Introduction:
There is opportunity for news everywhere. You have spent time in the previous lessons, Introduction to Television Journalism and Parts of a Broadcast, examining the effects of television broadcasting and watching actual broadcasts. In the next few lessons, you will prepare and create your own news segment. This lesson will focus on reviewing audience appeal, and finding stories within the community.
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Task One - Appealing to the Masses
Audience appeal is not just a concern for advertisers and editors. Every form of journalism must consider its audience and work to keep those people interested. Before you begin research for your own news segment, it is important that you look at how television journalists work to obtain audience appeal.
Watch the news clip on the Montreal Massacre or a clip provided by your teacher. During the clip write down the 5Ws and the H, and list the parts of the broadcast you think are the most interesting.
After viewing the news clip, discuss as a class which parts of the broadcast were the most powerful. Consider the following questions and discuss how television tries to hook its audience.
Questions
Why does this 3-4 minute segment use so many interview clips?
Why is the entire segment done without seeing a reporter?
What is television media able to do to interest their audience that radio and print media cannot?
What is the benefit of electronic media? Of print media?
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| The most important thing to consider is what this television news can provide that is unique. |
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Task Two - What's Old is New Again
You are going to begin working on a project that will take place over the next 3 lessons. You will work towards creating a segment of a news broadcast. You will be responsible for:
1. Researching the story
2. Conducting an interview on tape
3. Writing the news script - including an introduction to the story, the story itself with interview clips, and a conclusion.
4. Taping yourselves as the on-camera reporter
5. Editing your tape into a short (2-3 minute) news segment
In this lesson, you will begin working with a story idea. In subsequent lessons, you will shoot the interview and all other parts of the broadcast.
Your teacher will hand you a press release written by someone in your class. Your job is to look at the story and determine where the story can go from here.
For Example: If the press release contains information about the upcoming local fundraiser for Telemiracle, then you need to begin asking new questions to find a new angle:
How much money was raised in this one event?
How much did the community raise as a whole?
How much did Telemiracle raise in total?
Has anyone local ever been the recipient of money raised by Telemiracle?
How has Telemiracle changed the lives of the people it has helped?
Are there other, locally based, charities that are helping community members?
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| Journalists often begin by looking at press releases because every release can be an opportunity for a new story. You must decide who your audience will be and find a new angle to interest them in an old idea. |
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Want to try another, simpler activity for Task Two plus? Try transforming a previous story rather than starting over in this alternate task. |
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Objectives:
You will be able to
- recognize what is news
- recognize the elements of a news story
- understand effective news gathering and editing techniques
- understand the purpose of a news release
- understand the role of a news bureau
- recognize the difference between writing for electronic media and writing for print media
- understand the requirements for reporting news using radio, television, and the Internet
- identify the conventions of the electronic media
- apply understanding of print journalism to the electronic media
- determine and plan a project in one area of journalism
- understand the rights and responsibilities of the press
- demonstrate responsible journalism
- speak to clarify and extend thinking
- locate, assess, and summarize information from a variety of sources
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Resources:
- personal code of ethics created in Journalists' Personal Codes of Ethics
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Task Three - Tread Carefully
Before you begin researching, there are many things to consider. One thing that you should always come back to is the question - What are my responsibilities as a journalist? You not only have a responsibility to report information but you must report in an equitable manner. You may want to take some time and look at the code of ethics that you created for yourself and answer a few questions.
Looking back at your personal code of ethics, what is the most important thing to remember while researching and telling a story?
What has been the most difficult part of your code to follow and why is this an important thing to consider?
In every story there is the potential to face a difficult decision. Reviewing the standards you have set for yourself as a journalist will help you to determine your best course of action.
Once you have reviewed your code of ethics, you should begin research. You must decide on a focal point for your story, determine the central questions on which you want to focus, create a list of possible people to interview and begin researching local papers and other sources. |
You must constantly ask yourself -
Which is the right path to take? |
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Task Four - Negotiation Time
This lesson is the start of a larger assignment. You will be working towards creating a broadcast news segment in Shooting and Editing Tape and Adding to the Story. Before you begin, you must collaborate with the class to generate expectations for the assignment and the corresponding evaluation. Follow these steps:
1. Consider the questions listed below
What captures audience attention?
How long and how detailed should a segment of news be?
What would look like a professional journalist to the viewers?
What would sound like one?
2. Decide on the categories on which you should be marked. Remember to consider your process along with your product.
3. After you have the categories, you must create a rubric for marking which includes benchmarks for quality. Use your answers to the questions above to begin this process. This rubric is the tool with which you will be marked. Taking part in this process means that you have the chance to determine what an excellent news segment should look like and then strive to create a successful product.
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