n this chapter you will learn about the unique characteristics of
broadcast journalism—radio and television. Unlike print journal-
ism (newspapers and magazines), where readers can return again
and again to check facts or review a message, broadcasters have a
small and fleeting window of opportunity to get their message across.
Broadcast messages have a brief life. As a listener or viewer, you have
one chance to catch the message, and then it’s gone. The fact that
broadcast news is here one second and gone the next has a great deal
to do with why broadcast news takes the form it does.HOW BROADCAST NEWS DIFFERS
FROM PRINT NEWSWhat if Abraham Lincoln were alive today and traveling by train
from Washington, D.C., to Gettysburg to dedicate a new Civil War
cemetery? What if people in the news media anticipated a major presi-
dential address from Lincoln that would touch on issues of national
importance? How would they organize their news coverage?
If the reporters worked for CNN (Cable News Network), a round-
the-clock television news network, they would probably schedule a
30-minute program with live, on-the-scene reporting. They might have
problems with Honest Abe, however, because the Gettysburg Address
lasted only about two and a half minutes.
We can almost imagine a reporter saying to herself, “He’s done
already? What do we do now?” Meanwhile, an editor in a nearby com-
mand truck might be muttering, “What’s that four score thing? Why
doesn’t he just say 87 years?”
Thinking about how television reporters might cover the Gettysburg
Address gives us a good chance to see both the strengths and weaknesses436 MIXED MEDIA
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:- discuss the major differences between a news story
prepared for broadcast and one written for a newspaper, - explain why broadcast writing is usually informal
and conversational, - list the advantages radio has over other communication media,
- identify the crew positions needed for a typical
television production, - discuss the role the Federal Communications Commission
plays in regulating the broadcast media, - create a script for a news story in both radio and television formats.
In this chapter, you will learn
the meaning of these terms:
broadcast journalism
natural sound
reveal
mass media
announcer
deejay
newscaster
news package
commercial
television station
public television
station
syndicated
programming
digital cable
television
talent
script
pronouncer
cart
incue
outcue
total running
time (TRT)
stand-up
script rundown