Tips for producing the radio news bulletins

1. 10 tips for producing radio
bulletins
By:Tariq mehmood

2. How to create a great radio bulletin
• 2: Variety is the spice of life
• Offer an information mix. Life is multi-coloured and multi-faceted, and so is news.
• If you are covering politics you must highlight how the issue affect the lives of your audience and
not dwell on the politics alone. Always find someone affected by the issue and don't just feature
those in positions of power who are talking about the issue.
• If you are covering a corruption story it's important that you talk to either the victims or carry out
a vox pop in the street to try to find out what the general feeling is about the issue. Ideally, you
should always try to include the voice of those affected by whatever the story is highlighting.
• Your audience will have a wide range of interests and concerns including health, education, jobs,
homes, science and technology, culture, social developments, sports etc. Most of the time this
means that you have to provide a mix of news, current affairs and other information items.
• Note: Your bulletin should be wide-ranging in its subject matter

3. 2: Variety is the spice of life
• Offer an information mix. Life is multi-coloured and multi-faceted, and so is news.
• If you are covering politics you must highlight how the issue affect the lives of your
audience and not dwell on the politics alone. Always find someone affected by the issue
and don't just feature those in positions of power who are talking about the issue.
• If you are covering a corruption story it's important that you talk to either the victims or
carry out a vox pop in the street to try to find out what the general feeling is about the
issue. Ideally, you should always try to include the voice of those affected by whatever
the story is highlighting.
• Your audience will have a wide range of interests and concerns including health,
education, jobs, homes, science and technology, culture, social developments, sports etc.
Most of the time this means that you have to provide a mix of news, current affairs and
other information items
• Note: Your bulletin should be wide-ranging in its subject matter

4. Presentation and format
3: Would you want to listen to yourself?
• A voice that pleases is important for ensuring that the audience returns. Record a
few of your bulletins and listen to them. Would you like to listen to that voice
every day? If not, do something about it.
• Audio creates emotions. An attractive voice that catches the attention of the
audience is important. The last thing you want is a grating voice that makes
people switch off.
• Avoid the sing-song voice that plays the same tune for every sentence, going up
in tone at the beginning of the sentence and then dropping down at the end
regardless of what is being said.
• And never give the impression that you think you know more than the audience.
There will be someone listening who knows far more than you. Never patronise.
• Note: The last thing you want is a grating voice that makes people switch off

5. 4: Small may be beautiful
• Longer is not necessarily better. A seven-minute news bulletin is not going to be
an improvement on five minutes if the extra two minutes are merely filler
material.
• Try to imagine yourself in the place of the audience and think through what
pressures they may be under. They will probably be doing other things as they
listen. You are asking for their time and attention.
• Note: It's better to have a short bulletin that people can remember than a long
bulletin that leaves the audience confused.

6. 5: Slow down, it's not a race
• Don't rush. Make sure that your audience can understand what you are saying.
Reading too quickly could result in your audience not being able to absorb the
information you are sharing. You could end up becoming background noise.
• News readers often read fast when they are nervous or when they know that
they are about to pronounce a name about which they are uncertain. If you know
there is a foreign name coming up in the bulletin, highlight it and practice it until
you are sure. Then approach it slowly, pause, and pronounce it clearly.
• A handy tip is to make a mark in your script where you need to take a breath and
pause. These can help you when you come to reading the information.
• Note: Don't rush. Make sure your audience can understand what you are saying

7. 6: Don't serve up stale news
• Is your bulletin fresh, dynamic, and stimulating? Rewriting is essential. Many
people will listen to several bulletins during the day.
• It's important they are not served stale news that hasn't been reworked. If you
don't refresh, your audience might think you are either not doing your journalistic
job properly or you are being lazy.
• Some stories could run in different formats in different bulletins. For example you
could do a straight read of the information in one bulletin followed by a voice
report and or an audio clip in another. Having several ways of telling the same
story adds variety to your bulletin and gives you options and flexibility when
constructing it.
• Note: Refresh, rewrite and update your bulletin throughout the date

8. 7: Radio is about sounds, not just your voice
• Sound bites are important. A longer news bulletin becomes a lot more attractive
for the audience if you include short sound bites. This can be a five- or 10-second
audio clip inserted in a voice report or a stand-alone 20- or 25-second clip.
• Such sound bites can make your bulletin easier to listen to, more authoritative
(because you are including first-hand evidence) and, therefore, more credible. It's
also more interesting for the listener.
• However, all sounds have to have an editorial reason for being there. You should
not fill with sound clips that distract because they don't relate to the thrust of the
information you are delivering.
Note: Every element of your bulletin has to have an editorial justification

9. Writing style
8: Tell a short story
• Write news stories as if you were telling the story to a friend. This means: short,
simple and straightforward sentences.
• The audience cannot go back and check what you said 10 seconds ago. (Well,
they can if they record it or are listening online, but the majority will be listening
on the move and won't be able to rewind the bulletin.)
• You need to be clear, focused and memorable. Crafting complex information into
simple sentences is a skill. Don't obscure the essential facts with verbiage.
• Note: Write news stories as if you were telling the story to a friend.

10. 9: Small and effective packaging
• The bulletin should be a compilation of short but powerful stories. This format
makes it easy for people to grasp the information.
• Writing for radio is one of the most challenging journalistic disciplines. The simple
editorial rule about creating short, clear sentences with a subject, verb, and an
object is essential.
• Don't try to be clever with words. Use words that make the most sense and can
be understood by all.
• Read through your bulletin several times. Shorten the sentences and replace
complex concepts with simple terms that avoid any ambiguity or any possible
misunderstanding.
• Note: Keep it simple, clear and easy to follow

11. 10: Some final points
• If you are putting together a longer bulletin (e.g. seven minutes or more), you
may want to end the bulletin with a brief recap of the main stories. This can help
audiences recall the top stories and/or other relevant information.
• If you don't believe what you have written and what you are saying your audience
won't either; and what is more, they will not respect you for broadcasting
information that anyone with average intelligence would not swallow.
• Make sure you are honest in how you describe situations and events, don't over
sensationalize. Your audience will know when you are going over the top and
your credibility and integrity will be damaged if you do.
• Note: If you don't believe what you have written your audience won't either.

12. How to write for radio:
07 tips by a BBC Radio 4 commissioner
BBC Radio 4 commissioner Caroline Raphael has commissioned most types of radio content
but now it’s her job to fill the Radio 4’s entire comedy output – 200 hours every year. So, we
asked her to give us the inside track on how the commissioning process works at BBC Radio
4 and where a budding scriptwriter should start if they want to write for radio.
Caroline Raphael

13. 1. Get the guidelines
• Before you put pen to paper, it’s important to become very familiar with the BBC Radio
commissioning guidelines. Whether it’s entertainment or factual, each area has its own
commissioning round and has its own set of specific guidelines that are published at
different times of the year. BBC Radio 4 Comedy, has two formal commissioning rounds
each year, one in the autumn and another in the spring. The guidelines are freely available
to download.
• Caroline says: “The guidelines contain everything a writer needs to know about how to
submit work to us. They give heaps of practical information like what types of shows and
plays we want and what themes we’re interested in – as well as the themes we’re not so
interested in.”
• Writers interested in the autumn comedy round should start looking for the guidelines
online from mid-September. The spring guidelines normally appear around the end of
February.

14. 2. Find the producer that’s right for you
• “Don’t just send your work off to anyone, listen to a lot of Radio 4 output first.”
• “The secret to finding the right producer is that there is no secret – you just have
to do your market research and target the right person” says Caroline. “Don’t just
send your work off to anyone, listen to a lot of Radio 4 output first and each time
you hear something you really like or is similar to your authorial voice note down
the name of the show and who the producer or production company is. Know the
specific slot that you see your piece being suitable for too – be it a sitcom, sketch
or drama. Then, write to the producer. Tell them why you like their work, what
you’ve listened to and why you think they’ll like what you have to offer – sell your
idea to them and if they’re interested, they’ll ask to see the script.”

15. 3. Understand how people listen to radio
• Perhaps rather obviously, writing for radio isn’t like writing novels or writing for
stage or screen. However, not only should the writer master how to convey their
story only with dialogue, they must also understand how people listen to the radio
in the specific slot they are writing for. Caroline says:
• “Writers need to stop and think about when and how people actually listen to the
radio. People usually have the radio on in the background for company and rarely
tune in for specific shows. They listen in a linear way and just keep listening to
whatever comes on next. However, people also listen in different ways depending
on the time of day. For example, comedy slots in the early evening need to pick
people up after a day at work. Whatever you write has to fit in to what people are
ready to listen to at that time – the golden rule is to know the slot you are writing
for back to front.”

16. 4. Don’t stereotype the Radio 4 listener
• “We want to be pushed so writers, push us!”
• Listeners have diverse tastes and we’re looking for writers who have
something to say about the world and who use language brilliantly –
we want to be pushed so writers, push us!”

17. 5. You have to enjoy writing ‘without the pictures’
• “Writing for radio’s not for everybody,” says Caroline. “If you’re thinking of writing
for us you have to try writing without any pictures. Just try writing only dialogue –
some writers don’t like it because they think visually. It sounds obvious but you
can’t show things with radio – absolutely everything has to come across in the
words. Character has to come across purely through dialogue and that’s far harder
than you think.”

18. 6. Find out about the slots that accept first time
writers
• If you’re a novice writer, it’s worth knowing that Radio 4 does accept the work of
first time writers – but only for some ‘open door’ slots. Caroline’s advice is to get
to know what these are by reading through the guidelines. The two ‘open door’
shows in Caroline’s area of radio comedy are Newsjack on Radio 4 Extra and
the Show What You Wrote. Caroline says that writing short pieces for either show
is a great way of getting noticed by producers. She said:
• “Increasingly, when I look at commissioning a first sitcom or play a writer will have
already had work commissioned on one of our open door shows because that’s
how you find the right producers. Also, after writing for one of those shows,
writers are sometimes asked to be an additional writer for shows like The News
Quiz – and if you get that you could land yourself a years contract working for the
Radio 4 comedy department as one of their contract writers.”

19. 7. Hawk your work around – there’s no excuse
“If you want to write get out there and make something – generate an
audience for your work.”
“It takes years of writing and crafting your profession to make it onto radio – or TV,”
says Caroline. “You have to hawk your work around and get some exposure – there
are so many channels now to do this. Indeed if you haven’t developed your writing
CV in this way then I‘d really ask why. If you want to write get out there and make
something – generate an audience for your work.”