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A SUCCESSFUL RADIO REPORTER:Briefing, Reporter’s Ammunition, Meeting Deadline

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Radio News, Reporting and Production ­ MCM515
VU
LESSON 17
A SUCCESSFUL RADIO REPORTER
To work for radio as reporter is bit different from working for print journalism. Radio is a kind of medium
the news can not be delayed and is to be put on air as early as the incident takes place. Owing to this limited
and challenging time margin, the radio reporter needs to be very active, sharp, and prepared before hand.
Briefing
Before a reporter leaves for the coverage he has to do sufficient homework. He must know the nature and
the importance of the event. The participants, the chief guest, what the event is about, the background of
the event, all these points must be concentrated.
He must complete the file of previous stories if the present one is a sequel of any old news story.
For instance, reporter is deputed to cover SAARC countries' presidential conference; he must have a
complete knowledge of the following points:
The names of the member countries.
The names of the heads of the respective governments.
Information about the countries.
Previous meetings in other countries and important progress on different matters like games, trade,
students' exchange program.
Reporter's Ammunition
A good reporter's kit always contains the following essentials which are actually the ammunition of a
reporter.
Tape recorder
Digital tape recorders
Battery cells
Cassettes
Microphones
Note book
Ball pens
Fixing ahead
In case of Diary Assignment a reporter must arrive at the venue pretty before the actual function is to
begin. He has to perform number of tasks before time. He has to fix microphone/s. He has to locate power
supply point. He has to arrange power leads. He has to mange a suitable place for himself. He has to check
the installation of the equipment with the aid of which he will record the proceedings of the function. He
has to check if the tape recorder is recording properly. To do all these things a reporter has to be before
time failing to which he may face any unexpected problem.
In case of instant reaction callout, reporter leaves for the place immediately.
In case of live coverage, complete OB van must be with reporter.
Meeting Deadline
As it has been said repeatedly, the radio's most important and significant feature that stands this medium
out of all others is its promptness. Delayed news goes waste, however important it may be. To meet
deadline a reporter has to follow the following points:
·  News caster must be present in the newsroom at least 5 minutes before the bulletin.
·  Can be told news on mobile.
·  If voice clip is important to be broadcast, through mobile it can be recorded in the radio
studio.
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Radio News, Reporting and Production ­ MCM515
VU
BASS'S DOUBLE ACTION MODEL OF INTERNAL NEWS FLOW:
Bass (1969) suggested the way news is processed from news gathering to news presentation of the
gatekeeper theory. The process, according to Bass, can be divided in two stages given below.
Stage 1
Stage 2
Completed product
Raw news
News gatherers
News processors
News copy
Reporters
Editors
News gathering and news processing are separate aspects of the news production as shown in the Bass's
double action model of internal news flow.
The first step occurs when the news gatherers make `raw news'- events, speeches, news conferences etc. in
to `news copy' or news items. The second step occurs when the news processors modify and unify the items
into the `completed product'- a newspaper or a news broadcast- that is delivered to the public.
Factual Reporting
As it has already been mentioned that in factual reporting the answers to basic questions, i.e., what, when,
where, who, and why, are found out. Reporter goes to the concerned persons and authorities and interviews
them for the basic facts and figures about the event.
The order, however, will change according to the importance of the questions.
Factual reporting of Functions/ Seminars/ Workshops/ Exhibitions
Following information is obtained for the news story of above stated events:
What---the nature of the function
Where---venue
When---time, day and date
Who---the chief guest with designation or status in society
Why----the purpose of the function
Factual Reporting of Accidents/ Fire
What--- actually happened?
When---- the incident took place
Where----the incident took place
Who---- the number of victims
How---- much damage
Factual Reporting of Natural Calamities
What happened------- flood, earth quake, tornado, torrential rains, heavy wind, etc.
When happened-----time
Where happened-----place (city, state, country)
How many victims--------number of causalities and injured
The intensity of earth quake
The speed of the tornado
Factual Reporting of Crimes
What happened? ---------the crime's nature
When happened?
Where happened
Who did it? ---------- the culprit
Who were the victims?
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Radio News, Reporting and Production ­ MCM515
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Why did it happen? ------ the reason of the crime
Factual Reporting of Illness of a Prominent Figure
Who----Name & identification of the invalid person
What-----nature of illness
Why-----the reason like food poisoning
When-----did he get the illness?
When-----did he get admitted to hospital?
Where-----home or hospital
Condition (fair, serious, or critical)
Members of family at bedside
Factual Reporting of Death Stories
Who-----Name and identification of deceased person, age at the time of death
Where----Place of death
When----date, time
What-- Why--How--Cause of death, survivors with relationships
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Table of Contents:
  1. WHAT RADIO IS:HISTORY OF RADIO, MARCONI –THE INVENTOR
  2. HISTORY OF RADIO:B.B.C. – 1922, Radio in Sub-Continent, PBC SERVICES
  3. OBJECTIVES OF BROADCASTING IN PAKISTAN:Information, Islamic ideology
  4. NEWS VALUES I:CONFLICT, PROGRESS, VICTORY AND DEFEAT
  5. NEWS VALUES II:TIMELINESS, PROXIMITY, NOVELTY, HUMAN INTEREST
  6. NEWS VALUES AND ELEMENTS OF NEWS:MISCELLANEOUS NEWS VALUES
  7. MEASURING THE IMPORTANCE OF NEWS:Intensity of an Event, NEWS STORY TYPES
  8. TYPES OF NEWS STORIES II:SIMPLE TYPES, ILLNESS, DEATH
  9. TYPES OF NEWS STORIES III:Conspiracy, Drug Trafficking, Lunar Months
  10. TYPES OF NEWS STORIES IV:COMPLEX NEWS, Forms of Government, Monarchy
  11. TYPES OF NEWS STORIES V:Education, Research, Religion
  12. TYPES OF NEWS STORIES VI:Lifestyles, Receptions, Entertainment
  13. SOURCES OF NEWS I:Network of Reporters, QUALITIES OF A REPORTER
  14. SOURCES OF NEWS II:MONITORING, NEWS/ PRESS RELEASE
  15. SOURCES OF NEWS III:National News Agencies, HARD NEWS, SOFT NEWS
  16. REPORTING:ORDER OF REPORTING, REPORTER’S QUALITIES, Well informed
  17. A SUCCESSFUL RADIO REPORTER:Briefing, Reporter’s Ammunition, Meeting Deadline
  18. INTERPRETATIVE REPORTING I:Growth of Interpretative Reporting
  19. INTERPRETATIVE REPORTING II:Factual Background, SPEECH STORY
  20. INTERPRETATIVE REPORTING III:FIRES & ACCIDENTS, CRIME STORIES
  21. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING I:Thalidomide Scandal, Watergate Scandal
  22. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING II:Identification of the problem, INTERVIEW
  23. TYPES OF INTERVIEW:Hard News Interview, Informational Interview
  24. ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD INTERVIEW I:Comments and Opinion, Topic must be specific
  25. ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD INTERVIEW II:Preparation of the Interview, Language
  26. RADIO NEWS GLOSSARY:Actuality, Cut, Voicer, Wrap, Hourly, Lead
  27. FUNDAMENTALS OF NEWS WRITING:Inverted Pyramided Style, Telling the Story
  28. FUNDAMENTALS OF WRITING NEWS FOR RADIO I:Language
  29. FUNDAMENTALS OF WRITING NEWS FOR RADIO II:Complex numbers
  30. ESSENTIALS OF A NEWSCASTER:Authority, Credibility, Language, Pronunciation
  31. PRODUCTION AND PLANNING:Principals of Planning a Program
  32. PRODUCER & BUDGETING:Strengths of a Radio Program, Budgeting a Program
  33. JARGONS OF PRODUCTION (Continued):Frequency spectrum, Dead studio
  34. TYPES OF TALK:Qualification of a Talker, Essentials of a talk, Vetting a talk
  35. DISCUSSION:Controlled Discussion, Live Discussion, Current affairs
  36. DISCUSSION:Selection of the TopicKnowledge of the Topic, Narrowing down the topic
  37. RADIO FEATURE:Sound Effects, Narration, Dramatic Feature, Religion, Personalities
  38. RADIO DOCUMENTARY:Commentary, History, Persons, Things, Phenomena
  39. DRAMA:Solo plays, Series, Serial, Soap, Components of Drama
  40. SPECIAL AUDIENCE PROGRAM:Children’s Programs, Women’s programs
  41. SPORTS PROGRAM:Live Programs, Recorded Programs, Preparation of OB
  42. THE MUSIC I:Folk Music, Classical Music, Light Music, Pop Music
  43. THE MUSIC II:Classification of Raga In Terms Of Notes, Aado, Khaado
  44. ETHICS & LIMITATIONS OF MEDIA:Domain of Freedom of Media, Defamation
  45. RECAP:What Radio Is, Timeliness, Elements of news, Types of Reporting, Production