Radio Journalism

Week 7

News priorities concern the order in which stories are broadcast. This will usually start from national news to news affecting the local area. This is dependent upon what type of radio station it is. The demographic and the area drive the demographic. I.e. a local radio station such as 'the breeze' may choose a local story as their main story. This will depend upon the content, the impact and the target demographic of the story.

Example of the order of a News Bulletin

1. One of James Bulger's killers is back in prison, after breaching the terms of his release.
2. A man's in a serious condition in hospital after being hit by a car in Bentley.
3. Secret files have emerged which suggest police in Portugal dismissed potential leads in the Madeleine  McCann case.
4. There's now more time to tell the Waverley Borough Council where new housing should go in the area.
5. Haslemere and Farnham and the areas around them are set to get a whole lot brighter.
6. Half of all men think the Elvis quiff is the greatest hairstyle ever invented.

The position of a story often depends upon the waning interest of the public and whether it is a national or local news story. There are subjective elements; however what needs to be considered in what story is going to provoke the biggest reaction. Often, negative, urgent stories are a higher priority to report than positive ones, as they are more likely to capture the interest of the audience.

 The unique selling point of local radio stations is the fact that they report on local stories. National news stations have many more stories to cover.

Intros

Previous:

1. Noone was seriously injured when a coach with 38 holidaymakers was in a collision with a lorry on the Southern approach to Inverness yesterday.

Now:

1. A coach of holidaymakers crashed on the coast to Inverness.

Previous:
2. According to a report published today British men between the ages of 35 and 45 are healthier than ever before.

Now:

2. British men are healthier than ever before.

Previous:

3. North Dale Crags, the popular tourist attraction in Dartmoor was the scene of a tragedy last Saturday when a young rock climber, 18 year old student Mark Wallcaster from Suffolk fell 150 foot to his death.

Now:

3. A man has fallen to his death on Dartmoor.

Previous:
4. It has been suggested by Mrs Hazel White, Secretary of the Westminster Chamber of Commerce that the local council tax is too high at £225 per year.

Now:

4. Local council tax is too high

Previous:

5. At 8.30 pm on Saturday 16th October at Greenwich Station, South East London, police were called to a disturbance as a result of which three men were arrested and one policeman was slightly injured.

Now:

5. A policeman has been injured at Greenwich station.

Making news is the production of a product. It needs to sell, because ratings matter!

Radio Journalism

Week 3

Radio is;

1. The reporting of a story or finding the correct people to report the story.

2. 'Painting a picture' by creating ambience, 'texture' and visual imagery.

Headlines are made up of bulletins, news programmes, magazine programmes and documentaries (an extended period of time, spent on one topic). They consist of a one line summary of each of the main stories and either precedes a bulletin or programme which then revisits stories in detail.

Bulletins are conventionally of 2-5 minutes duration and usually start with headlines. In a small size organisation, the role of a newsreader and journalist are fused, but in larger institutions such as the BBC, journalists are the ones gathering the info and the newsreader reports the news to the public i.e. Charlotte Green. There is also a voicer or voicepiece, who bulks up the story. This is needed is order to give details that require special attention and also ensure that a number of different voices are to used  to keep the attention of listeners. There may also be a two-way report with another reporter. Audio cuts are short interviews i.e. a clip with Howard Jacobson discussing how it felt winning the booker club prize, press conferences, expert comments and actuality. Vox pops are also used but must have a purpose and not only to fill a period of time in the bulletin.

News programmes often begin with headlines and/or a short bulletin and explore top stories in greater detail. A good example of this is the 'Today' programme on Radio 4. They include additional stories related or unrelated to top stories. Interviews are both live and pre-recorded if a digital network is available. Outside broadcasts occur, allowing a two-way report. There is often a debate, comment and commentary on a particular topic. Packages are also produced and used in news programmes.

Magazine Programmes may either be narrow or wide-ranging, but generally have specific remit i.e. You and Yours. They are less likely to include headlines or bulletins, but may react to the top stories of the day. They often cover issues both topical and timeless, or may use a topical story as the peg on which to hang an otherwise timeless issue. The timeless issue does not necessarily have to be big. These may use of the same types of content used by a news programmes and also may include other items e.g. phone-ins or other listener interactions.

In packages the cue is read by the presenter and may include an introduction and conclusion by the reporter or participant. They may include reporter links recorded either in the studio or on location. The package will include one or more interviewees and may include vox pops, music, sfx, actuality and archive clips. All of these elements are then packaged together.

Documentaries are extended packages or features, which explore a particular subject or issue in much greater depth than is possible in a news or magazine programme. They will draw on the same conventions and types on content.

Radio Formats are described by OFCOM as 'one of the main tools by which a radio station's character of service is set and monitored'. Radio formats define a station's music policy and content. The Broadcasting Act 1990 set up the radio authority which governs commercial radio stations and PSB stations such as the BBC. Although, many argue that PSB stations practically govern themselves as they have an individual charter. The act gives the power to award licences for a limited number of national and local radio stations. Licences are opened to competitive 'tender'. Formats are needed to ensure that stations 'fulfil their remit to the listener' and ensure broad demographic coverage. They also ensure a clearly defined and refined product, so the station knows what they need to deliver and clarifies the market position in terms of advertising.

Demographics concern the age, gender, region and social class of listeners;
a. Upper middle class
b. Middle class
c1. Lower middle class
c2. Skilled working class
d. Working class semi
e. Pensioners, casuals, people on benefits and students.

Formats concern;
1. the music and/ or speech content i.e. Talk or personality
2. the style of the music i.e. adult contemporary or contemporary hit radio
3. the time period covered
4. the music actuality level
5. the music sophistication i.e. Radio 1 vs. Radio 6.

Radio news reporting;

1. Grab attention immediately
2. Cut the waffle - don't use 10 words when 2 will do, avoid repititions and avoid long words and  complicated sentence structures
3. Avoid clichés, melodrama and emotive language
4. Express yourself clearly. Watch the grammar and sentence structure
5. Remember your target audience
6. Say it out loud
7. Watch the mechanics - 1 and a half line spacing, one side of the page only and NEVER handwritten.

Radio Journalism

Week 2

Radio Cubicles

There are four radio booths. In each of them there should be; a laptop, a microphone, a small mixer, two speakers and headphones.

1. Turn on the lights, this is sensored.
2. Turn on the mixer (back panel on the right).
3. Make sure the two mixer faders are all the way up. These are the grey faders on the right labelled, 'main mix'.
4. The left hand fader is the mic. This should be obvious, as the mic should be plugged into the fader.
5. Turn on the laptop and open Adobe audition.
6. Record by pressing the red icon. Choose, stereo, 16 - bit and 44100, on the transport controls at the bottom of the 'edit view'. it will offer you a new wave window.
7. To play back, shut the mic fader on the mixer. Switch the speaker on for playback and off before recording.

Radio Journalism

Week 2

Interviews

Good interviews depend on two skills;
1. Good operation of recording equipment
2. Sensible questioning

Good interviews sound like unscripted chats. Don't write long lists of questions. Write a few questions and key ideas.
Listen to the answers. If the interviewee says something of great interest, help to develop the interviewee's thinking by asking supplementary questions.
Questions should be simple and straightforward.
Ask questions one at a time. Do not ask multiple questions, as this causes confusion and a loss of the train of thought.
Often the most important and common questions asked begin with Who? Why? When? How? Where? What?
Avoid asking closed questions. John Humphries demonstrated the uselessness of these, when interviewing the writer of the Bill and Ben stories.
Do your research to avoid embarrassment and getting clichéd answers.
Nod silently to encourage the interviewee, but do not speak. This may lead to hearing the interviewer's voice over the interviewees and makes it difficult to edit.
Always be polite and in control. The interviewer needs to guide the interview.
In order to balance the need to produce a conversation vs. the amount of editing required, a great deal of practice is needed. Also sitting down helps and makes you feel comfortable. Not allowing the interviewee to lead the conversation too much is also a must. If this is not achieved, then the interviewee may get lost in the conversation, find something else to say or make the conversation sound to rehearsed.
The interviewer should not give questions in advance, if this is insisted, then just send a few topics that will be covered, rather than full questions.
Try to develop the confidence to keep eye contact.

Vox Pops are general public interviews. They are the voice of the people. Background noise is acceptable here, to capture different backgrounds, people and voices. Vox pops are not intended to be representative or scientific. Never ask 'do you mind if I conduct an interview? This only gives them the option of saying no.

 

Introduction to Radio Journalism

Week 1

Radio is everywhere!
1. It is portable. It is a hands free and an eye free medium.
2. It is the most common medium.
3. It is immediate, so less crew needed.
4. It is intimate and so bypasses the sense of being 'one of an audience'. TV fails to do this.
5. It is personal. The addresser refers to the listener in the first person i.e. I, you, your.
6. It is informal, informative and reliable.

Unlike TV, radio does not demand the individual's whole attention.
In comparison to TV, people are often alone when listening to the radio. To emphasise the importance of the radio, elderly people may even consider radio presenters to be friends.
Presenters speak to us as individuals.
91% of the British population, aged 15 and above, listen to the radio everyday. Often, when people watch the TV, they feel there is nothing to watch for them.
The average person listens to the radio for over an hour a day.
The radio is often the first place to go to hear the news and is the first sound we hear in the morning.
Radio stations have broad categories and these categories differ depending upon their identity and the audience they attract;

Commercial v Public Service Broadcasting (PSB)Commercial stations rely on money from advertisements during air time. This therefore affects the content of the radio show.
PSB i.e. the BBC, however, rely on a licence fee to operate.
Commercial channels have to ensure they are impartial and have no political bias. However, often the underlying views of channels are known - for example Fox news and CRN in America are communists and so are right wing supporters. They supported the Bush administration and achieved and retained support from multi - national companies.
PSB stations, however, have no support from fundraising or government subsidies and so cutbacks have to be made.

There are three different types of radio stations, in terms of the number of listeners they attract;

1. National i.e. BBC, Talksport.
2. Regional i.e. Scot FM (Central Scotland)
3. Local - The Eagle, BBC Southern Counties Radio.

OFCOM is the regulator of the media and communications industry.

Radio stations can be categorised by the type of material they broadcast;

1. Music - based programming i.e. BBC radio 1, Kiss FM.
2. Speech - based programming i.e. Talksport

There have been a few changes in recent years to the way radio is listened to;

1. Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB). It is vibrant and a fast - moving area, that is rapidly expanding. It offers an increasing number of national, local and niche - audience stations. It is a very attractive
medium for newcomers and brings with it lots of opportunities. The skills are transferable, as what you learn in radio you can transfer over to TV.
If a person if too offensive, then this may become too much for sponsors and so may lose viewers. This was the case with Mr Howard Stern.

2. Internet Radio i.e. Totalrock.com, Bloomberg.com. Amongst these opportunities are numerous news stations using the internet to reach their audience.

3.Podcast - This is an audio file of either an MP3 or AAC. It is available to download on the Internet. The programmes are of convenience i.e. BBC Iplayer, BBC Radio 4. It has direct audio and audio versions of other material such as the Guardian film weekly and football weekly. There may be amateur audio, which is created by individuals on home equipment.

There is much more choice these days, making us as consumers more picky.

Part 2 - Transferring your recording from the Marantz to the computer.

• Note that when using a standard PC, the software used is Adobe Audition. On a Mac it is Soundbooth.
• Make sure the USB cable (found in the bag with the Marantz is attached to both the Martanz and the computer.
• For a successful recording upload, on a 660 Marantz, once the USB is plugged in, the power must be then turnt off and the copy button held down, whilst turning the power back on. On a 661 Marantz there is no need for this, the copying is done as soon as the USB is attached at both ends.
• In order to edit material, firstly you must save the recording onto an external hardrive such as a memory stick.
• Find the Adobe audition package under programs.
• Make sure the USB icon is visible on the screen and look for your recording. In ours, it appeared as a music file.
• Open the file, which needs to be a wave file. If it is a PK file, then the recording will show up as blank.
• Put either the speakers on or headphones into the computer socket.
• Tip: If no sound is playing, hold down number 1 at the left hand side of the monitor until it beeps. This should enable you to hear the recording. (Press 1 to use the PCs and 2 to switch back to using Macs).
• Once into Adobe audition, the two most common icons used are the Edit and the Multitrack icon. The multitrack icon is used to mix different tracks together.
• The green bar at the top of the page shows the whole recording. If you shrink the bar, this will represent the proportion of recording you are analysing and where exactly it is. The zoom icon allows you to be precise. You are also able to move the green bar to see how editing has effected the recording as a whole.
• Click left and drag the cursor to delete parts of the recording or cut them and move them elsewhere.
• Check out effects such as amplifying, pitch bender, pop functions and hiss reduction, to change the overall effect and impression of the recording.
• Lastly, you can undo anything you have done, until the point of saving the work to the computer. Note, after saving to the external hardrive, you can still undo any changes.

What you need to know about Radio Production Equipment!

What will I need? A Martinez recorder (either the 660 older version or the updated 661), a standard microphone and a set of headphones.

PART 1 - Setting up the equipment.

• Always check the equipment is functioning for the purpose it is required for.
• On the Marantz make sure that the preset is set to 1. Edit this if needed.
• The input must be set to mic or line on the 661 Martinez and mic on the 660s. Make sure it is not on internal mic.
• Make sure the recording format is set to 192 for speech.
• Make sure the recordng format is set to Mono.
• Make sure the sample is set to 44.1
• To set the recording level, manually set it by adjusting the circular button on the top. (This is located on the 660s at the top of the device and at the front of the device on the 661s).
• The level needs to be set to the green area. If in the yellow area, the sound will be too quiet and will need to be artificially raised, causing a possible hissing noise. If in the red area consistently, te sound will become distorted and unusual.
• If a mistake is made, if possible do not press pause, let it run. Otherwise you run the risk of losing your train of thought or forget to take the pause button off.
• At the beginning and end of the recording, leave a second or two of ambience. This avoids the recording sounding rushed.
• When recording, hold the Marantz on one shoulder. Be careful of the wires - too tight and they make break, too lose and the sound may become distorted. To avoid this, wind the wire around you hand.
• When using the microphone, do not make sudden movements with it. If the recording of someone's voice is too loud, move the microphone towards the other person. Likewise, do this if one person is quieter.
• Avoid loud noise or interference in locations, such as in traffic. Unless, this meets the context of the report.