package, characters are vital in progressing the story. In this case,
the characters are interviews that the reporter gets to assist in the plot. The
information they give is called sound bytes. This combined with voice-overs by the
reporter to move the story along, comprise most of the audio. The photographer is
vital in getting video for the story. The video that they get, which should have
relevance to the story, is called b-roll and any sound they get from this b-roll is
called natural sound. It is placed over the voice-overs and sound bytes to complete a
story, or news package, that we see on the news everyday. A combination of hard
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work and creativity allow for this entertaining way to visually see the news. This
begins of course, with a simple script.
News package scripts are one of the most uniquely structured public genres
for a variety of reasons. All of the scripts I analyzed, although covering different
topics, were separated into two columns. The left side of the script was labeled
audio, while the opposite column was labeled video. These scripts are the most
popular form of scripts for news packages as they give a detailed description of not
only the story, but also the visual medium. They help the reporter organize the
package to include voice-overs, sound bytes, and their b-roll in a logical way to
create the best story possible. Although the general outline was similar, small
aspects of the scripts varied. For example, in one of the scripts, all of the voice-overs
were capitalized to help separate them from the sound bytes. In a different script,
the sound bytes, which are the audio from the interviewee, only include a few words
with ellipses points after. This is perhaps to save space, as the editor will include the
entire clip regardless. In one of the scripts, the b-roll is marked with time codes in
parenthesis. These time codes show the editor where the video is on the tape and
makes the editing process more efficient.
The formality of news package scripts is a lot less than other forms of printed
media. Because most of the information is read, difficult words have pronunciation
keys to help the reporter sound credible. It is an aspect exclusive to this public genre
as it is spoken, which assists in the overall ethos of the work. Another important
aspect of a news package that is not shown in the actual script is graphics. Graphics
called lower-thirds list an interviewee or reporter’s name at the bottom of the
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television screen so the audience knows who is speaking. It can help establish ethos
as well through a description of their association with a story, which is listed below
their name. Graphics are a vital piece of any news package, but is assumed into the
script.
All of the small discrepancies in the different scripts are trivial, as it depends
heavily on preferences. Some news stations have guidelines on how their scripts
should look. Samantha Anderson, who is a senior journalism major and intern at
KCTV5, says that the general format of the script should be consistent. She however,
has her own style in writing small aspects of a script; something I noticed in the
professional scripts I analyzed. Because only the broadcast form of the package is
actually seen, most reporters focus on the final video piece and write scripts with
their own preferences.
Besides the physical feature of a script, the content in news packages is
similar despite the various subjects and forms. I analyzed differing pieces including
an illness, a sports feature, and poverty in third world countries, yet they all had
underlying similarities. All of these news packages told a story with a beginning,
middle, and an end. Although they focus on journalistic topics, they still follow the
basic outline of a story. It is a fictional aspect of writing integrated into a very non-
fictional topic.
While some of the stories progressed better and were told more fluently,
they all appealed to rhetoric. They included different combinations of logos, ethos,
and pathos to convince the reader of the subject matter. Because broadcast news is
a form of journalism, logos is obviously used prevalently to give basic information
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and statistics. This is generally the voice-overs by the reporter as they do not give
their opinion. Ethos is present in the sound bytes from the interviewees. They give
credibility to the story, as generally they are experts on the subject at hand. In the
scripts I analyzed, pathos is present with both the reporter and interviewees. An
emotional feel is under toned in much of their dialogue.
An interesting feature of broadcast media, in relation to public genres, is that
even non-dialogue can have rhetoric. Interestingly, in news packages video can
express just as much rhetoric as dialogue. For example, in the news package about
SARS, video of students and teachers wearing masks can influence the audience’s
pathos. The visual documentary and shock of seeing people who are sick can leave a
more emotional touch than anything that could possibly be said.
No matter how innovative or creative our world becomes, and no matter how
fancy news packages get, they will always still rely on a script. By analyzing different
scripts, I learned that news packages are different in a variety of ways. I also learned
that despite the different stories they tell, they are almost similar in their format.
News packages are a vital aspect of our daily lives. By presenting the news in a
visual and storied format, the audience is able to see things that are happening
around them in their daily lives. It is something that our world takes for granted,
and despite the discrepancies in how they are written, they all have journalistic
integrity. While the audience never gets to see the script itself, they see the finished
product. They might see interviews, exciting video, and an interesting story. They
might be influenced by its message. But when it all comes down to it, they are simply
seeing the product of a good script, a script that presents the news, thus allowing
