Tv news-reporting

1. TV News Reporting
MCOM 402: Theoretical
Introduction to Television Studies

2. Styles of TV News
Headlines, Teases
Readers or links
Std VO
Newsroom VO package
Reports or packages from the field
Two ways
Live shots with reporters
Walk throughs
Studio Chats

3. The TV news package
There are four elements to any
package:
– The intro/ cue read by the anchor
– The pictures/footage/graphics
– The links/voice over – i.e. the reporter’s
words read over the pictures
– The soundbites from the interviewees
featured in the package

4. The TV news package
A package is a story
May be pre-planned or reactive to a
hard story
If pre planned feature--- researched, set
up, structured, shot, written, voiced,
edited, broadcast

5. The TV news package
Contains GV or B roll pictures
Interviews which become sound bites or
SOTs
A stand up or PTC
A written narration or VO
Effects or Graphics

6. Common Terms
Actuality –audio clip or video bit from an
interview or other recording
Line timing –determining length by line
count
Live –not prerecorded
Toss –anchor lead-in to package story
Standard out cue –reporter’s last few words

7. Common terms
Package – pre-recorded, self-contained story introduced by
the anchor and delivered by reporter.
All stories end with ### or (XXX)
VO – voice over
VO-SOT --voice over sound on tape
Standup (on camera) reporter on camera for television
news
– Open,
– Close,
– Bridge

8. Common terms
ACK -Actuality –sound from the story itself, NAT
for natural sound or WILD for wild sound, or
RAW for raw sound.
Voicer –same as Reader- In radio or television this
story has no actualities. A story read aloud by the
newscaster. Does not contain ACK.
Wraparound –reporter’s voice wrapped around an
actuality

9. TV News Writing Tips
Keep it simple
Keep it conversational
Use present tense making the
story immediate.
Use Declarative, short
sentences
Try something besides the who,
what, when, where, why and
how in your lead. Use a
sentence for each idea. You
should be able to read each
sentence aloud in just one
breath.

10. TV News Writing Tips
Time limitations
Boil down your story to the most essential
elements. Broadcast news is constrained by
time. The simplest stories tend to run in just
30 seconds.
Speed at which newscasters read –about
140-180 words per minute
Audiences just cannot absorb as much
information listening to a broadcast story as
they could reading a story of similar
length.

11. TV News Writing Tips
Use Round Numbers
Shorten long titles
Names and initials: Omit middle names and
initials unless a person is well known by his
middle name or initials.
Do not use the courtesy titles or ‘Mr’ ‘Ms’ ‘Mrs’.
Don’t use unfamiliar names in leads. Instead
characterize the person by what has made him
newsworthy.

12. TV News Writing Tips
Attribution: Attribution is the most basic tool of
journalism. You want your audience to know it, that’s why
the attribution comes at the beginning of the sentence so
there will be no mistaking who said what.
Avoid direct quotes: The listener cannot see the quotation
marks in a copy. If you feel you must use a direct quote,
alert your listener that it’s coming.
For example: Wrong: ‘I am not a crook’ the President
said.
Right: The President said, in his words, ‘I am not a crook’

13. LEADS FOR BROADCAST
STORIES

14. LEADS FOR STORIES
Lead is the most important part in a news story because it
sets the tone for all that follows.
Grab or hook the audience’s attention.
Can be exciting, dramatic, clever, intriguing or
provocative.
Unless it is a feature, the lead must have an element of
news and must answer the 5 W’s and H.
There are a number of leads and a variety of ways to lead a
story.
The decision of which lead to use depends on a number of
factors, the most important being the nature of the story.

15. LEADS FOR STORIES
The Hard Lead: It tells the vital details of the story
immediately. Usually used for breaking news.
For example: Atleast 30 people were injured in the
collapse of a building.
More than 20 dozen people were arrested in the drug bust.
The Soft Lead: Alerts the audience to the news that is to
follow. Sometimes called ‘warming up’ the audience.
For example: A building collapses in Lahore. Atleast 30
people have been injured.
A major drug bust in Karachi. More than a dozen people
are under arrest

16. LEADS FOR STORIES
Throwaway Lead: Similar to newspaper headline.
Summarizes information that will follow later in the story
Umbrella lead: Often called shotgun lead, summary lead,
comprehensive lead and round-up lead, ties together
related stories. Most frequently used with national and
international news. Provides smooth transition from one
story to another.
For example: Stories on the energy issue can be related…
gas rationing ;;to.. cutbacks in crude oil sales by oil-
producing countries.