Contents

About the author

Acknowledgements

1  Introduction

The evolution of television news, 1954–2000

2  Getting into television

What qualities for the beginner

A good education

An insatiable interest in news and current events

Evidence of a commitment to journalism

The right personality

‘Broadcastability’

Other skills

The ability to write

Eyes on your target

Writing in on spec

Direct-entry training opportunities

Catering for special needs

Trainee selection methods

Getting in from college

National Vocational Qualifications

3  The electronic jigsaw puzzle

How television gets its news

Staff, freelances and stringers

Foreign news sources

International news agencies

Archives

Video news releases

4  Who does what in television news

Multimedia working and multi-skilling

The organization of television news

The news-gathering machine

Reporters and camera crews

Domestic assignments

Covering the world

The three faces of output

Writers

Production output

Technical output

Integrated newsroom systems

Newsroom layout

Computerized newsrooms

And the history of the future …

5  Writing for television news

Television style

Broadcast language

Reader on camera

Adding illustration

The digital frame-store

Stacking and cropping

Storage and retrieval

Making the choice

Writing to still pictures or insets

Composites and split screens

Electronic graphics

The artist and the writer

Pictures with tape sound

Widescreen transmission

6  Words and images

Perspective: the history of the lightweight revolution

Introducing colour

The rise of ENG – electronic news-gathering

How ENG works

Picture editing

Shot-listing and the script

Non-linear editing

7  Writing to pictures

Basic commentary construction

Building in the pauses

Getting started

Scripting sports news

Cueing into speech

Selecting soundbites

Last words about pictures

The golden rules of writing to pictures

8  Television news reporting

Reporting as a career

Learning the ropes

Speech

Mannerisms

Dress

The reporter’s role

Ready for assignment

Reporter as manager

9  Reporting techniques

Pieces to camera

Knowing the words

Studio spots

Interviewing

Purpose and preparation

Four main forms of news interview

Putting the questions

Coping with the answers

The set-piece interview, step by step

Studio interviews

10  Packaging the news

‘Topfield’ picture package

Editing the package

Writing the intro

Making ‘films’

11  The camera at work

Soft news camera

Hard news camera

Safety

Camera equipment

Microphones

Basics of camerawork

International assignments

Getting it home

Telling it to the birds: the development of satellites in the late twentieth century

Satellite news-gathering

Meeting the deadline

The field producer/fixer

12  Constructing a news programme

The news ‘programme’ is born

Putting it together

Preparing for action

Programme meetings

Post-mortems

The running order

Running order format

Timing

Dealing with breaking news

Countdown to transmission: The Five O’Clock Report

Setting out the script

13  Production and presentation 183

The control room

The studio

Sound and lighting

Sets

Script conference

Rehearsal and transmission

Local and regional news

Headlines

Guidelines for headline pictures

Insets and studio-set idents

Halfway

End headlines

Linking to the weather

14  Presenting the news

How it began: newsreader or newscaster?

Modern presenting

Doing it in pairs

Working with presenters

Training to be a presenter

15  Media convergence and the future

The Internet and television journalists

Cable television

Direct satellite

Teletext

Combination video-journalism

16  Conclusion

Taste, decency and ethics

Further reading

Glossary

Index