UNIT 3 TELEVISION NEWS
Structure
Objectives
Introduction
Print and Broadcast News
Basic Rules of Television
Basic News Scripts in TV
Sources for Television' News
Basic Style Rules
T V Reporting Techniques
Writing to visuals
The Art of Television Interviews
3.9.1 Guidelines for Interviewers
3.9.2 Research for TV Interviews
3.9.3 Warming Up for the Interview
3.9.4 Questions for TV Interviews
Let Us Sum Up
Further Reading
Check Your Progress: Model Answers
3.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you should be able to:
define 'television news',
distinguish between the news in the print media (newspapers) and television
news,
point out the difference between radio news and television news,
draft news items for television,
discuss the technique; of television news reporting,
describe the role of the television news reporter in TV news interviews,
undertake reporting and interviewing.
3.1 INTRODUCTION
So far, in this block, we have discussed radio news, commentary and features.
Having focussed our attention on the audio medium, we shall now proceed to
the audio visual medium of televisiok;. In this unit we shall discuss the characteristics
of television news, its style,rules and the role of interviews in the television news
package. We shall also compare television news with the news on radio and-in
print. At the end; we think that you will be able to ascertain the qualities of
television news.
In the last unit of this block we shall deal with television commentary and feature.
At the outset it is important to know that news as it is put out on television
has to be treated altogether differently as compared to the news onrany other
mass medium. For one thing, the news items have to be matched by corresponding
footage while the news is being presented. For another, the demand for visuals
is considerably high, requiring constant and course updating.
3.2 PRINT AND BROADCAST NEWS
The news bulletin is a ma,ior area of programming for a television station. It is
telecast live and thus has to be made error-free.
News may be any item of importance that takes place in a certain locality,
something unusual, something 'that interests us, or concerns us. The classic
definition of news known to all beginners is not really a definition but an
illustration. "When a dog bites a man, that is not news because it happens too
often, but if a man bites a dog, that is news". The aphorism has remained alive
because it dramatically states the enduring value of novelty to the news business.
While the news is fundamentally the same in any medium-newspapers, radio
or television-yet the presentation of news differs in all the three media owing
to special characteristics.
Stories for the broadcast media generally are shorter than those for the print.
Time is to radioltelevision what space is to a newspaper.
The newspaper's space is expandable, but broadcast time is-not.
The length of a news broadcast severely restricts the number of news items
that can be incorporated into the broadcast bulletin.
Time limitations force broadcast persons to be highly selective in the stories
meant for inclusion in news bulletins. That is why news for broadcast media
is covered with extreme brevity as compared with the newspaper coverage.
The broadcast stories must be concise and intelligible because the listenerlviewer
has only one chance to grasp the meaning. He or she cannot go back to the
story the way a newspaper regder can. Therefore, stories written for broadcast
must be conversational and easy to comprehend. Good broadcast copy must
be easy on the ears. The rule is: write like you are telling a friend. This
evolution from the newspaper style to conversational broadcast style has been
a natural transition.
D The old newspaper rule of including five Ws and one H in the first paragraph
of a story does not necessarily apply to broadcast news. To write clear news
copy for broadcast you must remember to determine what is important in the
story. Does the story lie in what happened? Or is it who it happened to? Or,
perhaps how it happened? Or, is it what is happening or who will become
involved? These questions must be answered in your mind before you can
write a broadcast news story.
Television news-style evolved gradually. While the stories for TV news must also
be shorter and conversational, just as in case of radio news, the rule is to write
In a conversational style for pictures. When writing for television, the pauses Televisioo News
necessary to coordinate words with visuals are taken into consideration. Writing
is often geared t o the available pictures of the event. The words omit what the
pictures show and tell what the pictures omit. Because of the visual element, the
TV news-show tends to favour news stories which can be reported with pictures
to news on which no picture is available.
Check Your h'ogress 1
Note: i) Use the space for your answers. ~
ii) Compare your answers with the ones given a t the end of this unit.
1) Write down three main differences between print and broadcast news.
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2) Mention two differences between radio and TV news.
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3.3 BASIC RULES OF TELEVISION
The newspapers are printed for the eye; the TV news story is presented for both
eye and ear; while radio news is meant to appeal to the ear. The golden rule
for TV news is: write like you talk, not like you write. T o communicate information
it must speak in simple language most viewers would understand. The following
rules must be remembered in writing the news for television.
Clarity: The first rule of TV news is that the story must be clear at once.
Unlike the reader, the viewer has no second chance to go over the material. T V
news is written on the wind-here for the instant, gone the next moment.
A viewer left wondering,about the meaning of what has been said at the beginning
of a sentence will probably be too distracted t o comprehend what is being said
at the end of it.
Just as the person who writes science articles for a popular magazine must be
able t o translate complicated scientific jargon into the general reader's language,
the writer of TV news must be able to make complicated stories simple. In short,
understanding must be immediate in the TV News Bulletin. The golden rule t o
follow is "never underestimate the viewers' intelligence or over-estimate their
knowledge".
Brevity: Clarity comes not only from writing simple sentences but also from
writing short ones. Long sentences cannot be read easily by the newscaster, and
a viewer has a hard time following them. Every sentence that you write for
broadcast should be short, simple and easy t o understand.
The average acceptable number of words per sentence in a TV copy is 13 to 14.
TV news has been described as a headlines service. It is intended to give the
viewer only an outline of the event. In short, there are more wordsnews
in a traffic
bulletin.
..AA..+ item in a newspaper than there are in the entire
Writhgfor Radio d Formula (ELF) has been devised after an analysis of numerous broadcast scripts.
Tek* This formula, simply put, goes like this: la any sentence, count each syllable
above one per word. Take a second look at any sentence scoring above 20. It
may be perfectly clear, but chances are it can be improved by trimming adjectives
or adverbs, extracting clauses or simply dividing into two sentences.
A one-syllable word is not counted: hat, check, give
A two-syllable word counts one: bowler, grabbing, hostess
A three-syllable word counts two: radio, distributes, beautiful, misery
A four-syllable word counts three: democracy, implausible, conscientious
and so forth.
Excess syllables represent waste. A one-syllable word is always better than a
two-syllable word, if it says what you want to say. And a two-syllable word is
much better than a four-syllable word when it serves the purpose. Often you can
save time by using:
FIRST for 'initial'
BEAT for 'defeat'
BUY for 'purchase'
END for 'conclude'
SURE for 'certain'
TRY for 'attempt'
URGE for 'persuade'
One syllable words are often either familiar verbs, pronouns, function words (the
"glue" words which hold content words together), or concrete nouns.
Long words such as capitalism, totalitarianism, communication, psychotherapy
often communicate abstract ideas. In writing news for TV, we cannot always
escape long words. To get a difficult idea across, we should do it in as simple
a manner as possible.
Conversational: TV news writers use everyday words: the language of conversation.
T V journalists use a vocabulary that corresponds to the one used in daily
conversation. Words used in everday speech ought to be included when drafting
news for television. Take this story written @ per newspaper style:
"The vice-president of the New York branch of the Red Cross stated in a
press conference today that many Christmas toys can inflict injury upon
unsuspecting youngsters".
That is not exactly conversational. Instead, a TV journalist would write:
"A Red Cross official warns that many Christmas toys can. be dangerous
for kids".
The following is the partial list of words that are generally too formal for TV
news, with conversational alternatives:
Formal Conversational
slate schedule
passed away died
bar prevent
reside ' .. live
residence home
nab catch
altercation argument
prior to before
indisposed sick, ill
Most of the words in the "formal" column also take longer to say, thereby wasting
time. On the other hand, conversational words are short,commonly-used words
and therefore communicate easily. 'words that we might succeed in deciphering
in a newspaper or book are much more difficult to comprehend when we listen
to them.
Time Reference-Present Tense: The element of immediacy is one of the biggest
assets of the TV medium in reporting news. Every effort should be made to
include up-to-date reports and to write copy in a manner that sounds fresh and
timely. With this in view, the present tense is encouraged. For example:
Police were searching for clue. (unacceptable)
Police are searching for clues. (acceptable)
The present tense is the most engaging tense in the language. It indicates that
the action is still going on, It conveys currency of the news. It is more appropriate
to phrase a sentence as, "There is a huge fire in the old city", than, "there was
a huge fire in the old city".
The dynamic nature of news is better carried in copy that incorporates the present
tense. Here are a few illustrative sentences:
Iraq announces that it accepts the UN proposal for a cease fire in West
Asia.
/
or
The Chinese have test-fired another hydrogen bomb.
There are many situations, nevertheless, where the present tense does not work:
The bridge collapses
Or
Two people are being shot (both are unacceptable)
Actions that belong to moments in the recent past cannot be forcibly dragged
into the present-that bridge is not collapsing now.
However, (the present perfect tense) maintains an air of immediacy while describing
actions that have ended.
The bridge has collapsed
Two people have been shot (both are acceptable)
The present perfect is less dated than the past tense and is used in situations in
which the present tense is unacceptable:
A constable has been arrested for impersonating as a magistrate.
There can be situations in which neither the present nor the present perfect tense
are acceptable:
i) Few people have shown up at the meeting, so it broke up. early
ii) Two people have been shot earlier today (both are unacceptable even whe~;
written in present perfect tense)
In these situations, it is necessary to fall back on the past tense.
i) Few people showed up at the meeting, so it broke up early
or
ii\ 'fwo nennle were shot earlier todav. (bath are acce~tablej
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Wrlthg for Radio and Do not say 'today' when the story broke yesterday. Such practice can prove
Television embarrassing. Be resourceful. Update the story. Move it into the present by
highlighting a new fact. In such a situation, it is perfectly proper t o conceal the
time in case the time element is not of consequence. For example, if it is
mid-afternoon and you are using a statement that the British Prime Minister made
the preceding night, it is not necessary to say:
Last night the British Prime Minister, Mr. John Major, issued a strong statement
condemning terrorist violence in Punjab and Kashmir.
What is newsworthy here is the British Prime Minister's condemnation of terrorism
and not so much the time element. So, the sentence should read as:
British Prime Minister John Major has condemned terrorist violence in Punjab
and Kashmir.
The time element can be mentioned later in the story when more details are
mentioned.
Active Voice
Avoid the passive voice; it is the voice in which the subject is acted upon. Use
instead the active voice where the subject acts upon the object.
Passive voice: An airliner was hit by a private plane.
Active voice: A private plane crashed into an airliner.
Active voice is clearer, packs more punch and uses fewer words.
Weak: The' policeman suddenly took away the gun.
Better: The policeman snatched the gun.
It is important to keep the action in the verb. The active voice (the subject of
the sentence does the acting) is stronger than the passive voice (the subject of
the sentence is being acted upon).
Weak: The building was destroyed by the fire.
Better: The fire destroyed the building.
3.4 BASIC NEWS SCRIPTS IN TV
You must have by now understood the main difference in writing news for
television and other mass media as indicated in the earlier section. In addition,
TV news should contain some extra qualities to give it a distinct flavour to suit
the medium. We shall enumerate these qualities here.
Televisioa News
Check Your Progress 2
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this
unit.
1) Why do you think 'brevity' and 'clarity' are essential for T V News?
Answer in two sentences.
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2) We list here some words that are generally used in newspapers. You
have to give an alternative, conversational word for use of radio or TV,
for each of these formal words.
slate
passed away
bar
reside
residence
nab
altercation
mum
prior to
indisposed
a) Talking Heads: The most skeletal news story is a 'reader', or 'liner'. This is
a story read on camera by one of the newscasters with no visual appearing
on the screen. True stories not supported by visuals generally have no place
in the television medium. Such a story could have been written for radio.
The'only difference is that, on television, you see the face of a newscaster.
Still, this story may find its way into the news *bulletin because there are
occasions when no visuals are available especially on out-of-town stories, or
in the case of a story that broke late, ntaking it impossible to get relevant
footage on the air. Also, some particularly complex stories may be better
understood without the added distraction of visuals.
b) Super: 'Supers' too are also important elements to every story with video in
it. 'Supers' are names or other bits of information superimposed on the TV
screen. Also called IDS, they identify or explain a person, thing, place or
picture. For instance, they are used to identify the newscasters by supering
their names on their images.
c) Voice-over (VO): Visually, the step ahead of lack lustre 'talkirlg head'
presentation is to have a talking head plus a visual. A visual may be a
photograph, chart, map or graph. It is used to illustrate a story, identify a
place, or simplify a complex economic news items say with the use of a
graph. The naxration continues over the visuals.
Apart from static visuals like graphics, illustrations, etc., the voiceover is also
carried on video footage of for example a plane crash on a mountain summit,
or riot-hit areas. Shortly after the newscaster begins a story on camera, video
coverage appears on the screen while the newscaster continues to read.
d) Sound-bite: A sound bite, or 'cold bite', is a type of story that includes no
W rilinglor Radio Pnd interview with someone knowledgeable about the story. The newscaster begins
Television on camera and reads upto a certain point in the script; then the expert
interviewed on the subject appears on videotape, making a comment related
to the story. At the end of the sound bite, the anchor-person reappears so
as to tag the story before moving on to another news item.
e) Stand-up: It is a story assembled by a staff correspondent/reporter. Like the
sound bite, in this story too, the newscaster begins on-camera and reads upto
a certain point and then introduces the re2orter. The latter then speaks from
the location. These types of stories are considered to be the backbone of a
newscast. Reporters prefer to read the stand-up while looking straight into
the camera.
ii) Package: The treatment is the same as in the case of stand-up except that
the story may consist of an interview with an expertteyewitness apart from the
reporter's footage. It is sound-bite plus stand-up. The newscaster begins a news item
with a brief mention of the highlights of the story and follows it up by introduce
the reporter on location. The reporter then states the main points of the news
and gives details in a concise style, the report may be interspersed with interviews
of the persons in the news. These comments not only fill the gaps in the report
but also lend an air of credibility to the reporter's inferences.
Check Your Progress 3
Note: i) 'Match the following columns.
ii) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this
unit.
In the left hand column some qualitiesltechnical terms are listed. In the
right hand column, brief explanations of these qualities/technical terms
are given. These two columns are not arranged properly. Please match
the qualities with the correct explanations by placing the number
of the correct explanation against the relevant technical term.
Qualitiesltechnical terms Explanation
a) Package 1) Expert appearing on TV screen to
give some comments for a very short
while
b) Talking-head 2) T V screen shows the newscaster
reading news
c) Sound-bite 3) Newscaster is not seen but only
heard and visuals are shown
d) Voiceover 4) When the report by a correspondent
includes a short interview
e) Stand-up 5) Bits of extra information super
imposed on the screen
f) Super 6) Report by a correspondent
3.5 SOURCES FOR TELEVISION NEWS
Television newsrooms generally use the same sources of news that are used by
the other media. However, of late, two main sources of news for Doordarshan
have come to be booked; The satellitelmicrowave video feed services, and syndicated
video coverage.
a) The ,primary sources of news [Link] are the news wire services' such
as Press Trust of India (PTI) and United News of India (UNI) among other
news agencies.
television, especially those of late-breaking stories for which moving pictures Television News
are not available.
b) The satellite/microwave video feed is televisibn's owh unique version of wire
service. It is an electronic transmission of news stories originally recorded on
film or video and sent by closed circuit microwave or through satellite to
subscribers who record it on their own video tape and then decide which
stories to use for inclusion in their own local TV news-shows.
c) Most stations employ correspondents/reporters who gather news by going gut
with a camera crew to report an incident event such as a fire, an accident,
a conference, etc. At times, owing t o the absence of a visual, the reporter
may file a dry story (a story without any visual) o r instead speak to the
camera and narrate the story.
d) Filmlvideo coverage of many spot news events such as accidents, fires, floods,
earthquake, and the like is often difficult to procure if staff
correspondents/camera person are not available at the time of event. However,
such an event is sometimes covered by a freelance camera person scouting
around near the scene. This visual coverage is purchased from the freelance
camera persons who are known as stringers. The stations have t o rely on
stringers for unexpected news stories, particularly if the staff cameraperson
is unable to reach the scene fast enough to record it.
e) Most television stations monitor radio news bulletins and vice versa for
important news stories. If the story is very significant and there is no time
to obtain visuals, such stories are telecast dry.
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Check Your Progress 4
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer.
ii) Compare your answer with the one given at the end of this
unit.
1) List all the possible sources of news for a TV Station.
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3.6 BASIC STYLE RULES
You must have noticed that every television station normally has its own rules
of news writing style. Not every TV newsroom prepares its news telecast copy
the same way. In general, however, these rules described below hold good. The
words that TV journalists write have to be read for the ear. Abbreviations,
figures, symbols anything that causes the newscaster to hesitate o r stumble-impair
the newscast. Therefore, to overcome this problem, TV newsrooms have developed
style rules for their copy.
All news telecast copy must be type-written in triple space. When writing for
radio, use the full page allowing about an inch for margins. For television, use
the right half (or two-thirds) of page for news copy. The left side. of the page
is for video information-visual effects, film o r video tape rolls, etc. The news
items can be typed all caps or upper-lower case.
I Writing for ~ a d i o u l d
Television
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Activity 1
At this juncture. engage yourself in this activity.
Watch a news bulletin on television, and observe the news packaging and
presentation carefully, then, list the techniques of news delivery that were
included in that particular bulletin. Mention the format used, use of
'sound-bite' in a specific news item or simply a dry type of presentation
sans visuals in a 'talking head' story. What impression did the overall
news bulletin leave on you? Did you like the format or did you find
there was room for improvement?
Date of News Bulletin Format
News Item 1 Stand up
News Item 2
News Item 3
News Item 4
News Item 5
You may choose the headline stories or any four stories of your choice
from the news bulletin. We have filled the first item to illustrate.
Date the first page of your script. Type your initials (or last name) in the upper
left hand corner of every page. Use paragraphs. When you start %our story
INDENT. Number the stories. If more than one page is required, make the
sentence at the bottom of the first page a COMPLETE sentence. If possible,
make ii a complete paragraph.
Corrections
When your cross a word, REALLY cross it out. Black it out completely. Leave
nothing ambiguous in your script.
Numbers
Whenever reasonable, simplify complicated numbers. It will be convenient and
honest to use terms such as "approximately", "more than", "about". and "almost"
For example, Rs. 2,001,897.46 in most cases should be written as "slightly more
than twenty lakh rupees".
It is also important to spell out all numbers through till the number eleven.
Fractions and decimal points should always be spelt out-three-fourths, one-half,
three point two ...
These are rules that make numbers easier to read on the air, but there is one
final rule about num6ers: they should not be used too often.
Quotations
Newspaper reporters generally quote their subjects directly. News items for
broadcast should contain fewer quotes because there is no time for extended
quotations. News on the electronic media is short and very precise as compared
to newspaper reporters.
Abbreviations
The rule for the use of abbreviations in broadcast news writing is: eliminate the
use of almost all abbreviations. Common sense should be exercised when handling
names of government agencies or phrases that are sometimes conveniently written
as acronyms. Abbreviations such as the USA or CBI are easily recognized by
the average listener as the United States of America and Central Bureau of
Investigations respectively.
should write a word as they want it to be read. I f it is "Lieutenant-Governor", , Television News
they should write it out in full and not "Lt.-Gov."
Attribution
Avoid the common newspaper structure in which the attribution is tagged on
after a quotation. This is referred to as "dangling attribution". D o not write, "1
am going to win the election", Mr. S.P. Singh ,said. Broadcasters do not use
dangling attrihutims for two reasons: (1) people do not talk that way, and (2)
the listener may think that the words are those of the broadcaster. The attribution
should be handled for broadcast in the follo*ng manner: Mr. S.P. Singh said
he would win the election. Or: in these exact words, Mr. S.P. Sing said, "1 am
going to win the election".
Activity 2
Before you proceed with this unit, engage yourself in this activity.
You are asked to prepare a news report on 'noise pollution', for eventual
telecast on the national network. How would you proceed to undertake the
assignment? Also, mention the reporting techniques you would employ. T o
help in this activity, we give below a list of steps involved in the preparation
of the news report. You will have to put them in correct order.
Gather visuals of locations identified by their high noise pollution levels,
e.g. factories, congested traffic;
Collect relevant statistics;
Consult a social scientist regarding the effects of noise pollution on society;
record voice over;
Write to visuals;
Record on camera the interview with the concerned expert about (a) the
increasing decibel levels in towns and cities (b) the resultant impact on
the general health citizens;
Research the topic;
Record the piece to camera. , .
The TV news reporter is the eyes, ears, and legs of a TV newsroom. The reporter
must get the "facts" on each story assigned to himher. And sometimes, particularly
'in small TV news operations, helshe should also be able to shoot news film
besides reporting the story. The specific duties of a staff reporter include:
I) gathering and reporting local and area-specific news and features;
11) writing and editing news;
111) presenting news on the air, conducting interviews, A D LIB reports, etc.,
either in the studio or from location.
Qualifications of a TV News Reporter
T o perform well on the job, a television news reporter has to possess some basic
and essential qualifications. Some of these are given below:
versatility;
good w;iting skills;
a liberal education;
6 excellent understanding of the TV medium;
integrity;
Writing for Radio and
Television photogenic facelpleasing personality;
good voice-quality;
confidence.
The best television videotape or film can almost be shown silent. The pictures
themselves tell the story. When covering a story for television, reporters have to
make sure that L; I \- much of the meaning of the story gets into the camera as is possible.
TObe able to comprehensively cover the news, television news reporters generally
employ the following techniques. r
a) Piece to Camera
Of all the skills needed for television news reporting, the piece to camera is
amongst the most frequently used. The piece to camera, which is essentially
in-vision. is recorded on location.
It has three advantages: it immediately establishes the reporter's presence on the
spot; it is extremely simple to execute, and, it is fast enough to be considered
a kind of contingency sample.
These stand-ups, are written on the scene, without the benefit of typewriters or
the other conveniences of the newsroom. Since the reporter looks straight into
the camera, the lines have to be memorized. Sometimes, the reporters read from
a note-book or a clip-board after ensuring the opening paragraph, at least, is
word perfect.
Most stand-ups are short-10 to 20 seconds. On some occasions they run longer,
especially in complex stories that require a lot of explaining, but do not offer
many visu'als.
A stand-up can also be used in the middle of a story to "bridge" two other
sections of the report. Bridges work especially well when the reporter demonstrates
something.
b) Studio Spots
While the piece to camera is an in-vision news presentation by the reporter
recorded on location, the studio spot is a news item read in the studio by someone
other than the programme's main presenter, as additional information t o the
visuals. Usually, it is a special correspondent or a reporter who is called upon
to draw together the elements of a news story with or without the aid of videotape
or illustrations.
Because television news is a team effort involving many persons, the chances of
human error are great in a studio set-up, particularly in an 'on-air' situation.
There are four simple -rules that the on-camera studio reporterlcorrespondent
shorild follow:
i) Maintain self-control. Expect problems and be prepared to cope with
them;
ii) Always prepare file copy. If film or video tape fails to come up, have the
file copy close at hand, to carry on the show;
iii) Never pick your nose or scratch yourself; and
h) Be familiar with studio cue-signals.
3.8 WRITING TO VISUALS
We do not i a t c h news on TV just to get the latest news. Radio does a bettc;
job. We do not prefer television because we want to get all the news: local,
national akd;international. The newspaper does a better job.
We, as television viewers, benefit from TV newscasts because they transport us