This Week

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This Week

• Welcome to the year of the Ox!
• The TV Newscast the lead
• The TV Newsroom
• How TV News is put together
• Assembling more than writing
• A multi-skilled world
• Declining specialization
• The BBC writing traditions

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Attendance

• As the ad-drop period is over and the CNY lets
  confirm who is in the class.
• Those who have missed classes should review at
  http//jmsc.hku.hk/blogs/
• Attendance essential going forward

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Lets look at some TV News

• Testing your TV News literacy
• TV Newscasts
• Big stories of the day
• Remember what is news?
• What factors determine the leads in writing
  newscasts?
• Among the factors...

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Lead factors

• Topicality (new in news)
• Relevance ... to target audience
• Pictures
• Social, political, economic impact
• Impact on ratings?
• Watch DVD news in past 24 hours
• First in Hong Kong

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The TV Newsroom

• Four key components
• Input (news gathering)
• News of Day, forward planning
• News editors, Assignment editors
• Output (broadcast)
• Executive Producers - Line Producers
• Programme Editors, writers

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Changes in TV News Production

• Traditional Newscasts
• The 24 x 7 News Channels
• 1980 CNN
• 1985 CNN International
• 1989 SKY News
• 1990 BBC WORLD NEWS
• 1995 Fox News

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24 x 7 News

• Hong Kong - I-Cable, Now, TVB, ATV
• Taiwan TVBS, others
• India - more news channels than anywhere else
• Look at some
• Different philosophy newscast vs all news
• How is TV News produced...

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The TV Newsroom

• Input tech operations Satellites,
  fibre optic feeds, micro-wave links, on-line in
  puts, satphones, B-gan feeds
• Video editors
• Graphics
• Animations, Supers, effects, walls,
• other visual devices

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Ingest

• TV broadcasts are dependent on a variety of
  outside sources
• Agency News feeds (live packaged)
• Associated Press TV Reuters TV
• Unilateral news feedsexternal cameras
• OB sources

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Field Operations

• Reporters and technicians in the field
• Researching, gathering, shooting, and editing
  news stories called Packages
• Or preparing material for interviews or live
  shots

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Programme Transmission

• The Production Control Room (PCR)
• or Gallery
• Technicians and operators
• Director, Vision mixer, audio, PA,

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On air versus off air

• Anchors
• Reporters
• Producers
• Cameras
• Video editors
• Support technicians

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The Broadcast Run Down
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News Broadcast components

• Headlines
• Teases
• STD VOs
• STD Intvs
• Two ways (live or simsat)
• Readers
• packages

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News broadcast components

• TV News is assembled
• Team work essential
• Declining specialization
• Multi-tasking in TV News
• TV News writing style
• Last week origins of American style
• This week the BBC way see BBC video

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Writing Tips

• Use small old words where you can. If a long word
  says just what you want to say, do not fear to
  use it.
• But know that our tongue is rich is crisp, brisk,
  swift, short words. Make them the spine and the
  heart of what you speak and write.
• Short words are like fast friends. They will not
  let you down.

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Recall last timeHarvest of Shame

• This is home. New Housing is available. The rent
  -15 dollars per room, per week.
• The migrant is at the mercy of the weather.
• This year in Florida there was a freeze. Killing
  beans, tomatoes, celery, corn. Its bi-product was
  a bread line.

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BBC training Vin Ray

• What does it take to be a good broadcast
  journalist? (p3-4)
• Whats the story the essence? (p 31)
• The Package
• Think structure first
• Ordering of pictures

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Examples

• Story in Indonesia
• Picture choice people rioting or refugees
  fleeing
• BBCs Matt Frei approach
• The port of Ambon on one of Indonesias spice
  islands. Five thousand people trying to get on
  a ferry made for 500. This is a desperate
  exodus. No one wants to be left behind. No one
  and nothing ...

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TV script continued ...

• What makes people take a journey like this with
  all their belongings?
• (up sound police shooting into a crowd)
• The does ... Bedlam.
• Information and ideas in TV are layered with
  sentences and sequences following on from each
  other, flowing, building, unfolding.

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Essential tips -package writing

• Be clear what the story is
• Tell it with picture and sound first
• Think of an effective beginning
• Think of an effective ending
• Fill in the middle with sequences and sound
• Let it flow

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View BBC Stories

• View BBC Jeremy Bowen Gaza story
• View BBC Cuba story
• Notice in Cuba story use of the old car as the
  particular item from which to build a general
  Cuba economic story
• Notice use of pictures and words
• Green light for limited reform

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View BBC Stories

• Note PTG structure particular to general
• Note Full circle structure the Cuba story comes
  back to the car at the end. The correspondent
  wrote about the car at the beginning
• The writer came full circle

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Other writing tips

• Critical opening sentence (p 47)
• Vin Ray says always put a lot of work into
  crafting the opening sentence. It often has the
  most impact
• There is no such thing as good writing,
• Only good re-writing.
• Mark Twain
• With that quotation from Mark Twain we end this
  weeks writing lecture. See you next time

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JMSC 0051

• TV News
• Broadcast Writing
• Spring 2009