4. Recap
Broadcast news: try to write in the
present tense, lead with what’s most
current, use familiar words, VOICED
PORTION OF SCRIPT WRITTEN IN
CAPS, write phonetically is OK
6. 3) Broadcast News
THE LATEST FROM HERE ON WEST 69
STREET IS THAT PEOPLE HERE ARE DOING X.
-NO GENERALIZATIONS
-NO CLICHÉS
THE COST OF THE HURRICANE IS ESTIMATED
AT JUST OVER FOUR-BILLION DOLLARS.
-ROUND OFF NUMBERS APPROPRIATELY
THE AUTHORITIES CONFIRM THERE IS NOW
A PNEUMONIA OUTBREAK IN OMAHA.
-NO ONE SAYS AMONGST
7. 4) Ledes
Scene Setter
Duct tape is the only thing that holds the
banister together even as roaches and mice
infest the kitchen and there’s no electricity
in the attic apartment bathroom at 1032
Main St. in Cleveland’s Oread neighborhood.
(36 WORDS)
8. 4) Ledes
Focus on a Person
Ted Flis is a college student majoring in
architecture and living in the Cleveland's
Oread neighborhood while trying to save on
housing costs, just like other students, by
renting an attic apartment that’s far from
perfect. (36 WORDS)
9. • Package (PKG) script – Done by a
REPORTER. Includes various
elements to tell the facts of a story:
b-roll (video shot about the story),
other visuals (graphics, animation,
photos) soundbites (portions of
interviews recorded on camera) and
perhaps a stand-up by the reporter.
TV newswriting applications
10. • Voiceover (VO) – A TV news story
where the news anchor reads
information about the story while
video about the story is shown.
• Voiceover-to/with-sound (VO/SOT) –
A TV news story where the news
anchor not only reads story
information over video of the story but
also introduces a soundbite from a
person connected to the story.
11. • B-Roll – video recorded for a TV news
story that shows elements of the story.
• Natural Sound / Nat Sound / Ambient
Sound / NATS – actual sounds from the
location of the news story. Live Shot – A
live report by a reporter from the scene
of a story. Often done before and after
a reporter package is shown in the
newscast.
Key TV news terms:
12. • Sound bite (SOT) - edited portion of a
recorded video interviews.
• Stand-up (S/U) – a reporter on-screen
during a TV news story delivering
information about the story.
13. Next up: examples of VOs
This will be video from News4 NY -
WNBC-TV
I’ll play it on WebEx or you can
see and hear it in BlackBoard
under the Content Tab titled
WNBC NEWS4 New York newscast
14.
15. Now:
Submit a brief post on the Discussion
Board called VOICEOVERS on why
the WNBC newscast displays good
broadcast news writing based on the
handout and our discussion.
Failure to post fails the assignment.
16. Stick to the really key facts to
save time and make your
script more conversational.
Middle names or initials typically
aren’t needed for identifications.
Ages of people are not important
near the lede in broadcast unless
that fact is VERY SIGNIFICANT
to the story.
17. Wrong:
RESCUERS ARE HELPING A
TWENTY-SEVEN AND-A-HALF-
YEAR-OLD ATLANTIC CITY MAN
RECOVER AFTER HE SPENT SEVEN
DAYS LOST IN THE NEW JERSEY
PINE BARRENS WHICH RUN
ALONG ROUTES 206 AND 563.
18. Better:
AN ATLANTIC CITY MAN IS ON THE
MEND TODAY AFTER BEING LOST
FOR A WEEK IN THE NEW JERSEY
PINE BARRENS.
The man's age can come later in the story.
Make the age easy to understand.
The road information is also too detailed.
How could you convey those road names
without confusing your audience with all
those numbers?
19.
20. If age is a significant fact:
AN EIGHTY-SIX YEAR
OLD MAN IS
RECOVERING TODAY
AFTER BEING LOST
IN THE NEW JERSEY
PINE BARRENS FOR
THE LAST SEVEN
DAYS.
21. WRITE out the words that
explain what symbols like $
and % mean.
WHAT DO THEY MEAN?
22. Acronyms are OK if they
are clearly understood and
used by people.
FBI
DNC
RNC
NASA
CIA (be careful here!)
23.
24. Isleworth Mona Lisa
Go to ASSIGNMENTS and write a
:30 VO news script using the facts
provided that also complements the
video for the story as it is shown.
You can see the facts and the video
on BlackBoard.
Use the TWO COLUMN TV NEWS
SCRIPT TEMPLATE for your script.
