INTRODUCTION

Journalism is anything that contributes in some way in gathering, selection, processing of news

and current affairs for the press, radio, television, film, cable, internet, etc.

It is a discipline of collecting, analyzing, verifying and presenting news regarding current events,

trends, issues and people. Those who practice journalism are known as journalists.

Broadcasting journalism, more commonly known as broadcast journalism, is a type of news

reporting presented to the public electronically or by radio. Media in broadcast journalism

includes television, radio, and the Internet.

Broadcast journalism is meant to be dispersed more quickly than older forms of journalism,

including print media, and is meant to be more accessible.

Radio and television broadcasts are designed to get the news out to a wide variety of people in

language that is much less formal than traditional print media.

News that is broadcast over the Internet can update people on events as soon as they happen.

This can occur through articles, social media, and more.

Reasons Why People want to become Journalists

 The desire to write

 The desire to be known

 The desire to influence for good

 The desire for knowledge

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 What it takes to become a Good Journalist

 An interest in life: You must be interested in the world around you. You must want to

find things out and share your discoveries with your readers or listeners.

 Love of language: You cannot be a truly great journalist without having a deep love of

language, written or spoken.

 An alert and ordered mind: People trust journalists with facts, either the ones they give

or the ones they receive. You must not be careless with them. All journalists must aim for

accuracy.

 A suspicious mind: People will give you information for all sorts of reasons, some

justified, others not. You must be able to recognize occasions when people are not telling

the truth.

 Friendliness: You need to be able to get on well with all sorts of people. You cannot

pick and choose who to interview in the same way as you choose who to have as a friend.

 Reliability: This is a quality admired in any profession, but is especially valued in

journalism where both your employer and your audience rely on you to do your job.

WHAT IS NEWS?

News is any information that is important, unusual or an update on current events communicated
by print, broadcast or world of mouth to the audience.

Journalist Loyalties include the following:

1. Audience / readers / listeners 2. Editors Advertisers

3. Proprietors 4. Law regulatory bodies 5.Contacts /

informers 5.Colleagues 7. Themselves (for their continued career)

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 CHAPTER ONE
1.0 JOURNALISM
Journalism is a discipline of gathering, writing and reporting news. It also includes the process of

editing and presenting the news on print and electronic media.

WHO IS A JOURNALIST

• A journalist is one whose occupation is journalism.

• A journalist collects and disseminates information about current events, people, trends, and
issues.

• A person who writes for Newspaper or Magazine or prepare news to be broadcast on Radio
or Television is called a Journalist

The main duty of a journalist is to act as an interpreter of the world around. The journalist

observes the events, transmits facts about the event and act as an interpreter of these events and

happenings.

A journalist performs the following roles:

1. Make people aware of the contemporary (modern) world.

2. Inform and educate the audience.

3. Promote art and culture.

4. Entertain the masses.

5. Help people in decision making.

6. Instill good moral values. 7. Make people aware of their rights.

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1.1 IMPORTANCE OF JOURNALISM TO THE SOCIETY

1. Political function: The political function of journalism is to be the watchdog of the

government, provide alternative views on political platforms for the people to make political

choices.

2. Economic function: The economic function of journalism is to inform the people about their

material welfare in the society.

3. Entertainment function: The entertainment function of journalism is to cover the industry-

specific news while targeting general audience general audiences beyond those working in the

industry itself.

4. Record keeping function: The record keeping function of journalism is to get down and keep

the information so that they can inform audiences about different records.

5. Agenda setting function: The agenda setting function of journalism is to have large

influences on audiences by choosing newsworthy stories through mass media.

1.2 Challenges in the Practice of Journalism in Ghana

 Employer: Your employer pays your salary, so in return they expect to see how you will

do your job. This can lead to ethical problems for journalists.

 Authority: Both government –owned and commercial news media may face pressure

from authority-the government, the police, customs, or some other branch of authority.

 Threats: Many people think they can avoid bad publicity by threatening journalist with

violence, or with legal action.

 Bribes: Journalists do not usually earn big money. You may therefore be vulnerable to

bribery-somebody offering money (or goods or services) in return for a favorable story

being written, or unfavorable story being ignored.

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1.3 BROWN ENVELOP JOURNALISM

Brown envelop journalism (BEJ) is a term where by money is given to reporters or editors to

convince them either to write positive stories or kill a negative story. This is the commonest form

of bribery in journalism.

1.4 Ways to solve Brown Envelop Journalism Practice in Ghana

1. Sound education and professional training of journalists: This is one way of dealing with
the problem of brown envelop.
2. Better working conditions for journalists. It is common knowledge that a greater number of
journalists fall under this headline, how much more to talk about better working conditions at
their work place.
3. Regular seminars, lectures and workshops for journalists.
4. Journalists’ salaries that are not paid on time sometimes justify this nonpayment by telling
their employees to use the media platform to earn money.

1.5 Forms of Brown Envelop Journalism

1. Public Relations (PR) – The practice of brown envelope journalism is sometimes described

in Ghana as PR or public relations by those who treat in it. PR involves paying in advance for a

newsworthy event to be reported by journalists.

2. Token of appreciation or for transport – This is monetary inducement given to journalists

to gain undue favor under the guise that the bribe giver appreciates the time and mileage the

journalist spent on a story.

3. Kola in Nigeria, Ghana the term “soli”, a shortened form of the word solidarity, is used .This

refers to offering bribes to unethical journalists.

1.6 Effects of Brown envelop on Journalism

1. The effect of this form of journalism is that there is a shift in journalism from being a fourth

estate to a publicity seeking outlet available to the highest bidder.

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 2. Integrity, objectivity and balance is weakened as a result and news is commercialized.

3. It also creates an avenue for publicity seeking journalists to write commentaries that is

intended to address personalities and not sensitive issues.

4. Media is weakened and inefficient and cannot function independently of politicians and

businessmen.

1.7 The Mass Media

Mass media can take various forms: print media (magazines, newspapers), broadcast media

(radio and television operating via various formats of transmission – terrestrial, cable, or

satellite), news agencies, online media, cinema and film.

Mass media consist of all media that provides journalistic content to a huge, various and

unknown audience through methods of distribution and reproduction. The existence and usage of

mass media makes mass communication possible

1.8 Journalism as a Profession

Journalism is a simple profession. It is all about asking questions. The questions – of people,

about events – provide the facts, and it is the facts that make the news. Without the facts, there is

no news. So the profession of journalists is focused, in the end, on knowing the right

question to ask; being able to ask it in the most knowledgeable and open way.

In order to ask that question, journalism as a profession requires much knowledge and ability,

and it is asking the question despite pressures not to, that protects freedom.

Journalism is the ultimate expression of democracy and freedom. Governments and politicians

realize this and constantly try to legislate against total journalism freedom, and this is

particularly bad in broadcast journalism.

 being able to ask it in the most knowledgeable and open way and

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  then being able to communicate it in the most interesting,

 Creative and forceful manner.

In order to ask that question the profession requires much knowledge and ability, and it is asking

the question despite pressures not to, that protects freedom. Journalism is the ultimate expression

of democracy and freedom. Perhaps the greatest difference is the special role the news media

play in a free society.

News is important. No effort must be speared to get to get it right, not only to the satisfaction of

the professional journalists, but also to the general public. This importance makes journalist

close guidance of freedom of speech and the right to know.

Professionalism is central to the role of the journalist as the watchdog of democracy and

freedom. Journalist must be neutral, unbiased approached to news, they should do so

within the parameters of three (3) main roles:

 Disseminators of news and information

 Interpreters of the news and information

 Challenge newsmakers and politicians to test the case and arrive at the truth.

1.9 Practical theory of Journalism

All of this is the fault of poor journalism education. To change the public perception, there must

be a change in the way journalists are educated and trained. If not, the media will lose its

credibility, and therefore its power.

Any practical-theory of journalism must be the following KEYS.

 The ability to understand what makes a good story, to find the best angle and

communicate it with interest and passion to readers, listeners and viewers.

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  An awareness of the latest technology such as a new computer newsroom technology and

satellite communications.

 A sense of social consciousness towards journalism, and an ethical self-responsibility.

 Present information and arguments orally, and discuss fluently with others.

1.11 History of Print from Guttenberg to the Computer

It is believed that Johannes Gutenberg of Germany was the first to develop printing around 1439.

Knowledge and information, which were till then the monopoly of certain sections of the upper

divisions of society, slowly became available to ordinary people.

Spread of knowledge, available in print between two hard covers, was fast. Schools, colleges and

universities were places with their libraries making books available to those who wanted to read

even if they could not afford to buy them.

The printing process that Gutenberg developed later underwent much changes and

modernization. Today printing has become highly refined and the print media, namely

newspapers, weeklies and monthlies use these modern printing presses which are capable of

printing very fast. Computers have further improved printing operations.

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1.12 Development of Mass Communication

The history of mass communication has been considered as a series of revolutions in the

development of language and communication itself.

 The first communication revolution came with the invention of writing. This allowed

people to communicate over time and distance. Writing led to the spread of knowledge

and creation of system of administration that serve the interests of culture, commerce

and colonialism.

 The second major communication revolution came with the invention of mass writing

by first the printing press and importantly with the movable –type press. This allowed

people to communicate in larger numbers.

 The third communication revolution was led by the invention of the telegraph in the

1830s.The convergence of advances in paper production and printing press methods, and

the invention of the telegraph, which changed the way information was conveyed. For

the first time, newspapers and magazines reached out to the common man with news

about events near and far, and packaged goods for sale. For the masses, literacy came

within reach.

 The fourth communication revolution involved what today can be categorized as

electronic media devices like radio, photography, film, television, and sound recording.

These communication devices had major social impact, creating new way in learning,

sharing and discovery, as well as new way of entertainment and information.

 The fifth information revolution, the Information Highway, is now being constructed

out of the convergence of computer, broadcasting, satellite, and visual technologies.

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 Communication is shaking off transportation for work, study, and play. Yet, if the

information-elite can live.

1.13 The Rise of Broadcast Journalism

Broadcasting began to have an impact only in the 1970s.The change brought about first of all by

radio news and then by television in the 1980s,as style news values changed as a result of

broadcast techniques. Broadcasting more commonly known as broadcast journalism, is a type of

news reporting presented to the public electronically or by radio instead of being published in

newspapers.

Media in broadcast journalism includes television, radio, and the Internet. Radio and television

broadcasts are intended to get the news out to a wide variety of people in language that is much

less formal than traditional print media.

1.13.1 Jobs in Broadcast Journalism

1. Reporters 2. Correspondents 3. Anchors 4. Directors

5. Narrators (who provide voice-overs for segments) 6. Writers 7. Research directors

8. Producers 9. Audio engineers 10. Production assistants

1.13.2 New online Journalism

It refers to the digital media presented on these devises, such as news apps, blogs and websites,

social media postings and chats, feeds, online newspapers and magazines, flash animations,

videos and podcasts.

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 New media journalism has the potential of reaching larger audiences in a shorter period of time

and often leads to a greater interaction between journalists and readers / viewers.

Characteristics of online Journalism

 Immediacy

Speed and immediacy are two greatest qualities of new media. With the help of a mouse click

whole world comes before the person. 3G and 4G technologies now turn the entire scenario.

Information superhighway is developing the world.

 Interactivity

New media is known for its ability to involve the audience. This is known as interactivity.

 Universality

Web Journalism is a global media. It is not limited by time and space. New media is a platform
which connects the whole world.

 Multimedia

Online platforms have a greater advantage over other media and that is Multimedia facilities.

Whenever stories are supported by cartoons, moving pictures, sound and music, it is called
multimedia.

1.13.4 Forms of online Journalism

1. Blogs: A blog (short for weblog) is a personal online journal that is frequently updated with

news and intended for general public consumption.

2. Vlog: A vlog (or video blog) is a blog that contains video content. The small, but growing,

segment of the blogosphere devoted to vlogs is sometimes referred to as the vlogosphere is a

form of web television.

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3. Podcast: A podcast is an audio file that is automatically received from the internet and then

changed to an MP3 player.

4. Search Engines: The better way to locate specific information is to use a search engine. It is a

web tool that helps to find specific sites on the internet. When enter a word or phrase to look up,

the search engine locates any document containing the keywords. The listed documents are

called hits.

5. Social Media: Social media are computer-mediated tools that allow people to create, share or

exchange information, ideas, and pictures / videos in virtual and networks.

1.13.5 Prominent examples of Social Media (New media)

 Face book is a popular free social networking website that allows registered users to create

profiles, upload photos and video, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and

colleagues.

 Twitter is a free micro blogging service that allows registered members to broadcast

short posts called tweets. Twitter members can broadcast tweets and follow other users'

tweets by using multiple platforms and devices.

 WhatsApp a mobile messaging App is very popular today. According to latest figures,

nearly one in seven people use WhatsApp each month to stay in touch.

 LinkedIn is a social networking site designed specifically for the business community.

The goal of the site is to allow registered members to establish and document networks of

people they know and trust professionally.

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 CHAPTER TWO
2.0 ETHICS, LAW AND FREE SPEECH

In an ideal world journalists would work out of motivation and idealism for the truth, and

journalism ethics would be about aspirations and goals rather than minimum standards. Such

green-light ethics are seen by some as encouraging journalists to view the decision-making

process as a moral obligation to create an informed readership with honest, ethical news and

information. The difficulty is that ethical journalist’s first need to be moral journalists; and to be

moral journalists they must first believe in some kind of overriding morality of conduct and

belief.

These lists of commandments are useful when there are no other personal frames of reference for

journalists forced to make instantaneous decisions about complex moral or professional

problems, not least of which is when this morality is overridden by the ultimate need to expose

the truth. Codes of conduct exist in journalist associations and trade unions throughout the world,

as they do in most professional organizations. Journalism professional ethics should make all

aware of the need for aspirations and principles rather than rules.

1) Ethics is a system of principles that guides action of a particular profession. Ethics tells you

what you should do based on personal, professional, social and moral values.

2) Law is a system of rules that are created and enforced through social or governmental

institutions to regulate behavior.

3) Freedom of speech is a basic human right in most of the countries in the world. It upholds

the rights of citizens to criticize the government and champion unpopular or distasteful points of

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view. Freedom of the press specifically protects the media from restrictions to its right of

freedom of speech. The freedom of the press and freedom of speech are closely intertwined.

2.1 Rules of ethics for the Journalist

 Be honest and accurate

 Don’t suppress facts or distort them

 Be fair in gathering information

 Don’t misrepresent

 Be true and accurate with pictures

 Don’t manipulate digitally

 Don’t make up quotes

 Don’t allow personal beliefs or commitment to change a report

 Don’t use the situation for personal gain

 Don’t abuse anyone’s right of individual privacy

2.3 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH ETHICAL ISSUES

 Accuracy and verification: How much verification and context is required to publish a

story? How much editing and ‘gate-keeping ‘is necessary.

 Independence and allegiances: How can journalists be independent but maintain ethical

relations with their employers, editors, advertisers, sources, police and public.

 Deception and fabrication: should journalist misrepresent themselves or use recording

technology, such as hidden cameras, to get a story?

 Graphic images and image manipulation: when should journalist publish graphic or

gruesome images?

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  Sources and confidentiality: should journalist promise confidentiality to sources? How

far does the protection extend? Should journalist go “off the record”?

2.4 PRESSURES ON JOURNALIST ETHICAL DECISION

 Employer: Your employer pays your salary. In return, they expect to say how you will do

your job. This can lead to ethical problems for journalists.

 Authority: Both government-owned and commercial news media may face pressure from

authority-the government, the police, customs, or some other branch of authority.

 Threats: Many people think they can avoid bad publicity by threatening journalists with

violence, or with legal action.

 Bribes: Journalists do not usually earn big money. You may therefore be vulnerable to

bribery.

 Gifts and freebies: Commercial companies try to buy journalists friendship by giving

them small presents or by giving opportunity to travel at the company’s expense.

2.5 THE NUJ CODE OF CONDUCT

In joining the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in UK, you agree to abide by the Code of

Conduct. The Code is designed to help develop and maintain the highest possible standards of

the journalism profession.

What the NUJ Code says:

 Uphold & defend media freedom, freedom of expression & right of public to be

informed.

 Information disseminated is honestly conveyed, accurate & fair.

 Correct harmful inaccuracies.

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 Differentiate between fact & opinion.

 Obtain material by honest, & open means except investigations that are overwhelmingly

in public interest involving evidence that can’t be obtained by straightforward means.

 Do not intrude into private lives, grief or distress unless overriding consideration of

public interest.

 Protect identity of sources

 Resist threats or inducements to influence, distort or suppress info.

 Don’t take unfair personal advantage of info gathered before info is public knowledge.

 Do not produce material leading to hatred or discrimination on grounds of age, gender,

race, colour, creed, legal status, disability, marital status or sexual orientation.

 Don’t endorse advertisements or commercial products apart from your own work or the

medium by which you are employed.

 Avoid plagiarism: Plagiarism is the practice of taking someone else’s own work or ideas

and passing them off as your own.

Why is it important to avoid plagiarism?

a) You can be sued for plagiarism

b) It is likely to damage your reputation

c) You could be dismissed from your job

d) It is bad practice

e) It is disrespectful to your colleagues and to the originator

f) It reduces your professional credibility

g) It is against the NUJ’s Code of Conduct

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2.6 GHANA JOURNALIST CODE OF ETHICS

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) is the umbrella organization to which all journalists in
Ghana belong.

The GJA Code of Ethics is a ready guide that is applicable to all categories of journalists

working with newspapers, radio, and television, cross media / multimedia, online media, new

media, social media or those working as photo-journalists, cartoonists, and animation specialists.

ARTICLE 1: PEOPLE ARE RIGHT TO TRUE INFORMATION

1. The duty of every journalist is to write and report the truth, bearing in

mind his/her duty to serve the public.

2. The public have the right to unbiased, accurate, balanced and

comprehensive information as well as express themselves freely

through the media.

3. A journalist should make adequate enquiries and cross-check his/her

facts.

ARTICLE 2: SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

1. In collecting and disseminating information, the journalist should bear

in mind his/her responsibility to the public at large and the various

interests in society.

ARTICLE 3: PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY

1. Journalists should not accept bribe or any form of inducement to influence the

performance of his/her professional duties

ARTICLE 4: PLAGIARISM

1. A journalist should not plagiarize because it is unethical and illegal.

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2. Where there is the need to use another’s material, it is proper to credit

the source.

ARTICLE 5: RESPECT FOR PRIVACY AND HUMAN DIGNITY

1. Journalists should respect the right of the individual, the privacy and

human dignity.

2. Enquiries and intrusions into a person’s private life can only be justified when done in public

interest.

3. A journalist should guard against defamation, libel, slander and obscenity.

ARTICLE 6: RESPECT FOR NATIONAL AND ETHNIC VALUES. A journalist should not

originate material, which encourages discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, color, creed,

gender or sexual orientation.

BODIES THAT PRODUCE CODES OF CONDUCT PROTECTING THE PUBLIC

REGARDING JOURNALISTIC CONTENT
1. Press Complaints Commission

2. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

2.7 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

The Freedom of information allow journalists a right of access to records held by public bodies

and private bodies carrying out public functions. The rights will be enforced by an information

commissioner with the powers to order disclosures. Authorities have up to 20-40 days to provide

information. It does this in two ways:

 Public authorities are obliged to publish certain information about their activities.

 Members of the public are entitled to request information from public authorities.

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2.7.1 Exceptions to freedom of Information

 Areas covering security services. (names of suspects)

 Information that could prejudices the national economy.

 Information of detention and prevention of crime or administration of Justices.

 Classified information must be kept secret because of foreign policy.

 Information that is considered to invade privacy on individuals (such as medical records.)

FREE PRESS

a) This is the idea that everyone is free to publish a newspaper without having to be licensed by
those in power.

b) Newspapers do not have to submit censorship in advance.

c) Newspapers are said to be in the business of truth telling and serving their readers.
Consequently, through the democracy of the free market, we get (in theory) the press we desire
and deserve.

2.8 HUMAN RIGHTS

Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from

birth until death. They apply regardless of where you are from, what you believe or how you

choose to live your life.

2.8.1 EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) protects the human rights of people in

countries that belong to the Council of Europe. All 47 Member States of the Council, including

the UK or London, have signed the Convention. Its full title is the ‘Convention for the Protection

of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms’.

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 2.8.2 Rights and freedoms this Convention protect

The Convention secures:

 the right to life

 freedom from torture

 freedom from slavery

 the right to a fair trial

 the right to respect for family and private life

 freedom of expression

 freedom of assembly

 the right to marry and start a family

 the right to protection of property

 the right to education

 the right to participate in free elections

 the abolition of the death penalty

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 CHAPTER THREE

3.0 DEFAMATION

Defamation involves the act of making a false statement about another person that harms the

person’s reputation or good name. Such statements may be made orally or spoken defamation

(slander) or in writing defamation (libel). Defamation laws aim to protect the reputations of

individuals against damage. A statement will be held to be defamatory if, a person is:

 Exposed to hatred or ridicule or contempt.

 Shunned or avoided

 Lowered in the confirmation of right-thinking members of society generally.

 Disparaged in his or his her office, profession or trade.

To be successful in a defamation action the words that are complained of must be:

– is defamatory

– Identify or refer to the claimant (person)

– published by a defendant to a third party

3.1 Defence for Defamation

1. Defense of the truth: Proof that the disclosed information is true can generally absolve the

defendant of liability.

2. Absolute privileges: Statements made in certain forums in which the ability to speak freely

is vital, for example, statements in proceedings of judicial character or statements made under

oath, enjoy absolute privilege and should not be at risk of litigation for defamation.

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3. Qualified privileges: Statements which the speaker is under a legal, moral or social duty to

make, such as reporting a suspected crime to the police, enjoy qualified privilege and should be

exempt from liability.

4. Words of others: No one should be held accountable for fairly and accurately reporting the

words of others. This principle recognizes that journalists have a responsibility to cover the

news, which can include reporting on statements which could undermine the reputation of others.

5. Statements of opinion vs. statements of fact: A statement which cannot be shown to be true

or false, or which is clearly not intended as a statement of fact, cannot be justification for a

defamation charge

3.2.1 Grounds / Elements of a defamation claim

Defamation law varies from country to country, but there are some generally accepted rules that

are common in many places. To prove defamation, the claimant must prove the following

elements:

1. Reference to the claimant: the defamatory statement should be easily referable to the

plaintiff, even when the claimant is not mentioned by name.

2. Publication: the offending information must be disseminated or distributed to

one or more third parties.

3. Falsehood: A false statement for defamation purposes must be a false

statement of fact. Opinions are protected and not actionable.

4. Injury: In order for a statement to be actionable, it must have caused harm to

the plaintiff’s reputation.

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3.3 Conditions where fair comment is use as a defence in defamation

 Public interest: It is for the defendant to prove that the matter upon which he passed

comment is one of public interest.

 Based upon facts that are true or privileged: The comment must have an adequate factual

basis. The fact must be stated sufficiently clearly in order to enable the recipient to

consider those facts.

 Fair comment? The test of what is fair is an objective one. It does not require the jury to

ask themselves whether they agree with the comment.

 Malice: Although the defendant may set up a plea of fair comment, the defence will be

defeated if it is shown that the defendant was motivated by hatred

3.5 Types of Defamation

1. Libel is the publication of a defamatory statement within a permanent form. This can take

many forms such as within books, magazines, internet web pages, letters, Radio etc.

 Defences against libel:

 Justification: Truth is always a complete justification.

 Fair comment: If journalists accurately report what some public person has done.

 Privilege: This refers to words used during the proceedings of parliament.

 Accord and satisfaction: This applies when you publish a correction and apology that

has been accepted by the plaintiff in the settlement of the complaint.

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2. Slander is a defamatory statement in a temporary form. E.g. when someone makes a

defamatory statement whilst speaking to someone else.

It should be important to note that with regard to slander the Claimant will have to prove that he

has suffered actual financial loss unlike in libel.

3.6 WHO MAY SUE

All living persons can sue for defamation. These include children, animals and those of sound

mind. If someone hurt your reputation by way of slander or libel, you may have grounds to sue

for defamation.

In order to sue for defamation, you will need to prove that the statement made against you was

public, false, injurious and unprivileged. If you determine this to be true, the next step is to

write a complaint, then seek the help of an attorney to either settle with the defendant or take it to

court.

3.7 WHO MAY BE SUED

Any person who cause or is responsible for publication of defamatory statement can be sued. It

includes Writers, Broadcasters, Editors, Producers, Publishers, and Programme Makers as

well as Distributors.

Remedies available to the claimant in defamation case

 Damages: Damages refers to a sum of money that may be awarded by a court of law to

an individual or entity as compensation for property damage, a physical injury.

 Injunction, which may be interim, interlocutory or perpetual

 Publication of retraction or correction

 Publication of apology and offer of amends

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 What is “pseudo-events”?

These are events (reports) of interviews that never happened.

Key purposes of a good quotation

1. It is incontrovertible (unable to be denied or disputed) as it is the interviewee’s own

words.

2. To distance or absolve the journalist

3. To add to the story.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 COPYRIGHT

Copyright is the exclusive right to produce copies and control an original book, drama, musical

or artistic work, sound recording, film, broadcast or the typographical arrangement of a

published edition. Copy right is a sole property of an individual and for that matter a monopoly

right.

4.1 Transfer of Copyright Ownership

1. A copyright ownership can be transferred from person to another when the person passes on or
is intestate. The deceased may decide who the property should be given to before he kicks the
bucket.

2. After Sixty (60) years either a person dies or not, a property can be freely accessed to
everybody in what we call slightly or partial transfer since it has been expired from the
copyright law.

4.2 Remedies of Copyright

Remedies of copyright are the compensation that is offered for a claimant by a defendant. They
include the following:

 Injunction: The court can grant interim injunction of future publications and usage of the
work. An injunction may be interlocutory or perpetual, depending on the case.

An interlocutory injunction is granted prior to the determination of the case to limit the impact
of the infringement on the owner of the copyright.

A perpetual injunction is a permanent order of the court restraining the defendant, permanently
from the commission or the continuance of a wrongful act.

 Flagrant damages: This is awarded aimed at deterring the defendant and others from
copying the work.

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  Account of profit: Is another form of remedy for copyright infringement. It requires the

court to enquire into the profit the infringer has made, and hand them all over to the

owner of the copyright as a compensation for the impact of the infringement on his work.

4.3 Defence against copy right

1. Fair dealing

The Fair use doctrine claims that there is a valid a legal use of the copyrighted work that does not
infringe upon the holders rights. Fair dealing exceptions include:

 for research or private study, the purpose must be non-commercial or private study
 review of material ( for criticism or critique)
 for reporting of news or current event any work can be used, except photographs

2. For academic purposes (such as teaching the material or research)

3. Public domain-The defendant may successfully argue that, the work is in the public

domain already.

4. License: The defendant may demonstrate that he / she has a valid license. This generally
arises in the context of validity or scope of copyright licenses.

4.4 COURT REPORTING

A court is the place where society employs specially trained people to decide whether or not a

person really did something wrong.

Court reporters may be given a special place in the courtroom to sit, called a press gallery.

There are additional responsibilities that every reporter working on a court story needs to be

aware of.

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How to report a court case:

The job of court reporting is essentially the same for all the media - newspapers, radio and

television - but there are some differences. We shall first consider those differences, and then

move on to the things they share in common.

a) Newspapers

For every court case which you report, the following information should be carried in each
report:

 The names, addresses and places of origin of all defendants (plus ages, if considered
important)
 The offence or offences they are charged with
 The plea of each defendant to each charge - guilty or not guilty
 The court where the case is being heard

Pieces of information to help you write in your court report

a) Name of court

b) Names of magistrates

c) Names, addresses & occupations of the parties

d) Names, addresses & occupations of the witnesses

e) Age of the accused

f) Ages of witnesses

g) The offence with which the accused is charged

h) Names of the counsel and solicitors

i) Decision of the court to commit to trial (if committed to trial)

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 b) Radio and television

Court reports for radio and television cannot be as long as court reports in newspapers. This
means that they must give fewer details, in order to concentrate on the story.

 The details which you will need to give are:

 The names of all defendants, and briefly where they come from
 The offence or offences they are charged with, simplified as far as possible
 The plea of each defendant to each charge - guilty or not guilty
 The court where the case is being heard

As with newspapers, it is important to let your listeners know if the case has not yet finished.

Instead of "The case continues", however, it sounds more natural to say "The case is continuing".

These should be the last words of your report.

4.5 Reporting Restrictions

There are some specific reporting restrictions, which differ in different countries.

1. Reporting reasons for bail applications or objections to bail.

2. If a case is heard in a lower court before being sent for trail to a superior court, there is

likely to be restrictions on what can be published about the initial court hearing.

3. Journalist cannot record during court proceeding except on special occasions.

4. Sometimes reporters are not allowed in courts. (Cases are held in camera) but are not free

to report what happens.

5. Pictures cannot be taking in an open court.

4.5 PROTECTION OF JOURNALISTIC SOURCES

The protection of sources, sometimes also referred to as the confidentiality of sources is a right

given to journalists under the laws of a country, as well as under international law. It forbids

29
authorities, including the courts, from compelling a journalist to reveal the identity of an

anonymous source for a story.

The right is based on a recognition that without a strong guarantee of anonymity, many would be

deterred from coming forward and sharing information of public interests with journalists. As a

result, problems such as corruption or crime might go undetected and unchallenged, to the

ultimate detriment of society as a whole.

4.6 Exemptions where disclosure of the sources will be necessary

1. In the interest of Justice so that there would be free and fair judgments.

2. for the interest of National Security: In the case where national security is concerned the
necessity for disclosure of the source will be almost automatic.

3. for the prevention of a crime or disorder: The public interest in preventing disorder or a
crime is said to be such overriding importance that disclosure will be automatic

4. In order to prevent a greater harm: In court proceedings, the judge may request that a
source be declared especially if it can help prevent a greater harm.

Keeping information concerning national security confidential far outweighs the right to keep the

source confidential. This is the case as the people who will be coming into contact with

information regarding national security will be those people employed in Government and

should therefore be trusted servants to the government.

5. For the prevention of crime or disorder: The public interest in preventing disorder or

a crime is said to be of such overriding importance that disclosure will be almost

automatic. If the disclosure can prevent a criminal offence taking place or some form of

public disorder which affects the general public of the country then that will be

30
 considered far more important than protecting the interests of one individual journalistic

source.

4.7 CONTEMPT OF COURT

This is define as “any action that interferes with a judge’s ability to administer justice or that

insults the dignity of the court”. Contempt of court as it affects the media generally refers to

reports and headlines, which could have a harmful effects on court proceedings.

The objectives of Contempt of court is:

 To keep the administration of justice pure and undefiled.

 Contempt of Courts empowers the courts to punish any willful disobedience to, or

disregard of a court order or any misconduct in the presence of a court.

Direct and Indirect Contempt of Court

 Direct Contempt: This type of contempt occurs in the presence of the judge or

presiding officer of the court and is dealt with immediately.

 Indirect Contempt: This occurs outside the courts presence but under the

auspices of the courts authority.

Contempt of court can be of two types:

1. Criminal Contempt

Criminal contempt is defined as the publication (whether by words, spoken or written, or by

signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise) of any matter or the doing of any other act

whatsoever which:

a) By deed or word to scandalize the court.

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 b) To make statement amounting to abuse of the court.

c) To make statement which tend to expose the court or parties to the prejudice or hatred or

ridicule of mankind?

2. Civil contempt

Civil contempt has been defined as willful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction,

order, writ or other process of a court or willful breach of an undertaking given to a court.

Areas where journalists stand the risk of contempt:

 Scandalizing the court

 Interfering with the course of justice

 Publishing material likely to prejudice a fair trail

 Refusing to name a source

 To threaten the witnesses

 To attempt to obstruct the police inquiry

 Against the order of the judge, publication of the proceedings of the curt or the

publication of the picture of the accused.

 Publication of the report of the proceedings of the court and distorting the facts.

 Wrongful publication of the proceedings of the courts and distorting the facts.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 CONSTRAINTS AND INFLUENCES ON JOURNALISTS

Journalists have numerous loyalties to whom they have a duty to produce clear-cut, legal and
honest copy.

1. The first constraint on journalists is ownership and control. Journalists do not have

complete freedom in what they write, as they are also employees. Every newspaper has a certain

editorial policy and political stand which shines through in the published articles and which

journalists working for the newspaper have to obey to.

These constraints are not always noticed and recognized by the audience but since they are very

present in every newspaper and influence the way news items are framed, it is definitely

something we should think about more often.

2. Along with this goes the constraint of Audience. Journalists are writing for a specific

audience that reads their paper. Depending on the newspaper, the structure of the audience can

vary significantly. Their interests, educational and social background definitely play a role in the

selection and presentation of news.

3. Journalists are also constrained by Advertisers and Advertising. Companies pay money for

advertising space in newspapers or other media and therefore also have an interest in influencing

the content of the articles in their favour: they might not want to be connected with a certain

topic or they can threaten the newspapers with withdrawing their ads if the articles do not present

their company in a positive light. This probably happens more often that we would think.

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 4. Regulations and self-Regulation: Both government-owned and commercial news media

may face pressure from authority - the government, the police, customs, or some other branch of

authority.

Governments can threaten, or make, laws to force all news media to be licensed. This would give

them power to grant licences only to those news organizations’ which please the government.

Even the threat to introduce such legislation may be enough to frighten journalists, and to make

them afraid of criticizing the government too much.

5. Codes of conduct: In many countries journalists try to work within a professional code of

ethics. This usually lays down in simple, straightforward terms the kind of things they should

and should not do. Typically such codes contain rules about issues such as honesty, fairness,

independence and respect for the rights of other people such as interviewees, victims and readers

or listeners.

6. Monetizing the web: The first set of strategies involves using advertising to bring in the

dollars. One of the oldest methods for generating money. You have the site, you have the traffic,

and you have all that free space to insert ads from sponsors. These could take the form of a

sidebar banner, small pop-ins, or the occasional link at the bottom of the page. Pricing for each

can vary.

7. Contacts / informers 8. Colleagues 9. Themselves (for their continued career

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 CHAPTER SIX

6. 0 DEFINTIONS OF NEWS

The news is the way society receives current and updated information on events happening both

locally and around the world. There are several ways people can get their daily news including

online, television, print, or radio

News is any information that is important, unusual or an update on current events

communicated by print, broadcast or world of mouth to the audience.

We can now consider some definitions given by scholars and media professionals:

1. William S. Maulsbyl defined news thus:

News is an accurate, unbiased account of the significant facts of a timely happening that is of

interest to the readers of the newspaper that prints the account.

2. William G. Bleyer defines it like this:

News is anything timely that interests a number of people; and the best news is that which has

the greatest interest for the greatest number.

3. Mitchel Chainley defined news as:

The timely report of facts or opinions that hold interest of importance, or both for a considerable

number of people.

4. Prof. Charles Coates defined it thus:

News is what interests the reader, the viewer, the reporter, the editor, the producer, their spouses

and their neighbor’s. News is what affects their diets and their lives.

35
5. News is an account of actual events which disrupt the status quo or which have the potential

to cause disruption.

6. News is what the people want to know, what the people ought to know, that the media have

made available to them.

7. Oxford Dictionary defines it as "New information, the report of latest incident".

8. According to Gerald W. Johnson, "News is the report of such incidents as in writing them, a

first rank journalist feels satisfied".

9. According to William Stead, "Everything which is extra-ordinary and unusual is called

news".

10. According to Carrel Warren, "news is usually a report which is not known to layman

before its presentation. This report deals with such activities of man as are a source of interest,

entertainment or information to the readers.

6.1 NEWS VALUES

When making decisions, journalists also consider “news values.” News values is selecting items

through a set of criteria to determine whether it is newsworthy and what prominence to give it.

News values, news judgement, can only be exercised if and when news is collected. Potential

news is everywhere. It is lying waiting to be reported. To collect this information, reporters need

to know what is going on, and where.

The values of the journalist are established under constant pressures within the society he serves;

there is a tension between his existence as a free or creative crafts man and the connection within

which he works. He has ascertain autonomy; the constraints, however, are the subject of

permanent and unavoidable contest

So what are the ingredients of a good story? What makes it interesting or newsworthy?

36
Today’s teachers say:

1. Impact or broad appeal

Events that affect many people – the more it affects the better the story. A proposed income tax

increase, for instance, has impact, because it will affect a lot of people.

2. Timeliness or immediacy

News gets out of date quickly; it’s timely if it happened recently. What is deemed “recent” is

related to the publication cycle of the news medium in which the information appears? On BBC

News 24 events that happened during the past half hour are timely.

3. Prominence (if someone is prominent, what they do is more likely to be news)

Stories involving well-known places, companies, groups or people, especially celebs. If you or I

trip and fall in church, no one will take much interest, because we aren’t well known. But if the

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II of Kumasi trips and falls during a service, that’s a news story.

4. Proximity (if it is close to home, it’s more likely to be news)

Events occurring in the newspaper circulation area or the broadcast area are likely to be of most

interest. 2,000 job losses in China won’t get a mention. 20 redundancies in OBUASI may well

make the front page of the local paper.

5. Conflict (where there's conflict, there's news)

Stories about people or organizations at odds with each other. Information has conflict if it
involves some kind of disagreement between two or more people. Conflict has drama.

6. Bizarre or out-of-the-ordinary

What deviates sharply from what you would expect and experience of everyday life, unusual,

strange or wacky.

37
7. Currency or flavor of the month: Events and situations that are currently in the news and

being talked about.

8. Human interest

People are interested in people, so personalize your story. About people’s everyday problems or

interests: food, health, housing, schools, work, money problems. An interesting news story will

contain some of these elements, but it’s unlikely it will contain them all. However, all stories

should be accurate and truthful.

Examples of news values

 The power elite – stories concerning powerful individuals, organisations or institutions

 Celebrity (if someone is prominent, what they do is more likely to be news)

 Entertainment – show business, animals, an unfolding drama, humour.

OBJECTIVITY AND IMPARTIALLITY

1. Subjective vs. Objective in News Writing

The main difference between objectivity and subjectivity is in the way that arguments are
presented.

a) Subjective information –whether it is written or in spoken form-is generally considered

to be a single persons opinion. It has a viewpoint, or possibly a bias, regardless of the

information it provides.

b) Objective information—this on the other is meant to be completely unbiased. There is a

feeling of the writer or speaker being outside of the information, and when they present

it, they do so without taking a stance or expressing their feelings in relation to that

information.

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 2. Impartiality which is not taking sides on an issue where there is a dispute. Impartiality

also includes presenting all sides of an argument fairly, what we call balance.

For the good journalist, objectivity and impartiality are two sides of the same coin. If you can be

objective and control your personal feelings on an issue, you can also be even-handed in your

treatment of all sides.

6.3 Areas a Journalist can ensure fairness in Journalism Practices

1. Selection of news: Journalist have to make a decision about which stories to cover and
which to ignore.

2. Choice of sources: Even if you have to overcome a personal prejudice and decide to cover a
story you find disagreeable, you must still take care that you are fair in your choice of sources of
information.

3. No comment: In some cases people will be unwilling to give an interview. Maybe they are
too busy, maybe they hate the sound of their own voice.

NEWS

News is any information that is important, unusual or an update on current events communicated
by print, broadcast or world of mouth to the audience.

6:4 TYPES OF NEWS

News stories are basically divided into two types: hard news and soft news.

 Hard news: Hard news generally refers to up-to-the-minute news and events that are

reported immediately. It is timely, controversial and has a wide impact. Hard news stories

place the most important information first.

39
  Soft news: Soft media is news and information we receive from media forms like

television, articles, and magazines that mostly handle material including entertainment

and lifestyle.

 Agenda-setting theory: The theory behind agenda-setting suggests that the media

determines what issues the public should think about and when they should think about

them. Whatever is more commonly covered by the media is looked upon as being the

most important thing at that time.

6:5 CLASSIFICATION OF NEWS

• National News
• International News
• Local News
• Sports News
• District News
• Commercial News
• Weather News • Business News • Showbiz News • Hard News • Soft News

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6.6 HEADLINES
Headlines are a very brief description of the contents of a story printed in large type, usually

above the story. The headlines tells the readers what the story is about. It could be small, larger,

short, long, one-line, two-lines, set on the top of the story.

Headlines styles

1. Up style: Here, major words are capitalized. It is an old style, not used often.e.g MAN

KILLS WEDDED WIFE.

2. Down style: With this, only the first letter of the word and proper nouns are capitalized.e.g

Man kills wedded Wife.

Types of Headline

1. Banner Headline: A newspaper headline written in large letters across the

width of the page. When the heading is given below the nameplate of the

newspaper and covers all columns from left to right, it is called banner

headline. Some may call it streamer, which also covers the entire column

but is normally given on the inside page.

2. Skyline: for very exceptional and exclusive events, the headline of the

story is sometimes given over the nameplate of the newspaper. It means

that the event is even more important than the authority of the newspaper.

3. Rectangle: in such headings, all the lines are equal from left to right.

Normally, it is of three lines but sometimes it can be of 2 to 4 lines too.

41
4. Hanging indentation: right justification the heading with more than two

or more lines which are justified on the right side and unjustified on the

left are called hanging indentation.

5. Waist: this is of three lines where the first and the third line cover the

column but the centerline is smaller and placed centrally.

6. Full one / one line: the headline is normally single line heading covering

all the columns of the story

7. Crosser / highlighter: crosser are normally one line headline which is

given in the middle of the story. Sometimes in the story, a few important

points are highlighted in the middle of the story. They are also included in

this category.

8. Flash: a recent development in the newspaper is to highlight the stories of

inside pages on the first page, just below the flag. Flag The Times of

India).

9. Over line: this is also called the eyebrow or strap line. This is normally

given over the main heading.

10. Oval: in such headlines, middle line is longer than the above and below

lines. This is normally of three lines.

11. Multi deck headings: the descending lines get smaller in size, after the

main heading.

12. Sub-heading: these are the small subsidiary headings in the body of the

story.

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6.6.1 LEAD WRITING

The main introduction or beginning structure of any story is called a LEAD. The purpose of a

lead is to draw the reader's attention into the piece, giving foresight on how the theme and overall

style of the rest of the story will be.

Some writers add the basics of the five w-questions into the lead, which give a great general

explanation of what to expect in the story. Sometimes journalists do not focus on the most

interesting content in the lead paragraph. This is often called "burying the lead" and can affect a

drop in readership.

6.6.2 TYPES OF LEADS

1. “Who lead”- begins with a person. The person is usually not the most important fact of the

story. For instance, Ghanaian award winner Sarkodie will perform a concert at the high school

Thursday after giving a speech at the minister of Education.

2. “When lead” - begins with time. Rarely is the time the most important factor. For instance,

On Thursday, President Nana Addo Danquah will speak to the senior class about how important

community organizing and volunteering are to the country.

3. “Where lead” - begins with the place. Hardly ever is where the most important factor.

For instance, In the Administrator’s office, the senior class dumped some letters to protest the

cancellation of the trip to Accra.

Use these often...

4. “How lead”- begins with the how of the story? Used often.

For example: Through a grass roots voting effort, Nana Addo Dquah Akuffo Addo won the

presidential election to become the president in the Ghana’s history.

43
5. “Why lead”- begins with the cause the story. Used often.

For example: In the wake of the seating collapse at the stadium, the location for the district track

meet has moved to Opoku-Ware High School, and the district is looking for an alternate

graduation site.

6. “What lead”- begins with the fact of the story. Used often.

For example:
The community has the chance to speak on the proposed coffee bar at the school board meeting

Thursday night.

7. Why lead

Because of an anonymous 2,000 donation, students who ride a school bus to and from school

will have access to the Internet during their stay starting March 1.

6.7 CHOOSING AN ANGEL OF THE STORY

Radio stations cannot talk about every single story ever. As bulletins have a limited air time, one

has to choose. The concept of the angle is linked to the journalistic treatment of a story. A

journalist may choose to highlight different aspects, angles, of a same story. Each news item can

be taken, presented, considered or seen through various angles.

The angle, a journalistic choice

Every day, rival radio stations treat major stories. Everyone can see that when it comes to a same

story, the treatment will never be the same from a station to another. It all depends on the angle

the reporter has chosen to breach the story. If the angle is good, people will be interested in the

report.

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The angle: an answer to the practical constraints of a journalist’s job

It is impossible to give out all of the information in a one minute voicer. The radio journalist

takes this constraint and shapes it into an advantage. Choosing the right angle makes up for the

limited time allotted for making a report. Nothing forbids you from treating your story under two

different angles: you can offer one for the evening news, and the other for the following

morning’s broadcast.

When should the angle be chosen?

The right time to choose an angle is during the morning meeting: How is every story going to be

treated? What in this story will catch the audience’s attention? Who are the right interlocutors for

an interview? The best way to answer these questions is by discussing them together, as a team,

in the morning.

Examples

Let us imagine a shocking fire has broken out in a neighborhood, and houses and shops are going

up in flames. Here are a few potential angles:

 First angle: Send a reporter out there. He will call and describe the fire during the

broadcast. Treatment: a live shot.

 Second angle: Write up a precise account: how many dead, how many injured? How is

help being arranged? How far has the fire spread? Treatment: an extract of an interview

with an official.

 Third angle: Explain exactly what happened. When did the fire start? Was it an accident

or an arson? Treatment: a voicer.

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There is a wide variety of angles to choose from. Various angles can be treated, so as to vary
reports from one bulletin to the other. If the event is a major one, it can be treated through
various angles in the same bulletin. These rules stand for all events, be they political, cultural,
economic or sports (pre-match voicers, pre-match audio, report, analysis, interview with the
players…).

The same goes for a trial: portrait of the defendant, package with interviews with the lawyers,
summary of facts.

The approach you take to a story is your angel. There is no correct angel to a story.

Local angel-The local angel is someone or something that connects the topic of your story of
local readers. You can make small story, big by localizing and interview a lot of prominent
people on a very small issue.
For instance, indiscriminate throwing of rubbish.

You can come out with story idea on the people that you want to interview such as:

 Authority from the local council

 Senior police officer to find out if there is any law and why not enforce

 Sanitary officer

 Lawyer or Judge about it,

 Ordinary person on the street.

With the above information one can get very good points to make a good story.

User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), is any

form of content, such as images, videos, text and audio, that have been posted by users on online
platforms such as social media.

Examples: Using letters, photos, video or phone footage etc. from the readers / listeners /
viewers

Why is UGC useful?

a. The public can be in already in places and taking footage when action is occurring before

journalists have time to arrive.

46
 b. The public may have historical documents or photographs that a journalist may not

otherwise have access to.

c. The footage may come from a person in situ where journalists would need permissions or

passes for security purposes.

d. These items can initiate a story or can enhance it

Examples of how UGC can enhance a TV news item

1. Accept any story with added UGC e.g. flooded village cut off for a week – phone footage of

when the floods first rushed through the roads, knocking cars aside – taken by a viewer

through his or her upstairs window.

2. A reader sends in a birth certificate found under floor boards suggesting a famous person

was born in that house etc.

Problems of using UGC

 Poor quality footage.

 Possibility of fake or manufactured content.

 Phone footage may not take in the whole situation, so appears biased

How can you get over the problems of using UGC?

 Editing software to enhance quality
 Research and confirmation from other sources
 Issue a disclaimer.

When presenting on radio or television, ways you could add emphasis to your speech.
I. Pausing – A change of rate to arouse interest. A brief silence
will make the audience more attentive.
II. Rhythm – makes speech more alive and interesting. It
encompasses phrasing and pace. Be sure to keep it natural.
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 III. Pitch – Variation of pitch/intonation. Generally controlled by
family and regional speech patterns.

You should not increase the volume because it would cause a problem for the sound balance /
engineering.

An autocue is also called a teleprompter. It projects the image of the script onto a one-way mirror

that covers the camera lens. The presenter dictates the speed at which the autocue rolls.

48
 CHAPTER SEVEN
7.0 SOURCES OF INFORMATION TO THE JOURNALIST

A source is a place where the journalist gets his / or information from when gathering his stories.
The following are some sources that a journalist gets his information.

1. Contacts: They are individuals a journalist reaches out to when in need of an information.
These contacts from time may be friends or acquaintances. Journalists can look for contacts
from:

 In the publication

 On social media

 By phone

 Contact database

2. Calls: Journalists normally place calls to get information (news) for their audience.

3. Primary definers of events set the limit for subsequent discussion by framing what the
problem is. These definers can be politicians, experts, economists etc.

4. Check list: Journalist call Court Clerks, the Fire, Police, and Ambulance Services for first-
hand information on issues or scoops. These calls are known as Check calls.

5. Newsroom Diary: It is a book which contains stories the newsroom will cover, the times of
events and the reporters assigned to cover those events.

6. Freelancer: He or she is a trained journalist who is not employed by a media station but sends
news items to media houses for a fee.

4. Government: The government (state institutions) also provide information for journalist in

their build up to news writing.

5. Courts: The court place is also another area where the journalist could source for news.
49
6. PR and Spin: "Spinning" refers to presenting a situation in such a way that it is favorable to

your side, and unfavorable to the other side.

Spin techniques may include careful timing in delivering information, selective presentation of

facts, and careful selection of words.

7. News Access:

Common amongst people who access news on a mobile phone, a tablet, or an e-reader, as those
devices are well-suited to consuming news on the move. News consumption whilst travelling is
also more common amongst those who listen to news on the radio, as this is the default medium
for car drivers.

8. Newsgroup

A newsgroup is an Internet-based discussion around an individual, entity, organization or topic

helping you find what you looking for. e.g. Deja.com, YAHOO.COM

Newsgroups enable remotely connected users to share, discuss and learn about their topic of
interest by exchanging text messages, images, videos and other forms of digital content.

9. Framing: Framing is the method of using the audience's or individual's view when it comes

to the media. Since the beginning of framing data research, scientists and publications have been

able to identify how audiences react to certain information that is released in the media, and how

that impacts the media world in general. There are three basic areas of framing research

including journalist norms, political actors, and cultural contexts.

10. Agenda Setting: Agenda setting refers to the ability of the mass media (radio) to influence

the level of public awareness of issues as opposed to their knowledge about those issues. If for

example OTEC FM, Kumasi, allocate most of their airtime to the spread of Malaria in a

50
particular area in Kumasi, the issue of Malaria will likely remain topmost on the minds of the

audiences.

11. News Agendas: These are the stories that people are talking about on radio, the internet,

newspapers etc. (Trending issues)

Main considerations for choosing the best sources, according to Herbert Gans.

a) Transport companies. b) Trades Unions. c). Local Chambers of

Commerce IV. Arts groups

7.1 THE LANGUAGE OF NEWS

The first pre-language in writing any journalism story is the news focus. A story in a newspaper
attract or put off a reader with the first sentence. Readers want simplicity; they want a simple
language of journalism.

The main criteria are the average sentence and the complexity of words in the sentence. In the
digital age, it is time to make journalism language as readable and interesting as possible

Newspaper use individual house style so that they have their own way of writing and layout.
Most newspaper and magazines have their own house style book, which new recruits have to
learn.

7.2 LANGUAGE IN PRINT (WRITING STYLE)

Newspapers use individual house style so that they have their own way of writing and layout.

Most newspapers and magazines have their own house style book, which new recruits have to

learn. It’s therefore difficult for a book such as this to give a prescription of style that will be

common to all newspapers. Instead, this chapter aims at making generally acceptable stylistic

points. The rest you will learn on the job.

There isn’t much space in a newspaper, so the language we use must be: • clear

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• Unambiguous • to the point.

There’s no room for too many words. School room English is not news writing English. The

answer is to write simply, then what has to be said will be clear. And write it short.

1. Go for shorter words if possible: Sentences should be full of bricks, beds, houses, cars, cows,

men and women.

 Call a spade a spade not ‘an implement for’…

 A cat is a cat not a ‘feline creature’…

• Clear •·unambiguous • to the point.

2. Avoid little used or unusual words: We should never try to show our readers how clever we

are, or baffle them with our knowledge e.g. use ‘meeting’, not ‘rendezvous’.

3. Try not to use adjectives or adverbs excessively: An adjective has its uses, when it is

employed properly. A sentence with every noun preceded by an adjective is tedious and clumsy

and loses its pace. If you want to shorten the number of words, see how many adjectives you can

take out without damaging the meaning.

4. Use shorter rather than longer sentences: A sentence should be only as long as it takes to

make the point, to tell the fact, the one fact that is best per sentence. The longer a sentence is, the

more complicated it becomes in structure and punctuation.

5. Try to write in the active voice rather than the passive. ‘The boy told the truth’ is far clearer

and better writing than ‘The truth was told by the boy’. The sentence is strengthened in the active

voice, and the words are fewer.

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6. Keep punctuation simple: Only use punctuation when the meaning could be in doubt.

Punctuation that causes the reader to go back and read a sentence again is bad punctuation. If you

find you’ve written a sentence with a lot of commas and semi-colons, split it into separate

sentence.

In general, all your writing should be as informal and as conversational as possible. You have to

translate this professional language.

For example do not use:

1 ‘Water scientists will test for parts per million to see if the lead content exceeds government

standards.’ Use instead: ‘The water will be tested to see if it contains too much lead.

2 ‘Police apprehended the suspect after he fled the scene on foot.’ Use instead: ‘The suspect ran

away. Police chased and caught him. He was arrested.’

6.1 Gender specific and Gender-Neural words in News writing

Outdate words Current term

 Spokesman Spokes person

 Actress Film maker / Actor

 Waitress Waiter / wait staff

 Policeman /woman Police officer

 Businessman / woman Business person

 Weatherman weather reporter

 Forman Supervisor

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  Organization Institution

6.2 Offensive words and Alternatives

Bad Good
a) Barren Childless

b) Blind visually Challenged

c) Crazy Mentally ill

d) Deaf and Dump hear and speech impaired

e) Fat Over weight

f) Crippled, disabled, Handicapped physically challenged

f) Short people Vertically challenged

g) Corrupt people morally challenged

h) Idiocy / Moronic mental retardation

i) Old people Chronical challenged

Writing for impact

 Sell the story in the intro. This gets attention, tells what the story’s about and why it’s

important.

 Tell the story in the body of the story.

 End it with a conclusion that is memorable. The ending can do a number of different

things. It can tell how to act on the information received, how to get more information;

and when readers might expect to get more information.

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1. The intro: The intro (selling the story) should be as universally interesting as possible. It

should hook the interest by getting the audience to stop and read/listen/watch. For the intro,

include:

• What is new about the story?

• What is the most important fact in the story?

• What is the most interesting fact in the story?

• What part of the story will have the biggest impact on the most people, locally?

• What does it mean for me?

2. The body: In the body of the story:

• make sure you cover who, what, where, when, why and how

• select which points or facts you will include

• select which points or facts you will leave out

• select which points or facts can be generalized in few words.

Ask:

• Does this fact have any real meaning for the reader?

• Does this fact contain valuable information?

• Does anyone (except me) care about this information? Put related ideas and facts together.

Look for a logical flow of thought and ideas. Make sure the body explains, repeats, amplifies the

points made in the intro, and tie the elements of your story together with content-driven

connecting or transitional words such as but, still, so, regardless, and.

However, be careful about using words like meanwhile or meantime, which are becoming

clichés. They have their place in a story to compare the time frame from one event to another,

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but they are often used mechanically as a crutch rather than creatively as a tool to make

transitions from one story to another. Don’t do it.

3. The ending: Look for a logical end that sets the reader up for what might happen next, the

follow-up; or possibly restate the ideas and focus of the story. There are various types of ending:

1. The Main Fact: this is a restatement of the main fact of the story, usually the fact you used

to sell the story at the start. This should not just be a simple repeat, but should explain and

expand the original fact as a result of what has been said in the body of the story.

2. The Additional Fact: adding a fact at the end can put the story in perspective. However, the

new fact can’t leave unanswered questions. It must be able to stand on its own while bringing the

story into focus.

3. The Differing Opinion: when the story is controversial there are always at least two sides

to the argument. If one side is making the news in this particular story, the other point of view

can appear in the ending – ‘Jones’s lawyer says there’s no way he’s guilty.’

4. The What Next: your story concentrates on what happened today, but looking ahead is a

natural way to end. What will happen next? What can we expect now? How will the people

involved react considering today’s developments? – ‘Jones was sentenced this morning. His

lawyer says: “We’ll be appealing”.’

5. The Twist: a strange, interesting, ironic or funny twist to the story. The end is a good place

to put it – ‘An hour later – Jones and the prosecutor were married.’

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 6. The Reader Information: sometimes it’s important to end the story by giving your readers

information they can act on – ‘If you’re interested in finding out more about the subject, call this

number’.

STORY ORGANIZATION

Every story is different, but there are some basic guidelines that will help.

a) Start with a short, hard-hitting lead: Write a brief paragraph as the lead, which gives the

major news of the story.

b) Then write a second paragraph that will provide major points of the news event that would

not have fitted properly into the first paragraph (you don’t want to crowd everything into the first

sentence of the story).Then provide background.

c) The third paragraph of the story, and following paragraphs if necessary, should provide

background that will explain things for the reader. Background can come from someone you

have interviewed, who might explain something; or from the reporter, to make the story clearer.

Even fast breaking news stories need background paragraphs to explain what has happened

before.

For example, in a story about day one of an accident you might use these paragraphs to give

some information about the number of similar accidents there have been at this spot in the last

year. If there is more than one major point, use background paragraphs to wrap them all together.

Then you can develop them in later paragraphs separately.

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 d) Present news in order of descending importance: Continue reporting news of the story

using paragraphs in order of descending importance. Inverted pyramids (news point first etc.) are

seldom constructed in order of time sequence (chronologically).

When you want to write chronologically (from the beginning of the event to the end), you might

prefer to use a different writing form (start with the latest news of the story, and then make a

transition right back to the beginning of the whole thing – where someone was born, how the

story started).

e) Use quotations: A good time to introduce the first direct quote is after you have given the

reader the major news and background information. Get all that out of the way first, then

introduce a direct quote. Separate direct quotes by using additional news, background and

paraphrases of what was said. Sprinkle quotes throughout the story rather than string them

together in a block. That’s boring. Remember, quotes are useful because they let the person in

the news communicate directly with the audience with a really exciting, interesting saying.

f) Use transitions: A paraphrase, a background paragraph, a paragraph with additional news or

even a direct quote can be used as a transition to move readers smoothly and logically from one

paragraph to another. Transition alerts the reader that a shift or change is coming.

Transitions can occur in several ways:

• Numerically: first, second, third

• By time: at 3 o’clock, by lunch time, 3 hours later

• Geographically: in Midlevel’s, outside the attacker’s house, Western residents

• With words: also, but, once, meanwhile, therefore, in other developments, however, and, but.

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g) Identifying people: People must be identified clearly and accurately. Don’t misspell names,

for example. Know who people are, and ask them to spell their names for you. Sometimes age is

used as an extra identification, as in police stories. In most news stories, identify a person only

once. However, don’t use sexist identification of people (e.g. ‘a woman’) unless it adds

significantly to the story.

h) TENSES: News stories about events that have already taken place are written in the past

tense and call for active verbs. When you write in the past tense, you must couple the verb with a

time element – for example, ‘The speech continued on Tuesday’.

7.3 LANGUAGE AND BROADCASTING

Writing for broadcast is unlike almost any kind of writing you might have done before.

Information that is broadcast involves people saying the information out loud while the audience

takes it all in by virtue of hearing it. Broadcast is spoken on the one hand and heard on the other.

It’s as simple—and as complicated—as that.

Almost everything we do in constructing messages for broadcast finally comes down to

producing words that can be spoken well and understood by people who only get to hear them.
Those two aspects of broadcast lead to a world of challenges

In broadcast, where most of the audience never sees the copy, we have rules for writing designed

to make reading the copy easier for the anchor and reporter.

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This chapter explores the ways in which broadcast writing is tailored for the ear.

Rules for Readability

The following subsections cover guidelines for making copy more clearly for broadcast

announcers.

 Page Form: Copy to be read on the air is double spaced—sometimes triple spaced. In

radio, copy is written all across the page (with standard margins). In television, use a split

page with audio (the script) on the right and video (supers and instructions) on the left.

 Numbers: Single digits on a page are too easily lost, and some looks like letters. Write

out numbers one through nine; use numerals for 10 through 999; then use the appropriate

combination of numerals and words for thousand, million, and so on. Ordinals can go

either way (second or 2nd). Years should be written as numerals.

 Abbreviations: Don’t use abbreviations in broadcast writing. Abbreviations require

translation in order to read, and that poses the potential for stumbling. In addition, some

abbreviations stand for more than one thing (St., for example). Exceptions include Mr.,

Mrs., and Dr. We see them so often and they always precede names, so there’s little

danger of mispronunciation.

 Symbols: Don’t use symbols. They require translation and, in the case of the Cedis sign

(GHC), appear in a different place than when they’re read out loud.

 Acronyms and Initials: An acronym involves letters to be read as a word, such as MIG.

In that case, use all caps with no dashes. Initials are to be read as a series of individual

letters, such as I-R-S. In that case, use all caps with dashes in between the letters. Note

that in the case of most acronyms and initials, you should use the full name of the

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 organization on the first reference and the initials or the acronym for subsequent

references.

 Sentence Length: Keep sentences short. Go back to those two keys points that separate

broadcast from print: Read out loud and understand by being heard. Keep the sentence

length short because an announcer can only read so many words at one time without

pausing to breathe. We write short sentences to build breathing into the process. An

unnatural pause (breathing) in a sentence could make the copy difficult to understand

Rules for Understandability

We need to construct messages in such a way that someone who only gets to hear the material—

and gets to hear it once—can understand it. We need to do this within a framework that

recognizes that as passive media, radio listeners or television viewers might be splitting their

attention among multiple tasks.

Guidelines for enhancing understandability follow:

 Informal

We don’t write broadcast copy exactly the way we speak, but its close. Spoken language

is a bit too casual and frequently not grammatically correct. Broadcast copy is what we

wish we had said if we collected and organized our thoughts properly and cleaned it up to

make it right before we said anything. The writing, however, remains informal, and it’s

just fine to use more casual terms like kids instead of children.

 Word Choice: Good writing is all about good word choice and proper ordering of those

words. Since this is journalism, the first rule for word choice is accuracy. The word has to

be right. Not close to right. Not nearly right. Absolutely right. Next, the word has to be

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 appropriate for the context. Remember the audience only gets to hear the information and

only gets to hear it once. Every word that you use has to be clear and understandable

instantly in the context in which you’re using the word. Whatever meaning a word

conjures in the minds of the listeners is the way you should use it. That means defending

word choice based on its fourth dictionary definition probably isn’t going to cut it. Use

words the way they’re commonly used.

 Numbers

There are certain rules for how to write numbers so that an announcer can read them. On

the other side of the coin, it’s critical to understand that people generally don’t take in

and process numbers well when they only get to hear them. Keep numbers at a minimum

in broadcast copy so you don’t leave the audience behind. Obviously, if the story is about

a tax increase, you’re going to have to use numbers.

 Contractions

We speak in contractions, and generally it’s acceptable to use them in broadcast copy,

with two exceptions. First, do not use them if the meaning might be missed. The

difference between can and can’t is an announcer’s ability to pronounce the t sound

clearly and the audience to hear that—although the meanings are opposite. Other

contractions with not don’t present as much of a problem. So always spell out cannot.

Second, you might want to emphasize the not part of the expression, in which case you

wouldn’t contract it: He said he did NOT commit the crime.

 Titles before Names

In broadcast, we put titles and identifiers before the name. That’s because what people

need to know is the title—which is likely why we’re talking with someone. The name

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 itself is detail that is less critical to understanding the story. We also tend to shorten titles.

No need to do that for nice, short, self-explanatory titles, but we commonly change a long

obscure title into a short description of what the audience needs to know (e.g., a state

welfare official rather than some long, involved title). We also tend to shorten names in

two ways: First, don’t use middle names or initials unless the person is commonly known

that way—and few people are. Second, we tend to use a shortened first name if people

are commonly known or go by the shortened name, rather than their formal name.

Consequently, Joseph frequently becomes Joe—assuming the person goes by Joe.

 Attribution before the Statement

Broadcast generally puts attribution—the source of information— before the statement or

information. That’s because the source determines how we look at or think about any

piece of information. In broadcast, we can’t afford to have the audience mulling over the

source and reevaluating the information because we continue reading. Therefore, it is

more important to say right up front that. The title and source give the statement more

credibility than if it were made by angry parent John Doe. Telling people the source of

information before presenting the facts makes it clearer and easier to digest the

information when people only get to hear it.

 One Idea or Thought per Sentence

We also keep sentences short for the sake of the audience. People can only take in so

much information at one time when they only get to hear it. Each sentence in broadcast

should contain no more than one important thought or idea. If you have more than one

key point, you have an overloaded sentence that will be harder to read and much harder

to understand. Split up the information into separate sentences.

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  Voice and Tense

Use active voice wherever possible. In active voice, the subject of the sentence does the

action as opposed to passive voice, where the subject of the sentence receives the action.

Active is shorter, tighter, punchier, and more interesting. Our first choice in tense is

present. Broadcast is all about what’s going on now, so present tense plays to that

strength. Second choice is future tense. Third choice is present perfect, which uses “has”

and “have” to indicate that some activity, while in the past, took place recently.

 Leads

The lead, the opening sentence of a story, is by far the most important sentence in the story. But

the broadcast lead isn’t at all like the print lead and doesn’t serve the same purpose. In fact, the

broadcast lead most closely parallels the print headline. The sole job of the broadcast lead is to

get the attention of the audience just as the print headline’s job is to direct the reader to the story.

The lead may also convey information about the story, but that’s not its critical function. It’s all

about getting the attention of the listener or viewer. Consequently, the lead must be short, strong,

and interesting.

 Chronological Story Development

Not all stories have a chronology, that is, one event taking place after another. When a story has

that chronological development, the story is almost always best told that way. That fits right into

the traditional oral storytelling tradition.

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 7.4 INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS-INC US BROADCAST LANGUAGE & STYLE

There is language differences when it comes to broadcast language and style between the

Commonwealth countries and the Americans. Ghana is a commonwealth country, hence we use

the British English in our broadcast language.

COMMONWEALTH (BRITISH) AMERICAN ENGLISH

colour color

organize organise

through throug

defence defenses

jewellery jewellary

RIGHT STYLE:

• Broadcast language needs a style which should be clear, simple and direct.

• Make every word count. • Use short words and sentences. • Avoid jargon, clichés.

• Drop meaningless words. • Explain initials. • Use spoken style. • Round of figures.

7.6 THE SOUNDBITE

Good broadcast language is full of soundbites, and is also full of sound effects that show the listener
particularly that the reporter is ‘on the scene’. These sound effects must also be considered part of the
language of broadcast news. Without them, the action (news) is less memorable, credible or
understandable.

7.7 Importance of Soundbites

1. The language of soundbites conveys the human drama in ways that a reporter’s verbal description
cannot.

2. Soundbites appear to make events seem more credible.

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 3. They give authority to the report.

4. They also serve to maintain audience interest because of their vividness.

5. They also add insight about possible causes and the impact of events.

Good television language is full of pictures. The sound bite culture has become a way of

telling stories on radio or television. Soundbites must be short enough to be attention-grabbing.

7.8 Importance of Pictures in TV news

 Pictures in television news are part of the language of explanation.

 They are also part of the text.
 Television news lives by moving pictures, and both pictures and sound speak to the

viewers.

 Pictures gives news the appearance of authenticity

 Pictures also communicates actuality

A style is a particular way of putting words and marks of punctuation together. A news style, a
creative style, or an easy style.
• A person who writes with style is one who thinks powerfully. Writing with style also
involves “Organization”. Appropriate and interesting words make the sentence and writing
stylish.
• The use of certain terms, certain rules and conventions is also a style.

7.9 Comment, Opinion and Conjecture

1. Comment

A comment is a note explaining, illustrating, or criticizing the meaning of a writing.e.g if you

comment on something, you give your opinion about it or you give an explanation for it.

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2. Opinion

A view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

2. Conjecture: It is a word used when you are not sure of something and have to

"guess or conclusion. When you conjecture, you form an opinion or reach a

conclusion on the basis of information that is not certain or complete.

4. Objectivity and subjectivity

An objective angle is one that is not influenced by emotions, opinions, or personal feelings - it is

a take based in fact, in things assessable and measurable.

A subjective viewpoint is one open to greater interpretation based on personal feeling, emotion,

etc.

Subjectivity is how any one individual experiences their daily life and how that affects the way

that they think and interact with their external environment.

5. Bias: Biased means one-sided, lacking a neutral viewpoint, or not having an open mind. A

bias may be favorable or unfavorable.

6. Agenda setting: The theory behind agenda-setting suggests that the media determines what

issues the public should think about and when they should think about them. This happens due to

the news item being more readily available in the audience's memories. Whatever is more

commonly covered by the media is looked upon as being the most important thing at that time.

7. Gatekeeping: This is the process of not only controlling, but also limiting, certain

information from news. This happens in any type of communication, from broadcasting to print

publication, with some of the first instances happening with mass media. By selecting certain

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stories or information to spread to the public, journalists are not only filtering stories that are no

longer relevant but also determine what can fit in the space allotted to them.

Some audiences view gatekeeping as a way of publications controlling what they want them to

know or understand about certain information or events. This can sometimes be viewed as

censorship and takes a radical view on the actual notions of gatekeeping.

7.10 THE LANGUAGE OF THE NEWS PRESENTER

The focal point of any news broadcast, radio or TV, is the presenter, the anchor, the newscaster.

Presenters introduce the programme, read or introduce the stories, and are responsible for the

smooth running of the show.

Television, particularly in the Ghana, spends huge sums on research to find out if the presenters

are right for the job. This is sometimes given more significance than journalistic ability in

selecting the news team. Among the major performer characteristics investigated have been the

dress, facial expressions, gaze (eye contact) and sex of the presenter.

Audience perceptions can be significantly altered by physical appearance. Eye contact is usually

direct, because the presenter uses a teleprompter. One thing is certain: audiences for both radio

and television are very unforgiving of presenters who make mistakes in their speech. All of these

considerations have to be added to the formal language structure used by broadcast journalists to

provide an end product that is clear, simple and immediately understood.

Broadcast journalists now use many varieties of accent. Accent refers only to pronunciation, and

can therefore be seen as the phonetic aspect of dialect.

Nowadays, local radio is redressing the balance. Local voices are being heard and the same

broadcasting organization that tried to nationalize the speech of the country is succeeding in

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doing the opposite. Radio is now accessible to ordinary people. Some believe that certain accents

bestow more prestige than others

Accent, pronunciation and the quality of the voice all give information to the listener, in addition

to the basic textual message. They affect the way the listener receives and understands the

message. The most obvious social information comes from accent. A particular accent often has

a special voice quality associated with it, and the voice quality can thereby act as a partial clue to

any social characteristics that are typical of speakers of that accent.

LIMITATIONS OF BROADCAST JOURNALISM LANGUAGE

Broadcasting is a wonderful medium for expressing the immediacy of news, but it has its

limitations. Broadcast language can be misheard and misreported, and therefore easily

misunderstood. Voice quality and the way broadcasters speak play a big part in solving this

problem. The audience also plays a major role.

One thing is clear: listeners tend to hear what they want to hear, and interpret what they hear in

terms of what they think and believe. Broadcast journalists therefore have two basic problems:

non-comprehension and mis comprehension.

What is important in broadcast language is maximum audience accessibility. Attempts to unite

communicators and audience have been tried in many countries. The phone-in or talk show is

one example.

Complexity is not clever. Simplicity of news language that the listener can understand first time

is difficult and the mark of a true professional. In order to get the best credibility out of broadcast

news language, it is essential first to truly understand, then to put the ideas simply, clearly,

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informally and conversationally. That provides the intimacy that is essential for conversational

broadcast language. The first consideration is the listener. Writing in broadcast language is for

saying, not for reading.

It therefore needs all the components of good conversational writing and speech: • clarity

• Simplicity • informality • logic. The other difficulty with broadcast language is the

look of the words on the page. Broadcast writing should always be punchy, crisp and catchy

(memorable on first listening) in both style and meaning.

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 CHAPTER EIGHT

8.0 THE DIGITAL NEWSROOM

A newsroom is the central place where journalists—reporters, editors, and producers, along with

other staffs—work to gather news to be published in a newspaper and / or an online newspaper

or magazine, or broadcast on radio, television, or cable. Some journalism organizations refer to

the newsroom as the city room.

Newsrooms are complex places, places of creative conflict, of fast decision-making; where self-

centered individuality and competition sit side by side with teamwork and high speed production

values. They are also becoming increasingly complex technologically.

Newsrooms in newspapers, radio and TV used to be very similar, all based on an old –style print

news organization. The structure and job titles were sometimes different; sometimes not.

Radio newsroom however they are organized, contain:

 Newsgatherers (reporters)

 News processors (subeditors etc.)

 News managers (section editors etc.)

Radio newsrooms can exist on the smallest number of staff, and with the smallest amount of

equipment. Behind any radio news output lies the combined efforts of dozens of news editors,

sub-editors, reporters and exports.

There are two section in news room

1. Reporting section: where reporters of all beats sits and arrange the news.

2. Subbing section: in subbing section news is make up by the sub editors.

Traditional newsrooms are hierarchical, command-and-control organizations.

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8.3 Importance of Digital Age Journalism

1. Digital age journalism is interactive.

2. Journalism is taken on a new style of writing and editing

3. The computer also allows journalists to find the facts in a very different ways but journalist

must still check the facts.

4. The digital age means that information is drifting away from governments into the hands of

journalists.

8.4 DIFFERENT DESK IN THE NEWSROOM

 International desk

 Political desk

 Entertainment desk

 Sports desk

 Local desk etc.

8.5 HEAD OF THE NEWSROOM

The Head of the news room is called News Editor.

The News editor supervises the entire working and manages work of several sections in news

room.

8.6 THE MODERN NEWSPAPER NEWSROOM

Newsrooms tend to be personal – and management of them tends to be personal. But they

need to be managed, and reporters need to be able to work in them freely and creatively.

Managers need to be able to control the creative process without squashing it.

Management control comes from the top (the board) and is exercised through a number of

executive or working directors, each responsible for separate departments in the newspaper.

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 It is essential for there to be communication between these separate departments, not constant

fighting over who gets the biggest share of the resources and favours.

The senior executive of the newspaper has a two-fold job;

1. Letting the boardroom know what is happening in the newspaper departments, and

2. Offering specialist advice for formulating policy at departmental and board level.

The difference between a news organization and other companies is the way in which control

is exercised and the precise limits of that control, which is organized at an administrative but

not at a content level.

The directors of the newspaper exercise control by initiating and imposing budgets and taking

decisions, within the overall policy guidelines, on such things as:

• Expenditure on capital equipment

• preparing trading statements • statistics • controlling departmental activities.

They also exercise control by making the main and senior appointments in their area and to

the whole newspaper. These directors and the managing director are usually the final court of

appeal in departmental disputes. Budgeting and financial forecasting by departmental

directors are helped by daily checks and reports from line managers. Below the director level

comes the senior management, which might include a general manager who is involved more

with the mechanical production and administration and with the overall problems of the

workforce, never with editorial matters.

The production side of a newspaper has a complex series of middle management jobs:• a

production manager

• A deputy production manager • usually several assistants • a night production

manager. They are important because they control the main mechanical workforce, and it is

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 here that problems of quality and work flow are most likely to arise, and where quality

control is vital. This requires constant physical managerial presence.

Other managers and departments will probably include:

• Advertising and circulation • personnel • publicity and promotions.

Below senior management comes middle management. Their job is to ensure that their

departments are properly manned, and that work is completed to schedule and to the required

quality. Managers and their deputies are responsible for normal appointments, budget control,

duty rostering and work planning.

Below middle management, and reporting to it, are the line managers. Their job is mainly

quality control, organizing the actual work on the job, and making sure there is someone

competent on the job at all times. They are the first point of contact when job problems arise. In

a newspaper, the editor is the person who counts most, and it is the editor alone who can control

content. Although the editor is such an important person in the hierarchy of any news gathering

organization, newspapers must have editorial delegation and good communication. The daily

work is delegated to executives such as: • the news editor • the features editor

• The picture editor.

Editors usually apply overall control by means of an ‘inner cabinet’ of the deputy editor,

night editor and the various assistant editors. Communication occurs at the daily news

meeting, where everyone finds out what everyone else is doing.

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Editorial Newspaper roles

Editor responsible for overall content of the paper, makes sure everything
runs to plan and has the final say on what appears in the paper.

News editor a senior journalist, in charge of a team of journalists and a section

of the paper, who decides what stories should be covered. News
editors look at the stories coming in and decide which ones to
follow up.

Reporter obtains information and writes stories. May cover all types of
stories or may be a specialist who is concerned with a specific area
of the news, such as sport or crime.

Photographer takes pictures needed for each edition. Usually managed by a chief

photographer and report to the picture editor.

Layout sub editor designs pages (deciding how best to present stories, photographs,

etc.), sends the stories and headlines to the copy subs, then outputs

the completed pages to the print sites.

Copy sub editor edits stories for style and sense, cuts them to fit the page, and

writes the headlines and captions.

Revise sub editor checks and improves the work of the copy subs.

Picture editor commissions freelance and staff photographers and selects the best

pictures for stories.

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Features editor responsible for articles that take a more in-depth look at issues.

Designer designs layouts that are attractive and accessible to the reader

while maintaining the look and identity of the newspaper.

Graphic artist produces informative graphics, charts, maps and diagrams to help

explain a story visually.

Imaging operative scans or digitizes prints and slides in preparation for the printing
process.
Commercial

Advertising manager has overall responsibility for all advertising within the newspaper.

There are two main types of adverts: display adverts - for

products, with photographs and graphics, placed by business and

classified adverts – smaller adverts in columns, covering jobs,

courses, holidays and announcements.

Marketing manager responsible for the marketing and advertising of the paper to the

general public to increase sales.

Print manager controls the production of copies of the paper at the print site.

Distribution manager makes sure that the papers go out to news vendors and customers.

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8.8 THE RADIO NEWSROOM

Newsrooms in newspapers, radio and TV used be very similar, all based on an old-style print

news organization. The structure and job titles were sometimes different; sometimes not.

Radio newsrooms, however they are organized, contain:

• News gatherers (reporters) • News processors (subeditors etc.) • News managers (section

editors etc.)

There is also sport, features and, of course, in most radio organizations there is, separately,

current (public) affairs. Because radio is an immediate medium, the normal newspaper

newsroom organization was found to be too slow. Radio newsrooms are small because they are

simple. They operate round-the-clock. They need a good reporter, with a good sense of news, a

good voice, and a telephone. That’s all.

Compare it with TV, and it is obvious why radio is so immediate and will never be replaced by

the Internet or any other form of transmission for news and information. Radio newsrooms can

exist on the smallest number of staff, and with the smallest amount of equipment. That’s why it

is so exciting. That’s why it is so difficult.

NEWSROOM STRESS

There’s a lot of stress in newsrooms. Some is good; the stress of a big story and working for a

long time covering it. That’s great excitement. Other kinds of stress aren’t so good. Giles (1995)

says stress in newsrooms is a major cause of:

• Absenteeism • high staff turnover • low productivity • unrest and unhappiness

• low morale • family break-ups • substance abuse • health problems.

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Signs of stress include the following: • digestion stops • blood is shunted to the brain

• muscles tense for action • the heart pounds • blood pressure increases • skin becomes

cool and clammy

8.9 TELEVISION NEWSROOMS

In a television newsroom, a news director usually sits atop the organizational structure. He

manages the day-to-day operations of the newsroom and is responsible for hiring decisions.

Next in line is the assistant news director, who is tasked with managing other daily operations of

the newsroom, including all on-air graphics and story selection?

Then comes the executive producer who oversees a team of line producers. Line producers are

responsible for piecing together each newscast and deciding which stories make it to air.

On-air talent such as anchors and reporters fall under producers in the hierarchy, while crew

members such as cameramen fall just below them.

8.10 THE DIGITAL MULTI-PLATFORM NEWSRROMS (GUARDIAN AND ITN ON

MODELS)

Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made

up of two divisions:

1. Broadcast News: ITN has produced all national news bulletins on ITV since the network

was launched on 22 September 1955.

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2. ITN Productions: ITN Productions was formed in February 2010 and incorporates the non-

news operations of ITN, including the former ITN On, ITN Factual and ITN Corporate

divisions.

ITN was one of the first companies to provide news content for 3G mobile phones, when it

struck a deal to provide daily news bulletins for the 3 network in 2003.

It has since expanded its video news service providing news, sport and showbiz content to a wide

range of broadcasters, newspapers and websites.

Clients include:

Newspaper websites: Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Star, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian
and The Independent.

Other websites: MSN, Yahoo!, AOL, YouTube and Dailymotion.

Showbiz bulletins from ITN are broadcast daily on a number of television channels, including

FYI Daily on ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4, The Fix on 4Music and Access on 5Star. A daily showbiz

breakfast show, The Breakfast Fix, is broadcast on 4Music.

From August 2013, ITN Productions was awarded the contract to produce the Premier League

online and mobile highlights service for News UK. Content appears on The Sun and The Times

subscription websites and mobile apps.

Channel 4
Channel 4 News

ITN is home to Channel 4 News, having produced the programme since the channel's beginning
in 1982.

The Channel 4 News flagship programme is 55 minutes of in-depth news and current affairs
broadcast at 7pm each weekday and at 6.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays. The weekday evening

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programme is anchored by Jon Snow, whereas Krishnan Guru-Murthy presents the weekend
bulletins.

A five-minute-long news summary goes out Monday to Friday at midday. The bulletin replaced
Channel 4's 30-minute News at Noon programme in late 2009, six years after its launch during
the Iraq War of 2003.

Channel 5

5 News

From the launch of Channel 5 in 1997, ITN provided the news bulletins for 5 News. However, in

January 2005, ITN lost the contract, which was awarded to Sky News. In 2011 ITN regained the

contract in a three-year deal to provide news for Channel 5 from early 2012, but on a much

reduced budget. The deal followed an agreement by Sky and Northern & Shell, the then-owner

of Channel 5, to terminate the 5 News contract early.

8.11 NEWSROOM MANAGEMENT ROLES

Newsrooms, unlike most other organizations, depend on personalized, charismatic leadership for

success. Newsroom employees tend to become committed to the editor/manager rather than to

the organization. Newsroom management is often based on professional journalism codes, ethics

and commitment to deadlines. Managers must realize that this is the way journalists work, and

allow them to do so.

Managers also need to remember that there are significant differences between workers in

various media fields. For example, advertising grew out of the need to make money for the

advertisers. Radio and TV grew out of the entertainment industry.

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Newspapers have grown over the centuries from institutional clashes, fighting political /

government entities, business organizations, religious groups and military structures.

Newsrooms have leaders and they also have managers.

Editors / managers supervise, lead and manage. The management ladder at the top is the editor or
executive editor. The editor reports to the publisher, board of directors and managing director.
Managers have three categories:

a) Top management: Top managers are most influential. They make policy. The editor or

executive editor is the person who is most influential in this area of management, and is

responsible for the overall news management, news policy and style. The editor also co-operates

with other members of the top management team: the advertising director, circulation director,

production director, personnel director and promotions director.

b) Middle management: Middle management is usually headed by the managing editor – the

person who is the day-to-day boss of the news operation. Middle managers supervise the work of

other managers.

c) First level managers: In newspapers there are various supervisory editors: political, finance,

city, sports, chief artist, graphics editor, photo editor. Their main tasks include the supervision

and direction of reporters, copy editors, photographers, artists etc.

All three levels of management carry out the basic management functions of: • planning

• organizing • staffing • directing • controlling.

All newsroom managers have authority: the right to make decisions. All newsroom staff

members have some authority; photographers make decisions about which pictures to shoot, and

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reporters make decisions about how to write a story. They also have responsibility (the

obligation to direct work of the staff) and accountability (which ties together authority and

responsibility).

The theory of supervision means that, for full accountability for the performance of staff, the

manager must be able to control the following: • hiring and firing

• work assignments • performance assessments • performance rewards • assignment of

resources• decision making.

Their job is not to run the administration, but to initiate new ideas with individual reporters and

co-ordinate stories. There are also other titles, such as city editor, political editor, foreign editor,

sports editor, business editor, and leisure and lifestyle editor.

MOTIVATION IN THE NEWSROOM

News managers need to know how to motivate themselves and their staff. Old-style media

management was ‘by the seat of the pants’; managers could do everything their staff could do

and better – write stories, lay out ads, and set type.

Managers must lead, direct, delegate, train. What they do not do is the jobs their employees

should be doing. Bad managers create low production, low morale and other serious problems.

An efficient and effective management team matches jobs to people, and this in turns improves

production and motivation.

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8 .12 NEWSROOM HEIRARCHIES

Management control comes from the top (the Board) and is channel to working directors, each

in charge of separate departments in the newspaper. The executive of the newspaper has two

divisions:

 Letting the boardroom know what is happening in the newspaper departments.

 Offering special advice for policy making at the departmental and board level.

The Directors of the newspaper exercise control by initiating policies, imposing budgets and

taking decisions, within the overall policy guidelines, on

1. Expenditure on capital equipment (building, machines,)

2. Preparing Trading statement.

3. Controlling departmental activities

The production side of the newspaper is made up of the following management jobs:

 A production manager

 A deputy production manager

 Usually with several assistants

 A night production manager

These management is important because they control the mechanical (tools, machine) work

force.

Other managers are:

 MIDDLE MANAGEMENT: Their job is to ensure that their departments are properly

taken care and quality work is done on time. They and there are responsible for normal

appointment, budget control, duty rostering and work planning.

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  LINE MANAGEMENT: With the line management, their main job include quality

control, organizing the actual work on the job, and making sure there is competent on the

job at all times. They are first point of call when job problems arises.

9.13 NEWSROOM NEGATIVES

The Brand Newsroom team takes a close look at negativity. It’s all around us, on our social

media feeds, on the news, even in our thoughts. Sometimes it seems like there is no way of

avoiding it. Negativity can swallow us up, bring us down and ruin our days, weeks, months, and

life. Once you start feeling negative, it can be very difficult to push those thoughts out and focus

on something else.

On the other hand, positivity is often a scarce commodity. In the effort toward living an unselfish

lifestyle, positivity helps us stay focused on what is most important—moving forward—rather

than being bogged down in negative circumstances.

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 CHAPTER TEN
10.0 THE DIGITAL REPORTER

The Digital Reporter is a journalist who writes and distribute editorial content via the Internet as

opposed to publishing via print or broadcast. He should understanding online digital content with

ability to engage national and local audience.

Ability to multitask and adapt to a changing environment.

10.1 WHO IS A REPORTER

Reporters are either generalists or specialists. Most are general reporters, and can be assigned to

cover any sort of story, either individually or as part of a larger reporting team (a disaster or deep

investigative story normally requires a team effort). Reporters must be trained to assess news

value in various situations so they can be relied on to identify it for their readers as they do their

assignment. Newsrooms consist basically of editors and reporters.

The roles and organization differ from newspaper to newspaper.

The reporter’s qualities

The following are the basic qualities that reporters should have, whatever medium they are

working in: • credibility • curiosity • confidence • courage • the skill to understand

difficult detail and present it simply and clearly • interest in many different subjects, all at the

same time sometimes.

10.2 Responsibilities / Roles of Digital Reporter

 Must be able to write quickly and comprehensively, and short blog posts, fast improved

stories, writing for digital

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  Must be active in all forms of digital media (Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat) and be

comfortable on-camera.

 Strong written and verbal communication skills

 Ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and act as a team player

 Excellent interpersonal skills

 Team player who can also work independently and is a self-starter

TYPES OF REPORTER

a) CHIEF REPORTER

Chief Reporter is a journalist who is supposed to be a senior and experienced Reporter.

• The Chief Reporter is an in charge of a team of reporters. He has to assign them

duties and control them as per the program of newspaper of the television

channel.

• He also plans the special coverage of the expected news and assign it to reporters.

• Chief Reporter has to see that all the activities are covered properly and nothing

important is missed by the reporters.

• Most of the invitations for press conferences, public meetings, demonstrations,

agitations and strikes are addressed to him. He deputes his reporters to cover these

events.

• He also look after the administrative matters concerning with reporters and
reporting.

b) The Correspondent

A correspondent or the-the scene reporter is usually a journalist who contributes reports to a

newspaper, or radio or television news from a distant location.

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c) A stringer or freelancer is a trained journalist who is not attached to any media house by way

of employment but sends news items from time to time to these media houses for a fee.

Advantages

a. They are cost effective since they are paid when they bring news items

b. They are commissioned to cover stories that would be time consuming for staff

c. They can sometimes fill in for staff who are indisposed or on leave.

Disadvantages

a. The media house do not enjoy exclusivity of the news items provided by

freelancers

b. They are less accountable to the media house since they are not staff

c. The news items provided may not suit the media house style

d) Cliché: The term cliché is given to a wide range of overused phrases or the excessive use of a

word or a combination of words. For example the word ‘Basically’ is now being overused by

journalists.

e) Quotation: Quotation is to say verbatim what someone has said. Quotes are not easily

recognized by listeners in broadcast so instead paraphrase or attribution is used. In print, a quote

is immediately obvious because of the quotation marks.

f) Attribution: Information should be attributed clearly to leave the audience in no doubt about

who is speaking. In broadcast, the name of the speaker precedes his or statement. For example,

Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo – Addo said he will manage the economy.

g) Contentious statement: This results from a poor attributed or an unattributed statement. The

listener is at a loss who is making that particular claim. For example, Ghanaians are lazy and full

of complaints, says the President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo – Addo. In the example

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above, a listener would think this statement is being made by the presenter until the late

attribution.

h) Active: News is about movement, change and action. When a news item is presented in the

active voice, it is more concrete. For example, ‘the man hit the woman’ instead of ‘the woman

was hit by the man’

d) Beat Reporter: This is the reporter assigned to a particular area or establishment that is

generally within easy reach from the newspaper or electronic media organization. Such an

assigned place is generally referred to as the reporter’s BEAT. e.g., Jubilee house, police,

education, court, parliament house. Reporters without a specific beat are “general assignment.”

e) Roving Reporter: He is an inexperienced reporter who is assigned to events on daily basis to

help reduce the load on regular and experienced reporters. Usually referred to as cub reporters;

they move from one type of event to another on a day-to-day basis. This provides both a training

ground and a measure for knowing areas of interest and strength.

f.) Reporter-at-Large: In any news organization worth its name, there should be a few reporters

who, because of their experience, expertise and usefulness in reporting, are not assigned to

regular beats or to any specific field of activity. These experienced, versatile reporters are usually

sent to cover events of special significance. It does not matter what area of interest or field it

covers. They have much confidence in them as a result of their ability, knowledge, experience

and versatility.

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Survival tips for young reporters

 Keep in touch with the editors when covering a story. Telephone or let them know any

new developments or change of angle, or that copy might be late or different. It helps the

editors to plan the pages.

 Immediately discuss with the editors any point that might be a legal problem.

 Keep a copy of the story and check it with the final version that is going into the paper.

This is a valuable learning experience; it also enables reporters to let the editors know if

there are any problems of accuracy from changes, or if there is any disagreement over the

changes. This is particularly important if the story carries the reporter’s byline. A byline

on the story means that the story really is yours.

10.3 RESEARCH

Audience research measures the viewership, readership, listenership, and web traffic for media

publications. This not only assists the companies in finding out how large their audience is, but it

also helps advertisers see who the audience is also. There are several demographics laid out for

audiences including ages and genders. Television programs get one point for each percentage of

viewers in a surveyed area per minute. Audience research is authoritative to media as it helps

them grow and become the best they can be for their audience.

There is new technology that also helps measure the audiences of digital media through both

telephone and Internet surveys. With these type of measurements, the goal is to find out the

amount of time each person spends viewing which pages, what type of content is viewed, the

number of viewers, the nature of the audience, and the overall interest of the audience.

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 Primary sources of researching and recording information

1. Primary sources: these are first-hand information to the journalist.eg eye-witness report.e.g

 Contact 2. Tip-offs 3. Freelancers 4. Routine calls 5. Pressure groups

 Courts and Tribunal

Secondary Sources of researching and recording information

2. Secondary sources: All published materials, including organizational reports, and second-
hand e.g.
 books

 magazines

 journals

 legal documents

 Classified ads: e.g. Death; Births.

10.5 NOTETAKING

Notetaking provides several benefits beyond that record of what was presented in a press

conference or other activity.

10.6 Benefits of Note Taking and record keeping

Effective notetaking:

 Keeps you alert. Notetaking keeps your body active and involved and helps you avoid

feelings of sleepiness or distraction.

 Engages your mind. Listening carefully and deciding what to include in notes keeps

your mind actively involved with what you hear.

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  Emphasizes and organizes information. As you take notes, you will decide on and

highlight the key ideas you hear, identifying the structure of the presentation. Such

organized notes also make it easier for you to link classroom learning to textbook

readings.

 Creates a summarized record for study. A set of concise, well-organized notes from

each session gives you what you need for study, learning, and review after class

10.6 NECESSARY SKILLS OF A JOURNALIST–TRADITIONAL

1. Investigative Skills

Good journalists have an analytical mind and base stories on evidence and facts, not emotion.

2. Expert Communication Skills

Along with impeccable character, newspaper journalists must be skilled communicators to

interview sources and write in-depth stories.

10.7 NECESSARY SKILLS–DIGITAL AND MULTI PLATFORM

Currently, a digital journalist do not have the same skills than traditional one did. The digital

environment enables new forms of communication and information.

Newspapers and magazines are changing their strategies, and the digital media is in control.

Therefore, traditional journalists have been forced to advance, adapting themselves to new forms

of communication.

A good digital journalist must be present in social networks, being an active part in the

conversation and, even, become an influencer of the sector. If you are not considering this, your

content will go unnoticed and you will not be an authentic digital journalist.

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10.8 Key skills for digital Journalists

1. To Inform and communicate: Obvious, right? The journalist continues to be a journalist, that

is to say, even if we change the environment and tools, the objective is the same.

2. Innovation and differentiation. It is possible that the content you generate is also in other

media; highlight and offer added value to users. To bring value to our story, to differentiate us

from others using different multimedia formats.

3. SEO: As one of the most basic digital terms, SEO (search engine optimization) has been

around since the advent of online research.

5. Content curator. It works with many sources and you should know how to find and choose

the right one for each moment. They must have a complete and organized database.

6. Analytical. Today, there is too much information on the internet. Therefore, knowing how to

interpret, manage and select the best data you receive is essential. It is necessary to structure,

filter and extract relevant information.

Actuality is a live or taped news report broadcast from the scene, containing the video and or
voice of the newsmaker as well as of the reporter.

A press release is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media
for the purpose of announcing something which according to the source or originator is
newsworthy.

A press conference is a meeting organized for the purposes of distributing information to the
media and answering questions from reporters. Normally the press conference is led by a
company's executive management or their appointed press liaison.

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A newsroom conference affords the news editor together with reporters and producers work to
deliberate on the news for the day and how to gather the news to be broadcast on radio or
television.

Copy tasting is a process of monitoring news agency material and breaking stories and then
selecting the ones which are worth running or pursuing or offers new information on an existing
story.

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN
11.0 INTERVIEWING FOR PRINT
A journalistic interview is a form of conversation between a journalist and a person who has

facts or opinion which are likely to be newsworthy. In journalism, interviews are one of the most

important methods used to collect information, and present views to readers, listeners or viewers.

The interviewer is the one asking or doing the interview. The interviewee on the other is the one

answering the questions.

11.1 Why do you need or conduct interviews

 To get information.

 To know something or someone important.

 Something important has happened to them.(accident victims)

 They are charged with big crime.

 To select the best person for the job.

 To learn why an employee is leaving.

 To appraise their job performances.

11.2 Why People Refuse or Declined to Be Interviewed

People refuse to be interviewed because of:

• Time • guilt • anxiety • protection (shielding someone)

• Ignorance (doesn’t want to admit they don’t know) • embarrassment

• Privacy (doesn’t want to share a personal catastrophe with the public).

11.2.1 Why Do People Agree To Be Interviewed On the Radio?

 They can get free advertising or promotion for themselves, an organization, a product,

service or activity.

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  They have to because it is part of their job definition as spokesperson for a company or

department, or in their role as press officer on a committee.

 They need to set the record straight and end speculation.

 They want to balance the coverage by emphasizing the positive in what appears to be a

negative and damaging story.

 They feel the cathartic need to talk to someone. Even those involved in an incident can

sometimes welcome the invitation to talk about t heir experience

11.3 CHOOSING INTERVIEWEES / TYPES OF INTERVIEWEES

A good interviewee should be:

1. Accessible and willing: Friendly and ready to talk to you the journalist .e.g. Celebrities,
politicians etc.

2. Reliable interviewees: Someone who can be trusted or believed without any

disappointment.

3. Accountable interviewees: He is responsible for whatever he/she says in the interview

4. Reluctant interviewees: Not willing to be interviewed

11.4 INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES (STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW)

BEFORE AN INTERVIEW

One of the hardest skills for a young reporter to master is interviewing. It takes preparation and
persistence to conduct a good interview. Follow these steps and learn how to interview like a pro.

Step 1: Research, Research, Research

Then research some more. The only way to come up with good questions is to know everything
there is to know about your subject.

Step 2: Contact the Person You Wish to Interview

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Ask when a good time would be to do the interview. Be polite. Say "please" and "thank you."
Try to set up the interview in person. If this isn't possible, then set up a phone interview.

Step 3: Read over Your Research and Brainstorm a of Questions

The more specific your questions are, the better. And never ask questions that can be answered
with a simple yes or no. Make your interviewee talk.

Be sure to write all your questions down in a notebook, then practice asking them with a partner.
Become very familiar with your questions before you go into the interview.

Step 4: Come Prepared

You will want to bring:

 A pencil
 A notebook
 A list of good questions
 A recording device (always ask permission before recording an interview)

Step 5: Be on Time

Arrive at your interview with plenty of time to spare. If you’ve never been to the place where
your interview is taking place, go early and scout it out. There is nothing more unprofessional
than a reporter who is late.

You can also use the time you are waiting to make notes about the surroundings. You won’t
remember details later, so write them down.

Step 6: Conduct Your Interview in an Organized, Timely Manner

During the interview:

 Be courteous to your subject.

 Always take time to ask for an explanation about things you don't understand.
 Don’t be afraid of uncomfortable silences and pauses.
 Let the interview take its natural course.
 Look the person in the eye when asking questions.

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  Always listen carefully to the answers. Each answer could lead to more questions or
include an answer to a question you haven’t asked yet. Don't ask a question that has
already been answered. Your subject will know you weren't listening and be insulted.
 Also, take notes on what the person looked like, what the person was wearing, where he
or she sat. If the interview is in an office, make notes of what is on the walls and on the
desk. The objects people surround themselves with hold important clues to their
personalities. Ask about any object that interests you. You’ll find some good stories.

Step 7: Even If You Are Recording an Interview, Take Notes

Don't try to write every word said. It will slow down the interview. Just take down the highlights.

After the interview, while the details are still fresh in your mind, write everything down you can
remember about the person you interviewed. Don’t forget to make note of the sounds in the
background. Take note of what was happening around you. Write it all down as soon as possible.

At home, expand your notes by following up on things you learned in your interview with more
research.

AFTER AN INTERVIEW

 Ask the interview for a business card and promptly send a thank you note.

 Keep the thank you note brief, but reiterate your interest in the position

 Review the interview process and your performance

 Evaluate your interview

THE ROLE OF THE INTERVIEWER in Radio

The interviewer’s job is to act as initiator. To pose relevant questions that will result in full,

considered and concise answers that tell a story. It may also be necessary to ask seemingly

impertinent questions that will draw appropriate and revealing answers from the interviewee.

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 1. Ask open questions : ask questions that begin with why or what do you think of rather

than with is it true that… so as to avoid getting one-word “yes” or “no” answers.

2. Ask one question at a time: should you ask more than one, your interlocutor will answer

the last one and forget about the others… and so will you.

3. Ask questions, don’t trumpet your stance: you are not there to take a side, make a

speech or a commentary. Your goal is getting good answers. In order to get them, you

need have thought up pertinent questions.

4. Listen to the answers carefully: there always are precisions, explanations to ask.

5. Know how to cut and interrupt politely: politicians will more often than not try to lose

themselves in a digression so as to avoid answering. Gently drive them back to answering

your questions so as to get what you came for.

6. Know how to help the interviewee: some people are taciturn or scared of the mic. Make
them feel at ease, rephrase your questions.

Door stepping refers to reporters who turn up on doorsteps unannounced, hoping to get an
interview.

THE ROLE AND PURPOSE OF THE RADIO INTERVIEW

In their newsgathering or programme-making activities, reporters, correspondents, producers and

editors are looking to approach a story in three stages: to preview an event before it happens, to

report an event as it is happening and to analyze an event once it has happened. They are also

interested in an angle from which to approach their story.

In choosing the angle they are looking for three ingredients within that story:

 Topicality

 human interest (about an individual or a group) and

 Conflict (in words or in actions).

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11.4 TYPES OF INTERVIEWS

1. Informational Interview

The informational interview is similar to hard news interview, but not necessarily be restricted to

main stories. An informational interview can be about an event, something that is happening or

about to happen. It can also provide background.

Informational interview goes beyond the main point to seek an explanation of the HOWs and

WHYs of the story. They intend to get bit more detailed than short bulletin items

2. Interpretative (the interviewee comments on facts supplied by the interviewer)

Interpretative Interview

There are two types of interpretative interviews:

� A reaction story: it is a response either for or against what has happened.

� Explanatory story: This story provides details of a news story. So the interview that is

conducted to get the details of an event, accident or incident is called interpretative interview.

For instance, if a train is derailed causing severe injuries and damage to the passengers the

following questions may be asked from any representative of the railways:

� How will this accident affect public confidence in train traveling?

� what measures will the ministry take to restore the public trust?

3. Emotional (provide an insight into the interviewee’s state of mind).Within these three types

are the various categories of interview:

4. Hard News Interview

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The hard news interview is normally short, to the point, and to clarify a news item. It deals only

with important facts, or comments and reactions to those facts. The hard news interview, as a

matter of fact, aims at getting answers to five Ws and one H.

In case a building is set on fire, the reporter will conduct interviews of those figures who can

give him exact or almost exact information about the incident.

Following questions may be asked:

�When did it happen?

�What about the direct affectees?

�What is the amount of damage?

�Where are the injured ones taken to?

5. Information Informational Interview

An informational interview can be about an event, something that is happening or about to

happen.

It can also provide background. Informational interview goes beyond the main point to seek an

explanation of the HOWs and WHYs of the story. They intend to get bit more detailed than short

bulletin items.

6. Adversarial Interview

This is a kind of interview in which the interviewer gets into a war of words with the interviewee

to get his question answered.

This approach should never be seen to be a head on clash between the interviewer and the

interviewee.

Though the interviewer is representing the audience or speaking up on the behalf of the public

opinion, even then he needs not to be impolite or rude while asking questions.

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7. Vox pops (short gathering or answers to one question from the one on the street)

It is conducted to obtain different public opinion on certain issue. The questions are asked from

different people representing different age groups, races, classes etc.

8. Personal Interviews

The personal interview might be a short interview with an important figure of a society about

his/her likes and dislikes, hobbies, pastimes, habits, or a detailed interview exposing personality

profile.

In personality interview following areas are normally focused while putting questions:

� Family background.

� Education (Place & degree)

� Why not further study?

� Likes and dislikes

� Favorite dish. Book. Personality. Cologne. Game. Movie. Singer.

� Hobbies ----leisure-spending.

� Any interesting incident, event

9. Entertainment (the lighter side of the event)

It is a kind of interview in which light things are asked from the interviewee. The only purpose is

to entertain listeners. The person to be interviewed may be an actor making parody of any

famous personality or any real one whose profession is to entertain people.

10. Actuality (interviewee alone with reporter’s voice removed)

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Actuality Interview: It is a kind of interview in which the reporter's voice is not included in the

final production and only interviewee's voice is made to be heard by the listeners. This kind of

interview is made a part of documentary or feature.

While conducting actuality interviews following instructions must be followed by the reporter:

The questions must be:

� Clear not vague.

� Subjective not objective.

 Subjective questions: Questions that start with Question words i.e., what, when, which,

where, who, how.

 Objective questions: Questions that start with helping verbs like is, are, am, will,

would, shall, should, etc.

For instance, observe the following questions:

� Which areas in Kumasi is child labor more than the others and why?

� How many types of child labor are found in Pakistan? What are the government's efforts to

curb child labor?

11. Remote Interviews (Interviews on telephone)

The personality to be interviewed is not in the city or country and is interviewed on telephone.

While recording remote interview the telephone lines must be checked whether they are clear or

not. If there is a noise problem in the line, try to change the line or wait until it is clear.

12. Investigative (gets behind the facts to discover what really caused the event; often for a

documentary)

The investigative interview aims at getting behind the facts to discover what really caused the

happening of the events and sometimes what could be done to prevent a repeat of that incident,

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to get behind the facts to dig out the actual reasons of the accident / train collision / air crash / the

reasons of the reconciliation between two arch rivals.

Investigative interview might be developed about stories and issues:

� Why the team showed poor performance in the match despite having been provided The

best facilities and trained by the best coach?

� why the minister resigned from his office?

� why is our film industry not getting up to its feet?

13. Emotional Interview

In this kind of interview an attempt is made to lay bare someone's feelings. Emotional interview

lets the person who was the victim or one of the victims of an accident or event share the

personal tragedy with the listeners.

A heart-stricken women having been saved from earth quake will be asked the question like the

following ones.

� what were you doing at the time of earth quake?

� what about your kids?

� Were they school going, infants or toddlers?

� When did you first realize that the quake was going to be horrible?

� Were you able to save anyone?

� How did you manage to save yourself?

14. Grabbed (getting an interview when people don’t want to give one; obtained by pushing a

camera / mic in front of them and asking the question)

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This means to interview a person who does not intend to give an interview but the reporter is

determined to take. Normally it is a very short interview and sometimes the potential interviewee

comes up with "no comments". In this case though the interviewee refuses to say anything about

the issue but his saying "no comments" suggests the listeners to get the meaning.

11.5 Preparing for the Interview-editorial

There is no easy route to conducting a successful interview. You need to research the topic and

the interviewee, to take control of the interview, to listen to what the interviewee is saying, and

to get in plenty of practice. Every interviewer develops their own method and style of working

and communicating. The content and style of the interview can also be determined by the

programme format, or by editorial considerations that limit and shape how the interview is

conducted. Here are a few bits of useful advice from a wide range of practitioners, from both

sides of the microphone, on the art of interviewing.

11.6 Preparing for the interview-Technical

As a radio interviewer, if your tape recorder fails when you are recording an interview you will

have nothing to broadcast, so do everything possible to avoid this situation arising.

 Equipment – Do I know what equipment makes up the kit (including microphone,

batteries, mains lead, headphones, etc.)? Am I familiar with the appropriate terms? Do I

know how it should be transported and stored?

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 • Assembly – Can I assemble/disassemble the kit in a logical order (this saves time and

avoids errors being made)? Once assembled, do I know what it can do? Can I check it functions

correctly?

• Handling – Can I operate it correctly? Can I operate it in different positions and locations?

• Basic troubleshooting – Can I find, identify and rectify simple faults? Can I identify faults

that require a technician’s assistance?

11.7 Framing the Questions

Asking the right question is essential and it helps if you know which type you need to use to

produce an appropriate answer.

a. Open question: This is usually the most effective for radio inter views

and research interviewing. It invites the interviewee to give an

expansive reply. These questions will start with ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’,

‘where’, ‘how’ and most revealingly ‘why’.

Advantages of Open - ending question

 Open-ended questions provide in-depth / detailed information.

 They provide respondents with the opportunity to express themselves freely.

 Open-ended questions avoid researcher bias.

Disadvantages of Open - ended questions

 Analysis of open-ended questions is more difficult because the information provided is

more detailed.

 There is the possibility that some respondents may not be able to express themselves.

 There is a greater chance of interviewer bias in open-ended questions

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 b. Close –ended questions come with options from which respondent is

expected to choose from. Closed question type of question results in a

yes/no answer. It is a favorite with lawyers in court but is not always

suitable for radio inter views. Most radio inter views require fuller

replies, or at least ones that are longer than the question.

Advantages of Close- ending questions

 These types of questions help the researcher to obtain the needed information because

there are already made answers to choose from.

 They are easy to analyze.

 Information obtained may not be detailed.

 High rate of researcher bias.

 There is the tendency that a respondent may choose an answer without thinking through

the question.

Forms of Questioning

3. Multiple Question
If you ask more than one question at a time you will confuse both interviewee and listener. The

interviewee is likely to answer the second part of the question because they have forgotten the

first part, or they will deliberately answer the part they find easiest. This type of question has no

place in a radio interview.

For example, ‘How will the route for the by-pass be decided and who is going to foot the bill?’

4. Probing question

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Once the interviewee has revealed certain information, stated an opinion or expressed their

feelings about a topic, it may be necessary to hear more details. The inter viewer should ask

questions beginning with phrases like ‘Tell me more about ... ’, ‘Could you explain why ...’and

‘What was going around your mind when ... ’

5. Confrontational question

The most direct questions are often the most challenging for the interviewee. They can give the

impression that the interviewer is running out of patience and wants direct, no-nonsense answers.

In practice, the inter viewer is calling on the interviewee to be accountable for their actions or

decisions – ‘Do you admit that mistakes have been made in the council’s handling of this issue?’

11.9 Vox-pop – (voice of the people)

This is a series of opinions recorded from people on the street put together and usually lasting

about 20–40 seconds. The interviewees are unnamed members of the public giving an answer to

the same question.

Some further points on Vox pop:

• Try and convince the editor who asks for a Vox-pop to give you another longer interview

or package that you can record in the same location at the same time.

• Decide on the exact wording of the question you intend to ask. It must be an open question

– the last thing you want is a series of yes-or-no answers.

• Pick your location carefully – a pub may seem a good idea, but remember you may only

get slurred speech, shouting and a lot of background noise.

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 Try and choose a location which is appropriate to the subject you are asking about, for

example if you want to know about reading habits then talk to people leaving a local

library or bookshop.

 Decide how you are going to approach your ‘victim’. It is perhaps not a good idea to

simply shove the microphone into their face and ask your question. Keep the microphone

by your side as you approach. Your opening gambit needs to be short and simple, e.g.

‘Hello I’m from Otec. FM – can I talk to you about / ask your opinion about / ask you

what you think about …’once you get the OK, bring the microphone up and ask your

question.

• Put your recorder into record mode and use the pause button to save time and speed up the

recording process. This technique is also useful to stop the recording of bores who go on and

on. You will also be cutting out your voice in the final piece, so start the recording after you

have asked the question to save time later.

• Edit and order the material in your head as you collect the Vox-pops.

• Try for plenty of variety in the range of voices you collect – male and female, young and

old. Remember, if you choose to Vox-pop in a shopping precinct at ten o’clock in the

morning you will most likely find yourself talking to shoppers, shopkeepers and visitors to

the area. Be prepared to be flexible about the time and venue for your interviewing.

• Hope and strive for a wide range of opinions, and in the final edited piece arrange the pros

and cons so that the views expressed present a good mix and are fairly evenly balanced.

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 • Remember to record some of the background noise from the location to run underneath the

voices you have collected. This will give the piece a sense of place, and possibly help

disguise any untidy edits.

• Only use answers that can be understood at first hearing, but do not reject any giggles or

humorous replies that could be included.

11.10 LIVE STUDIO INTERVIEWS

Your interview in the field can either be live or recorded and edited for later use. A live

interview in a breaking news story has some special problems. You can make mistakes, respond

to rumour rather than facts, make libelous comments unwittingly and react too quickly to your

own emotions. Once you’ve said something in a live interview, there is no escape.’

Live’ is once only. Remember:

1. Try to do your report in a location away from background noise. Some noise is great

– and necessary (otherwise you will sound as though you’re doing it in the studio).

However, the background noise should not compete with your interview. Avoid a spot

where onlookers can stand behind you and wave or make faces.

2. Attribute official comments to their official sources so that you are not reporting

unattributed rumour. If possible, interview a qualified official for comments rather than

summarize the situation and editorialize yourself.

3. Remember the laws of libel, contempt and those relating to giving names of victims.

There will be laws and station rules; know what they are.

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4. Avoid a ‘teaser’ that might inflame or increase the size of the crowd. Reports of fires

and other tragedies done live will gather people to watch, and they can hamper the rescue

operation. Take care.

5. Beware of emotion-charged verbs and nouns.

6. Avoid overstated, unconfirmed guesses about the number of people affected or the

amount of property damage (it will almost always be a guess at the start, so make it clear

that you are reporting unconfirmed and say that there are various figures rather than

stating one as a specific).

7. Double check facts and statistics before you go on air.

8. Take a deep breath. You are the detached observer, not the involved participant. If you

are wheezing anxiety, your audience will infer a holocaust from your statements, even if

you’re reporting a simple two-car accident.

Problems that might occur during a LIVE radio interview

a) Technology malfunction

b) Run out of time before main points are given c) The interviewee swears

c) The interviewee leaves in the middle d) Sudden illness

Things you could do to put an interviewee at ease

a) Prepare the interviewee with what they will be questioned on.

b) Develop a rapport.
c) Make eye contact without staring.

d) Be respectful.

e) Give them a glass of water.

f) Dress appropriately.

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 g) Do not interrupt unless they are digressing.

h) Laugh at their jokes.

i) Nod to show understanding.

j) Make sure they are comfortable

11.11 LIVE LOCATION INTERVIEWS

Live interviews from a location are usually conducted from a radio car or van from the scene of

an incident or event, and perhaps a mobile studio at an agricultural show or sports event.

• If possible check that you are able to transmit a strong signal back to base before the event by

arranging a test transmission before you book your guest.

• Choose your site for the radio car carefully: If you are surrounded by buildings your signal

may be blocked. Watch out for the branches of trees or overhead cables that may inhibit the

transmitter aerial when it is extended – you could find yourself in great danger if those cables are

carrying electricity.

• Remember the extra height of the vehicle with that aerial on the roof when you drive into car

parks with height barriers or height restrictions.

• Once on site follow the instructions given to you by the radio station concerning the operation

of equipment.

COPING WITH DIFFICULT INTERVIEWEES

1. Your interviewee is asking for the questions in writing in advance of the interview.
Explain that this cannot be done because you don’t know exactly what questions you will be

asking or the order you will ask them in, as a lot will depend on the answers they give.

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However it will probably help them to know the topics you hope to cover and the sort of

questions you will be asking. Never let the interviewee dictate the questions to be asked.

However, if they suggest one that you think is important and that had not occurred to you, then

by all means use it.

2. Your interviewee gives brief answers to your questions and you would like longer ones.
Encourage them by saying ‘That’s interesting, please tell me more’ or ‘Could you explain how

that came about?’ You could also try playing the waiting game. Sit still and just look at them. If

you do not speak, they will eventually.

3. Your interviewee seems unwilling to part with information.

Perhaps they do not know the answers to the questions you are asking, so give them the

opportunity to check the information. However, if you suspect evasion then it is your duty to

expose it. If the interviewee is being deliberately vague, it is up to you to convince them that it is

in everybody’s interest to hear the full story.

4. Your interview is talking nineteen-to-the-dozen and you want to interject with a question
or end the interview.
Look at your interviewee, hold up a finger and at the same time open your mouth as if to speak

and take a breath. Your guest will probably stop midsentence. If they have meandered away from

the subject under discussion, try another question prefaced with, for example,

‘Can we just go back to the strike? You were saying that …’

5. Your interviewee insists on answering your questions from a script that they have
prepared.
Try to avoid this situation before the interview starts by asking them not to do so. This may have

to be mentioned during the fixing phone call stage, or when they suddenly place an eight-page

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document in front of them when they sit down at the microphone. If they have been warned off

and still read verbatim, then gently remove the script when you are asking the next question.

6. Your interviewee is using terms or jargon the average listener may not understand.
Ask your interviewee to explain these, or if you know them interject to explain briefly and then

allow them to continue.

7. Your interviewee keeps asking you questions.

You could try saying: ‘Well, my views are not what the listener wants to hear right now, but I am

sure they would like to hear what you think … ’

8. If the interview is for broadcast try to let them know when it will be going out on air.
Your interviewee insists that their press officer or similar associate be present during the

recording or broadcasting of the interview.

Agree, but on condition that they do not interrupt or interject during the interview. If your

interviewee wants to stop the recording at any point to consult their colleague about the answer

they will give, you should, within reason, allow this to happen.

Using the interview in a story

Editing a taped interview is easy; throw away the bad quotes and keep the good ones. Use the

same criteria you would use when choosing quotes for a print story. It will probably be shorter

and more to the point than a print quote.

When writing the story to use the quotes, remember:

1 When you incorporate your interview into your live copy, you don’t need to use quote

marks.

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2 Use attribution before, rather than after, the person says something, otherwise the listener

or viewer will not know who is talking until the person finishes.

3 Remember that broadcast quotes for on-air copy rarely run more than two sentences

because your viewer cannot grasp more than two sentences at a time.

4 4 You can introduce a quote that you read verbatim by saying ‘in her own words’ to help

listeners understand that you are quoting someone’s words, but don’t say ‘quote …

unquote’.

5 Be careful to use someone’s exact words in your copy or in an interview if the quoted

words could be at all libelous.

6 On television, to emphasize a quote from an official source that you don’t have on tape,

you can superimpose the words on the screen for impact. You can also use superimposed

quotes if the sound is somehow garbled, but you want the audience to hear the person’s

voice. Use this approach very selectively, however, because an audience can grasp only a

sentence or two at a time. Whenever possible, your interview should stand by itself.

7 Read the copy aloud before you broadcast. Remember, the language of radio and TV is

spoken.

11.12 THE TELEPHONE INTERVIEW

Planning interview:

 It requires careful planning: the approach and the area of interest must be carefully

defined.

 You must remember who your audience is: The interview must reflect the

representation of the audience-so ask questions which listeners would have had to ask.

 Have a clear purpose for the interview: Know what you want to achieve

 Get your fact rights before you leave for the interview.
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11.13 WHAT TO DO DURING THE INTERVIEWS

1. Let the interviewee talk and don’t interrupt unless you have to.

2. be willing to show your ignorance.

3. Ask the easy questions first and save the difficult ones for later

4. Ask questions that seek the truth, even if sensitive or embarrassing.

5. Ask follow up questions.

6. Be ready to drop prepared questions and ask needed ones.

7. Do not ask questions that will give you ‘yes ‘or ‘no’ answers.

8. Avoid Arrogance

11.15 LOSING CONTROL OF THE INTERVIEW

There are a number of situations, in which one may lose control:

a) Inadequate preparation.

b) Never allow the interviewee to take the microphone from you.

c) Be confident and composed no matter whom you are interviewing.

d) Be respectful but not submissive.

e) Make sure the interviewee answers your questions, if he fails to answer your question,
reframe your questions politely.

11.6 Two-way – Interview

A live or recorded interview within a programme between a studio-based programme presenter /

interviewer and a fellow radio / TV reporter or correspondent who may act as an eyewitness or

commentator.

11.7 The Soundbite

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Actuality is a recorded segment of a newsmaker speaking, generally lasting from 10 to 20

seconds; this is what people outside of radio journalism often call a "sound bite".

Good, compelling soundbites make the viewers or listeners think they are at the scene of the

story.

Soundbites should be about 20 seconds, not much longer. Of course you can have several short

soundbites throughout the story, adding to the overall impact. As you select a soundbite, listen

carefully for names or terminology that need to be explained. You must either explain them

fully, or pick another soundbite.

11.7.1 IMPORTANCE OF SOUND BITES IN Radio / TV NEWS

 Good Broadcast language is full of soundbite for easily memorable, credible or

understanding.

 Good TV language is full of pictures.

 The pictures in TV news are part of language of explanation.

 The language of soundbite conveys the human drama in ways that reporters verbal
description cannot.

 Soundbite appear to make events seem more credible.

 They give authority of the report.

 They serve to maintain audience interest because of cleverness.

 Gives authenticity – reporter is at the scene.

 Makes the item more relatable and adds a more personal connection.

 Good for audience retention of the information from the item.

 Breaks up the structure of the programme.

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11.7.1 How to select soundbites

 Be sure they convey information that advances your story.

 Lead into your soundbite by talking about the subject that will be mentioned into the
soundbite.

 The lead in should flow into soundbite.

Never lead into a soundbite by using the same words as the speaker.

CHAPTER TWELVE

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 NEWS WRITING FOR RADIO AND TELEVISION

12.0 (Approaches to news writing-conversational style)

Radio news writing should be conversational so that the style is direct and every day English.

Prefer short words to long words; simple sentences to complex sentences; concrete to abstract

words; direct subject–verb–object sentences. However, always look for the added detail that

brings the story alive; the remark that reveals a personality, the phrase that makes the scene

colorful.

The good, simple, clear radio story is constructed by answering the questions, one sentence at a
time:

• WHAT has happened? • WHERE did it happened? • WHEN did it happen?

• WHO was involved? • WHY did it happen? • WHAT does it all mean?
• HOW did it happen?

Good radio news writing tells listeners all they need to know to understand the story, then stops.

1. Intros in radio writing are short, snappy, to the point: they are closer to a newspaper
headline than to a newspaper intro. The first sentence has to establish in the mind of the
listeners what the story is about, but must never say too much. The first sentence in a
radio news story has to ‘sell’ it to the listeners to keep them listening.

The radio intro: • tells us the most significant point

• grabs our attention

• makes us want to know more

• gives us the direction the rest of the story will be taking. It should also be short.
Radio has to be logical in its thought processes, so the story should follow with logical points.

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A good radio story starts with what has happened. The next sentence usually expands this by
telling how it happened, explaining the immediate background. The next sentence amplifies the
intro and fleshes out the main points in order of importance.

Finally, tie up any loose ends and give any additional background information.

Remember: you only have about 60 words to tell the story, so the trick is what to leave out.

Radio gives impressions rather than facts. Radio news writing:

• Tries to explain the facts • doesn’t use figures if at all possible, and when it does, gives

examples: as big as a football pitch • uses contractions to help the understanding and the

speaking: He can’t go not He cannot go. Beware of clichés such as ‘fires rage’ or ‘ambulances

rush’.

Radio writing means you:

 decide what you want to say

 list your points in logical order

 have a grabbing, short opening sentence

 write for one listener, and visualize the person you are talking to

 speak out loud what you want to say, then write it

 use ordinary conversational language

 write in short simple sentences

 Use punctuation that helps the reader, not necessarily literary punctuation.

Remember: KISS: Keep It Simple; Keep It Short.

Broadcast news stories can be written in different ways, but there are some basic techniques:

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 Word Choice: Good writing is all about good word choice and proper ordering of those

words. Since this is journalism, the first rule for word choice is accuracy. The word has to

be right. Not close to right. Not nearly right. Absolutely right. Next, the word has to be

appropriate for the context. Remember the audience only gets to hear the information and

only gets to hear it once. Every word that you use has to be clear and understandable

instantly in the context in which you’re using the word. Whatever meaning a word

conjures in the minds of the listeners is the way you should use it. That means defending

word choice based on its fourth dictionary definition probably isn’t going to cut it. Use

words the way they are commonly used.

 Numbers: There are certain rules for how to write numbers so that an announcer can

read them. On the other side of the coin, it’s critical to understand that people generally

don’t take in and process numbers well when they only get to hear them. Keep numbers

at a minimum in broadcast copy so you don’t leave the audience behind. Obviously, if the

story is about a tax increase, you’re going to have to use numbers. But think about

whether the audience needs to know that 96 out of 100 students passed the test, or

whether you could just say almost all. Along those lines, rounding numbers can help an

audience better understand the material. For example, it’s easier to process the phrase

more than a thousand than it is to grapple with 1,012. Even in television, where it’s

possible to put numbers on the screen where people can read them, minimize the use of

numbers.

 Contractions: We speak in contractions, and generally it’s acceptable to use them in

broadcast copy, with two exceptions. First, do not use them if the meaning might be

missed. The difference between can and can’t is an announcer’s ability to pronounce the t

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 sound clearly and the audience to hear that—although the meanings are opposite. Other

contractions with not don’t present as much of a problem. So always spell out cannot.

Second, you might want to emphasize the not part of the expression, in which case you

wouldn’t contract it: He said he did NOT commit the crime.

 Titles before Names: In broadcast, we put titles and identifiers before the name. That’s

because what people need to know is the title—which is likely why we’re talking with

someone. The name itself is detail that is less critical to understanding the story. We also

tend to shorten titles. No need to do that for nice, short, self-explanatory titles, but we

commonly change a long obscure title into a short description of what the audience needs

to know (e.g., a state welfare official rather than some long, involved title). We also tend

to shorten names in two ways: First, don’t use middle names or initials unless the person

is commonly known that way—and few people are. Second, we tend to use a shortened

first name if people are commonly known or go by the shortened name, rather than their

formal name. Consequently, Joseph frequently becomes Joe—assuming the person goes

by Joe.

 Attribution before the Statement: Broadcast generally puts attribution—the source of

information— before the statement or information. That’s because the source determines

how we look at or think about any piece of information. In broadcast, we can’t afford to

have the audience mulling over the source and reevaluating the information because we

continue reading. Therefore, it is more important to say right up front that Superintendent

of Schools Joe Smith is the source who thinks the school board should vote on a plan to

close a school. The title and source give the statement more credibility than if it were

made by angry parent John Doe. Telling people the source of information before

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 presenting the facts makes it clearer and easier to digest the information when people

only get to hear it.

 One Idea or Thought per Sentence: We also keep sentences short for the sake of the

audience. People can only take in so much information at one time when they only get to

hear it. Each sentence in broadcast should contain no more than one important thought or

idea. If you have more than one key point, you have an overloaded sentence that will be

harder to read and much harder to understand.

 Voice and Tense: Use active voice wherever possible. In active voice, the subject of the

sentence does the action as opposed to passive voice, where the subject of the sentence

receives the action. Active is shorter, tighter, punchier, and more interesting. Our first

choice in tense is present. Broadcast is all about what’s going on now, so present tense

plays to that strength. Second choice is future tense. Third choice is present perfect,

which uses “has” and “have” to indicate that some activity, while in the past, took place

recently.

 Leads: The lead, the opening sentence of a story, is by far the most important sentence in

the story. But the broadcast lead isn’t at all like the print lead and doesn’t serve the same

purpose. In fact, the broadcast lead most closely parallels the print headline. The sole job

of the broadcast lead is to get the attention of the audience just as the print headline’s job

is to direct the reader to the story. The lead may also convey information about the story,

but that’s not its critical function. It’s all about getting the attention of the listener or

viewer. Consequently, the lead must be short, strong, and interesting.

 Chronological Story Development: Not all stories have a chronology, that is, one event

taking place after another. When a story has that chronological development, the story is

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 almost always best told that way. That fits right into the traditional oral storytelling

tradition. We start with the lead—Say, did you hear about X?—then we tell the story

from beginning to end. It’s easiest to remember the details that way, and it’s easier for the

listener to understand the story development that way. If there is no chronological

development, however, the story’s sequence still needs to make sense. It’s not a random

collection of facts. You will never collect all of your information in the exact same

sequence in which you will tell the story, so you need to look at the pieces you’ve

gathered and determine the proper order of facts. Start with a strong lead to get people’s

attention, and then figure out how you’re going to tell the story, going logically and as

linearly as possible, through the facts of the story. That works for hard news. Features are

different and harder to tell because you have to build in surprises and interesting aspects

of the story periodically throughout the material. The preceding rules are designed to give

the listener or viewer a fighting chance at understanding what the broadcaster is saying.

 Story Formats: Radio stories’ typologies are categorized by the origin of the sound used

within them. There’s the reader, which is simply the newscast announcer reading a story.

In commercial radio, a reader isn’t likely to run more than 15 to 20 seconds. In public

radio, it might go double that. We dress up stories through the use of natural sound (also

called Nat sound, wild sound, or ambient sound) and actualities. Natural sound is the

sound of real life, recorded onto tape or disk. It might be the sound of chanting protesters,

honking car horns, or the growl of a tiger. Actualities are the comments of people in the

news. We might capture those by recording a teacher talking to her class or by

interviewing the mayor. A voicer is a story recorded by a reporter, as opposed to one that

is read by the announcer. In commercial radio, a voicer isn’t likely to run more than 20 to

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 30 seconds. In public radio, a voicer might go 40 to 50 seconds. A wrap or wraparound is

a voicer with one or more actualities or pieces of natural sound included, which allows

for greater depth and length. In commercial radio, a wrap might ‘go 45 seconds to a

minute. Public radio wraps can run up to 2 to 3 minutes or even longer. A live report,

occasionally called a ROSR or radio on scene report, is the final category of radio news.

NEWS WRITING FOR TELEVISION;

The writing is different. Write well, in conversational, colloquial form, after you’ve got the

pictures. Ask: how can these pictures tell the story on TV? Underwrite rather than

overwrite. Sometimes, in a complicated story, you have to add graphics. If you are on a

news story with a crew, always take notes yourself of what is being shot for later.

1. Organizing the story: Keep the story short. Short stories are more difficult than long

ones. Organize your thoughts; think the pictures through in your head.

2. Selecting sound: As well as good soundbites, look for good natural sound to set the

mood. Good TV stories try to get people to experience what a story or situation is like

for themselves, without them being there. Sound helps the viewers experience the

sensation for themselves. Sound also brings their attention back to the TV screen

because so much of what we call news just washes over the viewers. Sound is an

exclamation point. Sound should never explain. For example, rather than have the

soundbite say: We’re going to have a picnic on Friday at one o’clock and we’re going

to have music and it’s going to be a great time and we hope you all come and if s

sponsored by the local football club, just take the best bit: we’re going to have a great

time. Then you, as the reporter, can fill in the information that leads up to the

soundbite. The SB should prove what you have said; support it, not explain it.

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 3. Video editing: This is where you can ‘rewrite’ the story. A good editor can make your

story a thousand times better; a bad editor, on the other hand … Everything you edit

and leave in must move the story forward. Only the pictures you have time for, and

that are essential, are left in. Everything else is thrown out.

4. Voiceover: The reporter or newscaster reads copy as the video appears on the screen.

Normally voiceovers aren’t very long, because they are generally used to break up a

series of packages or to give the anchors some exposure. Most newscasts use

voiceovers together with read stories to fill in the time around the packages; voiceovers

are always short (maybe 20 seconds). They are usually separated by some technical

device such as a wipe, which is an electronic technique that slides one video picture off

the screen as it replaces it with another.

12.1 CONVERSATIONAL STYLE

A style is a particular way of putting words and marks of punctuation together. A news style, a

creative style, or an easy style. A person who writes with style is one who thinks powerfully. The

use of certain terms, certain rules and conventions is also a style.

Broadcast scriptwriting is informal and often colloquial but never slangy

Formal (official Writing) Conversational (Good Broadcast) Slangy(inappropriate)

Male , Female Man, woman Dude ,chick

Physician Doctor Doc.

Reside live Hangout

Vehicle Car, truck wheels

Dismissed Fired Axed

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 TELLING THE STORY FOR BROADCASTING
Broadcast journalism is about telling stories that are true and important. They matter to the

viewer and the listener. Watch your friends listening to the radio or watching TV at home. It’s

little more than background noise, something ‘turned on’ in a busy room. If they are watching or

listening at all, it’s usually whilst doing something else. They point, comment, do something

else, miss what’s being said.

Communication by radio or TV is not like being in a movie theatre or reading a book.

Communication by radio or TV is person-to-person, one-to-one. It’s not a lecture; it’s not a

movie performance. It is intimate. The reporter’s job is to break through the noise, to get over the

distraction so as to make the listeners and viewers look, listen and go with the reporter to the

world being reported.

Reporters take a real-life event, convert what they see and hear to tape (audio or video),

broadcast it through the airwaves or by satellite or cable, and hope to make a lasting impression

on the listener. So: • set the scene • establish a mood • bait the hook

12.3 Sentence Construction

A strength of broadcast news is proximity. Therefore, broadcast news writing stresses present

tense “President meets ...” rather than “President today held a meeting.”

 Radio stories should not be longer than 45 seconds. Usually three or four sentences.

 Keep your sentences to about 15 words. Don’t clutter them with multiple facts.

 Write just a little more formally than you speak. Try for a conversational (familiar) tone.

 Keep sentence structure simple – basically one idea to one sentence.

 Edit your compound-complex sentence down to two or three simple sentences.

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  Keep to the 20/25 rule, which limits hard-news story leads to 20 words and all other hard-

news story sentences to 25 words. But also remember to vary your sentence length.

12.4 WORD CHOICE

Always an important process, choosing the right word becomes even more critical when you are

writing for the ear. Writing for the ear means using words that are conversational and easily

understood.

For example, would you ask to “utilize” or “use” the computer?

Do YOU ask someone to “consummate” a form or “complete” it? Would you report on a

“conflagration” or a “fire”? Writing for the ear means using those same simple words when you

write for your audience.

 ELLIPSIS (…)

It is three full points (…) used to show that a word or words has or have been left out in a
sentences or a quoted passage.
i. E.g. ‘And the word …made flesh.”
ii. He became bitter and hid…,refusing to tell them …”
With ellipsis the meaning of the quoted passage can be understood without the omitted word or
words.
 Punctuation
Use punctuation in your broadcast script to help readability and clarify meaning. Do this by

following the same basic rules you learned in grammar school, with a few exceptions.

 Comma

It is the mark (,) used in writing and printing to show or indicate a pause in thought, action or to

separate parts of a compound sentence.

i. My teacher, however, was absent.

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 ii. Mr. Badu, the C.I.D. agent, was at the meeting.

 Clichés

They are expressions that have been worn out through constant use in journalism. Example, in
the pipeline, the powers that be, and orders from above, Time will tell etc.

 Jargon is the specialized, often official, language that is used by people in a particular

field, profession, or social group.

12.5 WRITING NUMBERS IN BROADCAST STYLE

 1 thru 10: ONE; TWO; THREE (i.e. use numbers)

 12 thru 999: 12; 131; 614 (spell out to start sentence, e.g., “Forty-three others remain

hospitalized in serious condition.”

 Over 1000: 125-THOUSAND;

 Dates: AUGUST 1ST; JULY 4TH; DECEMBER 25TH

 Time: 8:00 THIS MORNING (OR, 8:00 A-M);11:15 P-M; NOON or MIDNIGHT

12.6 Voice pieces / Radio dispatches

Radio dispatches, or ‘voice pieces’, are essential of radio news programmes. They are short

inserts written and voiced by a reporter or correspondent either out in the field or in the studio.

They may be live or recorded; contain short clips of interviews or actuality and may be anywhere

between 30 and 90 seconds.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
13.0 PRESENTING NEWS FOR RADIO AND TELEVISION
(THE TELEVISION STUDIO)

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A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which

video productions take place, either for the recording of live television to video tape, or for the

acquisition of raw footage for post-production.

The studio floor is the actual stage on which the actions that will be recorded and viewed take

place. A studio floor has the following characteristics and installations:

 decoration sets

 professional video camera (sometimes one, usually several) on base

 microphones

 Stage lighting outfits and the associated controlling equipment.

 several video monitors for visual feedback from the production control room (PCR)

 a small public address system for communication

 While a production is in progress, people composing a television crew work on the studio

floor.

13.1 Master Control Room

The master control room (MCR) houses equipment that is too noisy or runs too hot for the

production control room (PCR). It also makes sure that coax cable and other wire lengths and

installation requirements keep within manageable lengths, since most high-quality wiring runs

only between devices in this room.

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Figure 1 master control room

Figure 2 TV STUDIO (STAGE)

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Figure 3 A DIFFERENT TV STUDIO SETUP

13.2 Television Style

For television copy, you need a special style, so that the script can synchronize with film reports,

captions and other visual effects.

The copy must include details of timing, studio instructions and details of accompanying film or

video clips.

Phoning copy

It is not always useful for reporters to write their stories in the newsroom. If they are at the scene

of a news event, and if time is pressing, it is usually better for them to write the story where they

are, and send it in to their newsroom by telephone.

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This is very efficient, but it depends upon having the right equipment (which is quite expensive)

and upon having dependable telephone lines. The cheaper alternative is for the reporter to dictate

his or her copy by telephone to a typist in the newsroom, who will type it as it is spoken

13.3 A Radio Studio

A radio studio is a place to live broadcast or record audio professionally. Often it is a

soundproofed room which gets rid of unwanted noises that would often get mixed into
broadcasts. However, studios vary depending on location and use, and the room is acoustic
proof.

13.4 Studio Equipment’s

1. A production studio where you can prepare material to be used in future broadcasts.

2. An On-Air Studio where the material will be broadcasted.

3. Source Equipment ( CD Players, cassette players or even reel-to-reel tape players )

4. Computer with at least 2 GB of RAM and a 250 GB or larger hard drive.

5. At least 4 professional condenser microphones.

6. Microphone booms or stands.

7. Mixer or console ( An mixer takes input from multiple audio sources and lets the user

determine which channels to use in the output, and at what levels ).

8. FM tuner 9. Monitor speakers 10. Headphones 11. Telephone system

9. On-air light and relay circuitry. 12. Distribution amplifier

13. Audio cables and connector. 14. Equipment racks

14. Furniture 15. Audio processor 15. Transmitter 16. Studio-to-transmitter link

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133
 13.6 Radio style
For radio copy, the style must be slightly different.

 Try to keep stories short, with the whole story on one sheet of paper if possible.

 Every word must be spelled correctly and be grammatically correct, otherwise it may

cause the newsreader to stumble.

 Type proper names in capital letters.

 Do not split phrases from one line to another.

 Write the pronunciation of difficult or foreign words in brackets immediately after the

word.

13.7 Recording Equipment – On Location Setup

Outside Broadcasting (OB) is when you take the apparatus of broadcasting (cameras, sound,

video/audio mixing, etc.) away from the studio and use it in a remote environment. It may be a

stadium for sports, a theatre for arts / entertainment, a political location, a news story location,

etc. The type of equipment used depends heavily on the type of sound effect you want to record.

The following five methods are among the best ways to record in a non-studio setting.

1. Choose Location with Care

Many broadcast choose to record at a particular location due to its optimal acoustics.

Some places are known for poor sound while some locations may enhance vocals. If you are

recording indoors, it’s essential to prevent leakage from heating or cooling elements from

through to your microphones and muddying the clarity of your recordings.

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2. Field Recording
If you are in a situation where the natural sounds of your setting won’t interfere and may even

complement your live recording, you can opt for field recording. Zoom are now popularly used

for many types of field recordings.

3. Microphones—Best You Can Buy

There’s always a lot of hype about various recording programs—the latest and greatest upgrades

Pro Tools has to offer. Examples, condenser microphones, Dynamic microphones are good for

Vox pops, outdoor streaming and interviews.

4. Mobile Studio

Today, there are many recorders (vans) you can easily move from place to place and remain well

in budget. Today’s technology will allow you to record with a laptop given the right software.

Whether you are going with a minimum of gear or a bus-full of recording equipment, you can

now bring the studio to just about any setting you want to record at.

5. Self-Recording Keyboards

Keyboards like the Korg MS-1 that specialize in sampling can also record music. Typically

keyboards—that can record themselves along with other sounds is another interesting method to

use when on location. Its built-in microphone is also handy and its editing capabilities and

software make this particular keyboard ideal for recording situations.

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 Production and Post-production

 Production

The production phase includes the actual recording activities to provide the raw material for the

final product. Recording can occur either in a studio or in the field. There are both advantages

and disadvantages to both recording locations.

Field recording is better for providing a rich sound in a program, but can also make for noisy

recordings where information is harder to understand or that is distracting to the listener. In both

cases careful selection of interview subjects and microphones can compensate for the

difficulties.

However, interviews with such people can often be done in their offices using more directional

microphones to minimize distractions and increase the clarity of recording.

1. Producing Radio Programs

The whole set of activities that you will engage in to put a program together is the program

process. This process traditionally has been divided into three phases-pre-production,

production, and post-production. Of these the phase that beginning radio producers most often

fail to pay sufficient attention to is preproduction.

2. Pre-production

This is the planning phase of producing a radio program. It involves the following activities:

 Deciding the overall theme or focus of a program;

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  determining the various parts that will comprise the program (interview subjects,

music, stingers, in-studio vs. field recordings, guests and host(s), phone ins, Q &

As, and so on);

 Examining the technical requirements and resource availability to produce the

program as envisioned (field equipment and/or studio availability, appropriate

musicians or pre-recorded material, necessary personnel);

 Writing the script (balancing scripted text with ad lib, determining insert

placement, selecting and planning music intros, outros and beds, selecting

stingers) to provide continuity and assure adequate overall length as required;

scheduling the equipment, studios, personnel, interviews, transportation, editing

suites or other resources needed to produce the program;

 Re-writing the script (often in conjunction with the talent for the program) to

assure proper pace, vocabulary, flow, and thematic focus;

 Rehearsing the non-live recorded segments in preparation for studio recording.

Post-production

The post-production phase involves editing, assembly, application of digital signal processing,

addition of music (intros, outros, beds and bridges) or sound effects, timing and mastering the

program to fit within the available time and format / sound of the station. Each program should

fit stylistically into the format of the station as a whole, or within the programming block that it

is designed for. Rock 'n' roll stations with fast-taking disc jockeys, or that play hard-driving

music (ala heavy metal, for instance), should produce their news or features to the same pace.

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Classical music stations should produce theirs at a slower or more reflective pace. The program

cutting would provide for more reflection and the music would fit into the overall sound of the

station.

1. Voice report from the scene is where a report is made live from the scene of an event or

incident.

2. Actuality is a recorded segment of a newsmaker speaking, generally lasting from 10 to 20

seconds; this is what people outside of radio journalism often call a "sound bite".

3. Taster is the brief phrase spoken by the anchor immediately before playing a spot or going

for commercial break (or some other interruption of the newscast) to tell the listener about a

story coming up later. The tease should intrigue the listener without either misrepresenting

the story or revealing it entirely.

4. Voicer is a recorded report containing only the journalist's voice -- there is no actuality. This

can be understood as a recorded reader.

5. Wrap is a recorded report in which a journalist's voice occurs at the beginning and end, and

an actuality is played in between. The report is "wrapped around" the actuality.

6. Speed: The right reading pace is one which is comfortable for the reader, clear to the listener

and which suits the station’s style. A newsreader should not read too fast nor too slow.

7. Breathing: Newsreaders like swimmers have to master the art of breath control. Good

breathing brings out the richness and flavor of the voice. First you have to sit correctly to

give your lungs and diaphragm as much room as possible. Air to the newsreader is like oil in

an engine.

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8. Projection: Newsreaders should project just enough to cut through distractions and get

attention. Over-projected news reading makes the listener want to back away from the set or

turn down the volume.

9. Pitch: As well as having rhythm, the voice also goes up and down. This is called modulation

or pitch and some readers who are new at their business or have been doing it for too long

can sound as though they are singing the news.

Microphone Technique

The important things to avoid with microphones are popping and paper rustle. Popping occurs

when the mouth is too close to the mic and plosive sounds such as P’s in particular, produce

distortion. The radio newsreader can tell this is happening by listening on headphones, and can

prevent it by backing away or turning the mic slightly to one side.

14.0 Best Audio Editing Software

Audio editing software is software which allows editing and producing of audio data. Audio

editing software can be applied completely or partly as library, as computer application, as Web

application .

 Audacity audio software for multi-track recording and editing.

 FL Studio 12.1.2

FL Studio 12.1.2 is a complete Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), which lets you mix and

create music as you like. One thing that makes FL Studio 12.1.2 an impressive tool is its regular

updates, through which you can have state-of-the-art features.

 Adobe Audition CS6

Another high-end product worth mentioning is Audition CS6 from Adobe.

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 WavePad

WavePad — which comes from NCH Software that is known for the easy-to-use

productivity tools — is a good-to-go, in-built solution when you need professional-level

audio editing in your PC. WavePad does offer support for almost every popular audio

format, such as MP3, WAV, VOX, GSM, WMA, OGG, AAC, etc. When it comes to the

audio editing aspect, you have both advanced and standard features.

 Ardour is yet another Digital Audio Workstation that lets you record, edit and mix

tracks, using an interface that can be professional-enough as well as easy-to-get-used-to

at the same time. Ardour can be useful for professionals such as audio engineers,

musicians, sound track editors and composers.

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14.1 Sound / Soundscapes

A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that arises from an immersive environment.

The disruption of these acoustic environments results in noise pollution.

Soundscape includes three main factors: audience, environment and the sound event comprising

the features of 'sound signal'.

14.2 Graphics and other visual materials

Graphic communication involves the use of visual material to communicate ideas such as

drawings, photographs, slides, and sketches.

Readers understand information better in graphics than text, and remember the information

presented pictorially and visually better than in text.

As a reporter, you need to ask yourself: what’s id the best way to tell my story? Often the story

will be better told in graphics, pictures, and illustrations rather than in words.

It is true that radio cannot directly provide visual information, it is entirely possible to prepare

materials with drawings, illustrations, photographs, and other graphic representations to be

distributed to the listeners as part of their learning experience. A combination of radio

broadcasting and visual aids is called "radio vision".

Types of graphics

 Pie chats

 Line chats

 Bar chats

 Tables

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15.0 Film, Video, Still and Other Visual Elements
(An introduction to video and still photogragrahy)
A camera is an optical instrument for recording or capturing images, which may be stored

locally, transmitted to another location, or both. The images may be individual still photographs

or sequences of images constituting videos or movies.

A still camera is an optical device which creates a single image of an object or scene and records

it on an electronic sensor or photographic film.

15.1 Matching words and pictures

Words alone don’t tell the whole story; pictures and other visuals are also necessary. All

reporters need to have good photo ideas, whether they take the pictures themselves while doing

the story or whether they ask a photographer to take them.

Print reporters need to present a complete package of information: words, photos and

illustrations. That’s the way print journalists compete with television.

A good story without any pictures might be run somewhere in the paper; with good pictures, it

might be on page

1. Stories for the photo page need to combine the best words and the best art (photos,

illustrations, charts, cartoons and other visual elements).

Newspaper reporters must add ‘visual’ to their list of story requirements. Visuals are not possible

in every news story, but whenever they can be used, they add to the story and help the reader

understand. Reporters must respect the importance of visuals; be prepared to understand the

news requirements of charts, photos, illustrations; and understand the needs of and be willing to

co-operate with photographers, artists and graphic designers. Photos make the reader stop

scanning and read. They’re that important. Reporters need not only to find the facts and write the

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story; they also need to find statistics that can then be converted to an easy-to-read chart and

identify people who can be used in accompanying photos.

The best photos provide their own messages, whether emotional or intellectual. The best

illustrations add impact to the story by simplifying difficult facts and figures. Always be thinking

of ways of taking the difficult statistics out of the body of the text and making them simpler to

understand by graphics or a box.

Pictures need some kind of identification, usually called captions. The job of a caption is to

explain the subject of a picture. There are two kinds:

1. Self-contained photo stories built around the subject of the picture with extended captions

providing the text.

2. Pictures used to illustrate a story, with simple line captions.

Why do we need news pictures?

There are three main reasons why newspapers need news pictures.

 To brighten the page

A page without a picture is just a piece of old writing. It looks boring and many people will not

bother to read what is written on it. Newspapers without pictures do not make the news easy to

read. They make life hard for the readers.

 To tell the news

What is news? News is something which is new, unusual, interesting, significant and about

people. It is obvious that new, unusual, interesting and significant things about people can be

communicated by pictures as well as by words.

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Pictures can sometimes tell the news just by themselves, with a caption to say who the people are

and where the event is taking place. At other times, the picture may go with a story, to work as a

team with the words.

 To show what it looks like

Only a very gifted writer can use words in a way which lets the reader visualize exactly what a

scene is like. Not every reporter can write as well as that. A picture can let the reader see what a

person, or a place, or a building, or an event looks like.

INFORMATION GRAPHICS

Get used to thinking visually for your difficult data and statistics. People read charts on two
levels:

• The visual (a quick scan that picks up the trends or relationships)

• The closer look (when the reader comes back to the graphic and looks at the numbers, the
trends and the deeper levels of meaning provided by the graphic information).

Readers understand data better in graphics than in text, and remember the information presented

pictorially and visually better than in text. Readers don’t like difficult artwork. The visual must

never distract, distort or make understanding more difficult; the simpler the better.. Often the

story will be better told in pictures, graphics, illustrations or maps rather than in words.

Types of graphics

1 Pie charts. Think of these as pies cut into different size slices. Each slice shows the

relationship of that part to the whole. In an election, for example, if 25 per cent of people vote for

party X the, the X slice will be a quarter of the pie.

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 2. Line charts. Think of these as video. They show motion; lines rise or fall (like on a

hospital temperature chart). They emphasize trends.

3. Bar charts. Think of these as a still picture. They freeze the numbers so readers can look

at the comparisons. They can show trends, but they are most useful for comparing

numbers at a given moment.

4. Tables. Tables help organize lots of data that do not necessarily have a mathematical

relationship. A voting chart will show how the people in each area voted etc.

Remember: numbers don’t mean much until they are compared to something else.

16.1 Online and Text Journalism

Digital journalism also known as online journalism is a modern form of journalism where

editorial content is distributed via the internet as opposed to publishing via print or broadcast.

However the primary product of journalism, which is news and features on current affairs, is

presented solely or in combination as text, audio, video, or some interactive forms like news

games, and disseminated through digital media technology

16.2 Adapting scripts for online

 As concise as possible

 Organized logically (no skipping around)

 Relevant to the important concepts you are trying to convey (as opposed to spending

equal time on minor points or details)

 Rich with stories, personal examples, and / or examples that clarify and amplify the

important concepts

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  Primarily visual (very little text presented on any screen)

 Broken down into separate 2-7 minute recordings, each based around a single concept

 The Web is "24/7," and Web writers for news websites often emphasize the "up to the

minute" aspect of stories.

 Writing clearly and concisely is even more important online

Online, a writer's headlines and summaries become navigation tools that lead readers to

"inside pages" of the site.

Most news sites also recognize the value of what Nielsen calls "micro content" -- smaller units

of information.

11.5 Writing for Teletext

Teletext is a type of information service which is communicated alongside television signals and

is receivable on adapted television sets. The information is organized in 'pages' using

alphanumeric characters and block graphics.

Pages are transmitted in a continuous cycle. Pages are accessed by keying a three

Advantages of teletext and view data over traditional sources of information.

1. Up to the minute Information can to provided

2. Information can be changed as new situations develop.

3. Teletext provides subtitles for hearing-impaired viewers.

4. View data user can communicate in the system to order goods

5. Data can be stored from View data or teletext on personal computers.

6. Teletext is free whereas newspaper and magazines have to be paid for.

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11. 6 Writing for Cellphones

A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computing device small enough to hold and operate
in the hand.

 SMS texts (i.e., texts using short message services on mobile devices), emails, and lecture

notes are three of the most frequently written categories (or types) of writing.

 SMS texts and academic writing are the most frequently valued genres.

 Some electronic genres written frequently by participants, such as writing in social

networking environments, are not valued highly.

 Students write for personal fulfillment nearly as often as for school assignments.

 Digital writing platforms -- cell phones, Facebook, email -- are frequently associated with

writing done most often.

12.0 Specialist Journalism

A specialist is any individual who has considerable knowledge and experience in a specific field.

Since the journalist title is so different, there are specialist journalists who focus on singular

areas of research, investigation, and reporting.

Most specialist journalists pick a topic that they have a lot of interest in since they devote their

career writing about it. Some publications prefer to have a few specialist journalists to add more

insight when needed.

The role of the specialist include the following:

 Knowing the subject and being recognized as an authority on it.

 Knowing the main contacts and having access to them.

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  Knowing the history of the story.

 Knowing the context.

12.1 Public Affairs: Sometimes referred to as current affairs, sometimes as public affairs,

these expressions mean the same thing. All the same principles apply to public affairs as to news,

but there are additional responsibilities in these programmes.

Good current affairs writing and production assumes the news point, and focuses on its

importance, relevance and implications. It stops and takes a look while news runs on to

something else, and shows why the story is important enough to be run. In any current affairs

story, the reporter must continually ask:

• What is the point of this story? • What am I trying to say?

Current affairs reporters try to explain and clarify. This comes hard to most current affairs

journalists because they usually have a university specialist background, while news

journalists have at least the intellectual edges rubbed off by the day-to-day journalistic race.

You are still the representative of the people; act like it.

Current affairs programming also differs from news in that:

• Subjects are usually covered in more depth

• Items are usually much longer

• Larger crews are required to put these longer items together

• There is more time to do the story

• There is more time for the programme

• Detailed planning of coverage is necessary.

Basically, these programmes are the weekly investigation into the news of the day, often simply

longer interviews or a single investigation of a topic maybe lasting from 30 to 50 minutes. There

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are also the longer-term documentaries or features. Decide on the treatment that will best suit

either of these programme formats. In news, shots are often unplanned. In documentary and

current affairs coverage, there is a great deal of planning before the shoot.

12.2 The editorial

All newspapers have an editorial page and take their editorials very seriously.

Editorials inform, persuade, convince and conclude. As such, editorials are unique to ordinary

print journalism. They are unique to newspapers and some magazines, and are not used in

broadcasting. An editorial is about the opinions of the newspaper. It is what the newspaper

believes, and is written in such a way as to convince the reader.

12.2.1 Structure of the editorial

The editorial consists of three parts:

1. A statement of the subject, issue, or thesis.

2. Comment on the subject or issue.

3. The conclusion or solution.

However you write an editorial, always keep a grip on the argument throughout and never abuse

people. Only abuse arguments. Begin with an unspoken question, then perhaps give various

alternative answers. Assess and conclude and, in concluding, sum up somehow. Don’t just give a

jumble of facts and sides of the argument. It is up to you to come down on one side of the

argument or the other. The message of an editorial always appeals to the intellect. The message

can be its political or economic content.

12.3 COLUMNS

Columns are popular in both tabloids and broadsheets. They are a showcase for writing style, wit

and discussion about topical issues. They are very satisfying, because writers can virtually say

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what they think about a subject in their own style. There are five different types of newspaper

column:

1. The ‘point of view’ column commenting on a current issue.

2. The ‘my say’ column, the most popular type of column and perhaps the hardest to write. You

have to draw on experience. It is the personal opinion of the writer.

3. The ‘expert opinion’ column. This is a column interpreting the news. It takes more expertise

than a more simple ‘my opinion’ column.

4. The trivia column. A ‘did you know’ type of column, which requires a lot of knowledge of

reference books.

5. The ‘readers write, editors respond’ column. This is a dialogue-type column in which readers

write in with comments, opinions, thoughts and prejudices and get a reply from the columnist or

editors. It’s the print equivalent of a radio phone-in.

All news is subjective because it is selected from various possible angles. Personal columns are

openly subjective, the result of T journalism. There is no attempt to hide behind objectivity,

balance or neutrality.

A personal column is the work and thoughts of a signed individual, and must be seen and written

as such. Personal columns need to be as original as possible. They may be witty, controversial,

hard-hitting, quirky, whimsical or irritating, or all of these and more. The writer’s personality is

always obvious in a good personal column.

Style, language and tone are also appropriate to the person writing and to the newspaper. A short

profile may highlight some newsworthy feature of the person.

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 12.4 Developing the profile

Profile writing is painting portraits in words. People are news, and the profile is the best

expression of the people-are-news approach of all journalism.

Profiles can be of: • people • organizations • buildings • cemeteries • roads • parks

• Schools • festivals, and so on. However, most of all a profile is about a person. In a people

profile you are satisfying the reader’s curiosity about someone: what makes a person tick, what

that person has done to get where he or she is, what the person is really like behind the public

face.

There are many kinds of profiles and there is no standard format. A short profile may highlight

some newsworthy feature of the person. This is a profile that focuses on the person’s views about

a specific issue or experience or highlights their recent achievement or failure. A longer profile

will aim to provide an overview of a person’s life.

 The person will be chosen because of a newsworthy element (a new job, a new book,

film, TV series, political campaign,a visitor).

 A person may be profiled because of an unusual feature of his or her life (an unusual job;

the largest collection of…).

 It may be an obituary profile after an important or noteworthy person has died.

There is also the type of profile that focuses on some aspect of a person’s private life. A film star

might be profiled based on recent love affairs or divorces and what the star has learnt from them-

12.5 Sports Reporting

Sports is news, and it is usually given a larger proportion of total editorial space in the dailies

and Sundays than other specialisties.Sports reporting should inform, interpret and illustrate; it

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should be fact oriented, background (profiles of sports celebrities). All sports stories should

contain the following:

 The final score (usually at the top)

 Names of the teams or people taking part.

 When the game took place where it took place

 Key players

 Crowd details

 Quotes from players / coaches / supporters

 Injuries

 Any record set during the game

 Effect of the game on the teams standing in the league

12.6 Sports Features

Guidelines for sports writing of an advance type:

 The significance of the game.

 Tradition and history; How the teams or players rivalry began. The outcome of the

last encounter is important.

 Team / player records during the current season.

 Comparative scoring records against mutual opponents.

 Team /player conditions-physical and mental.

 The weather-.How possible changes may affect the outcome. How players and teams

have performed in wet / dry /hot / cold.

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12.7 LIFE STYLES

What is a lifestyle story? It’s about people and how they live, and about our culture. Lifestyle

reports in newspapers can include lots of things and be about all kinds of stories. They can be

about business, news, sport. However, they all have one thing in common: they relate the story to

the way people live.

Included can be such things as: • food • entertainment • drama • reviews • television and

the media • sports • business (from the point of view of shopping, fashion etc.) •

Weather • pollution • new ways of spending leisure time

• Medical breakthroughs that help our way of living • travel.

In other words, these stories are about anything connected with the way we live. This therefore

needs a different approach. Whereas other forms need a highly critical, factual or newsy

approach, lifestyle stories can simply be soft and explore current and future living and lifestyles.

12.8 Reporting Business

Business and economic news is news, not something specialized. It can be specialized, but only

for the finance/money pages. This is why there are techniques for both the specialist and the

general reporter. The trick is not to make it an advertising feature but to have enough interest and

a specific story angle to cover all the business facts you want to write about. You must have facts

and background, not just quotes from the people involved in the business; that’s just a public

relations advertising story.

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The goal of the business journalist is to report, accurately, the financial news (and remember, a

misplaced decimal point can cost a fortune). Reporters have to make business news

understandable and interesting.

To make the story interesting, it is a good idea to focus less on statistics and more on people.

Changes in the economy affect people’s lives; business is full of human dramas and reporters

often forget to write about the people affected by or behind the statistics. There must also be

well-developed and interesting background, full of comparisons, facts and figures

SOME NEWSROOM TERMINOLOGIES

a) Advance: A report dealing with the subjects and issues to be dealt with in an upcoming

meeting or event.

b) Analysis: A story that looks more deeply into a current news event and provides context,

various opinions of experts or critics and possibly speculates on the future.

c) Angle: The focus of, or approach to, a story. The latest development in a continuing

controversy, the key play in a football game, or the tragedy of a particular death in a mass

disaster may serve as an angle.

d) Background (or on background) also known as “not for attribution.” Information that

can be attributed to “a police department official” or “a player on the team” who is not

named.

e) Backgrounder Story that explains and updates the news. Source: News Reporting &

Writing (Sixth Edition) by the Missouri Group. Copyright 1999. Reproduced by

permission of Bedford/St. Martins.

f) Beat: A reporter’s assigned area of responsibility. A beat may be an institution, such as

the courthouse; a geographical area, such as a small town; or a subject, such as science.

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g) Bias An inclination that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation. In

journalism, political bias is the most common complaint.

h) Closed-ended question: A direct question designed to draw a specific response; for

example, “Will you be a candidate?”

i) Cutline: The caption that accompanies a newspaper or magazine photograph. The term

dates from the days when photos were reproduced with etched zinc plates, called cuts.

j) Deadline: The time by which a reporter, editor or desk must have completed scheduled

work.

k) Deep background: Information that may be used but that cannot be attributed to either a

person or a position.

l) Editorial: An article in a publication expressing the opinion of its editors or publishers.

In newspapers, it typically appears on the editorial page and is edited by the editorial

page editor.

m) Feature: Extended articles or items about events, persons or circumstances that go into

more detail than most.

n) Freedom of Information: A law that makes it easier to obtain information from federal

agencies and access to government records.

o) Hard news Coverage of the actions of government or business; or the reporting of an

event, such as a crime, an accident or a speech. The time element often is important. See

also soft news.

p) Human-interest story: A piece valued more for its emotional impact or oddity than for

its importance.

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q) Hypothesis: In investigative reporting, the statement a reporter expects to be able to

prove, as in, “The mayor took a bribe from that massage parlor.” In an analytical story,

the statement a reporter will explore in the story.

r) Information graphic: A visual representation of data.

s) Invasion of privacy: Violation of a person’s right to be left alone.

t) Inverted pyramid: The organization of a news story in which information is arranged in

descending order of importance.

u) Investigative reporting: the pursuit of information that has been concealed, such as

evidence of wrongdoing.

v) News story: A story that emphasizes the facts, often written in inverted pyramid style.

w) News value: How important or interesting a story is. Not for attribution Information that

may not be ascribed to its source.

x) Not for attribution: Also known as “on background.” Information that can be attributed

to “a police department official” or “a player on the team” who is not named.

y) Nut graph: A paragraph that summarizes the key element or elements of the story, or

explains the focus. Usually found in a feature story, or a story that is not written in

inverted pyramid form.

z) Off the record usually means, “Don’t quote me.” Some sources and reporters, however,

use it to mean, “Don’t print this.” Phrases with similar, and equally ambiguous, meanings

are “not for attribution” and “for background only.”

aa) Op-ed page: The page opposite the editorial page, frequently reserved for columns,

letters to the editor and personality profiles.

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bb) Open-ended question: One that permits the respondent some latitude in the answer; for

example, “How did you get involved in politics?”

cc) Profile: A story intended to reveal the personality or character of an institution or person.

dd) Public figure: A person who has assumed a role of prominence in the affairs of society

and who has persuasive power and influence in a community or who has thrust himself or

herself to the forefront of a public controversy. Courts have given journalists more

latitude in reporting on public figures.

ee) Quote: As a noun, the term refers to a source’s exact words, as in, “I have a great quote

here.” As a verb, it means to report those words inside quotation marks.

ff) Sidebar: A secondary story intended accompany a major story on the same topic, on the

same page. A story about a disaster, for example, may have a sidebar that tells what

happened to a single victim.

gg) Soft news: Stories about trends, personalities or lifestyles. The time element usually is

not important. See also hard news.

hh) Sources: People or records from which a reporter gets information. The term often is

used to describe persons, as opposed to documents.

ii) Transition: A word, phrase, sentence or paragraph that moves the reader from one

thought to the next and shows the relationship between them.

jj) Update; A type of follow-up story that reports on a development related to an earlier

story. Also called a second-day story.

kk)Freelancers or Stringer: Freelance journalists are not attached to any newspapers or

magazines. One who writes on all kinds of topics in several newspapers and periodicals

without having a regular payroll?

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 ll) Anybody can be a freelance writer. You must have the grit, determination and

willingness to work hard besides possessing a good language.

 Photojournalism

Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing and presentation of

news materials for publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is

now usually understood to refer only to still images, and in some cases to video used in broadcast

journalism. Photojournalism can fall under all subjects of photography but the image needs to be

news worthy to end up being published.

 Press conference or Press briefing

This is a formal conference of pressmen invited by a dignitary in which after initial

announcement he answers questions from newsmen. It is also called news conference.

 Meet the press

Here the press club or press association invites individuals to meet press representatives. All

arrangements for such meetings are made by press organizations. In these meetings, there are no

fixed subjects for discussion and no background materials are distributed. The arrangements such

as venue, refreshments, transportation, etc., are all made by the press organization.

Press organizations usually invite important personalities or officials for such meetings

 News releases

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Signed or unsigned statements issued by a government departments, civic body, political party,

institution or organization released to the press is called press release, press note or press hand

out.

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM

Investigative journalism: This type of journalism is about unearthing facts and studying cases

that may require more efforts, which can take months or even years. Journalists who specialize in

investigative journalism create headlines with news that expose scandals.

Qualities of Investigative reporters

 Courage

Reporters may be threatened with legal action or violence, jailed, or even assassinated for

their investigations. In the face of these risks, you may give way to pressure and advice

yourself.

 Discretion

Gossips do not make good investigative reporters. As we are aware, loose talk can put the

investigation – and lives – at risk.

 Fairness and strong ethics

Investigative stories may put the security, jobs or even lives of sources at risk. An investigative

reporter needs to have a strong, clearly thought-out set of personal ethics, to ensure that sources

and topics are treated respectfully and as far as possible protected from harm.

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  Determination and patience

Investigative reporting will bring you up against all kinds of obstacles, from sources who

disappear and records that don’t exist, to editors who want to can the story because it is taking

too long or costing too much. Only your own motivation and belief that it is a worthwhile story

will carry you through what is often a slow process of discovery.

 Team working and communication skills

Movies often portray the investigative reporter as a ‘lone wolf.’ Sometimes, there are situations

where secrecy is so important that a story cannot be shared with others until certain safeguards

are in place. But very often the best stories come out of a cooperative effort that uses all the

available skills in (and even outside) the newsroom.

 Precision journalism is the use of social and behavioral science research methods to

gather the news, process/analysis the news and communicate the news to the public or

for public consumption.

 Citizen journalism: Here, it is not the professional journalists who are responsible

for the news reports. Any citizen can participate and report news to the media.

 Advocacy journalism - writing to promote a particular viewpoint or influence the

opinions of the audience. Advocacy journalism is a kind of journalism that is fact-

based, but supports a specific point of view on an issue.

Distinguish between Private and Public Ownership of the media

 Private ownership of media platforms can be cross media chain or corporate ownership.

The owner or body concerned has a larger share in the funding or it is fully owned by the

person or body concerned.

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  Public ownership, here the government is in charge of the funding of the media

organization or has greater control of the shares. In this situation, the editorial contents

of such media may be influenced by the government.

Sources revenue to the media industry

 Advertising is probably one of the biggest sources of income for Media. On channels that

allow advertise products and companies will then pay money to advertise between shows

 Product Placement is a type of advertising. It’s when a certain product is placed in say,

TV Shows, Films or music videos.

 Funeral announcements, announcements of missing items etc.

 Events: media house also organize events, seeks for sponsors and also rely on tickets

sales as one of the sources of generating revenue.

What an autocue

A teleprompter, also commonly referred to as a prompter or Autocue, is a device that allows a

presenter to read a script whilst maintaining direct eye contact with the audience. Because the

speaker does not need to look down to consult written notes, he / she appears to have memorized

the speech or to be speaking spontaneously.

Autocues (Teleprompters) project the image of the script onto a one-way mirror that covers the
lens of the camera. You can dictate the speed at which the autocue rolls; get it right for you. This
allows you to maintain eye contact with the viewer.

Using an autocue is a skill that requires practice:

1. Pick the same line and read that rather than work your way down the page.

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 2. Maintain a reasonably steady pace throughout.

3. Make sure you can see the autocue. You must have the camera positioned so you can

comfortably read the screen. You need to be able to read with precision, and not have to stare or

peer or frown to read the words because they are too far away.

4. If you can’t read the words, ask for the camera to be moved closer (that’s fine). Make sure it

is at the right height so you aren’t looking upwards.

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