Digital News- Research

I decided to look into the theoretical side of the production and out of the first book I found these are the notes I decided to take and keep for my personal reference during the project.
Television Production and Broadcast Journalism, Philip L. Harris. 

Script writing

Program formats;

• Lecture- the lecture program format is the easiest format to shoot. The talent speaks directly to camera, shot in a medium close up, other names for this format include BTF (big face talking) or talking head. The lack of camera movement makes it dull and uninteresting.
• Lecture Demonstration- This format can be more interesting due to movement, its more of a how to it adds action that corresponds with the lecture. (this is mainly used in cooking shows and shows such as Good Morning)
• Panel Discussion- Mainly used on a sunday morning network program that bring a group of professionals on news and current affairs. (can be used for the news, Channel 4 use this often)
• Newscast- A collection of individual news stories. Each story within the program may be developed with a different script style, but overall program has its own script. 

Broadcast Journalism 

Types of stories 

• Reader- is a story that an anchor simply reads aloud from the television prompter for the audience to hear. 
• VO- is a type of story that incorporates B-roll video rolled in from the control room in addition to a script being read by a news anchor. 
• VO-SOT- is a type of story that is one step higher in a complexity than VO. The audience sees B-roll video and hears the anchor reading from the tele prompter, followed by footage of a comment from the principle player connected to the story. 
• Packages- is a story shot and edited before the newscast. It is a complete unit that can be inserted into a newscast. 
• Extended Package- 2-4 min story that is shot and edited before a newscast and typically provides more in-depth coverage of a specific story. 
• News package- Package that covers hard news/current events.
• News feature package- package covering soft news stories that are connected events. Also called a feature package or feature.
• Personal feature- type of human interest story that focuses on one person and why that person is worthy.
• Stand-up- Footage in a package that depicts a reporter standing in front of the camera, speaking directly to the viewers from the location 

News writing for broadcast

Finding stories 

To find if a story is news worthy you should ask yourself;

• Is there some conflict in your story to sustain the viewers interest?
• Is the story unusual?
• Is someone well-known involved in the story?
• Is there a segment of the audience that will be impacted by the story?
• Can the story be brought "home" to the local audience?
• Does the story include emotion or human interest aspects? 

Researching stories

The purpose of research is to gather all the information necessary to frame a story responsibly, fairly, accurately and completely for viewers. There are several ways to get information, and the reporter should be persistent in finding out everything possible about the story and getting the facts straight. The information, and the information of the story should be double checked to ensure that every word is verifiable. 

Legalities: Releases, Copyright and Forums 

Terms that should be known and used:

• Release- A release is a grant of permission that is commonly provided in written form with signatures of all the people involved. 
• Property Release- A signed document that grants a video team permission to shoot on private property. 
• Public Property- Property that is owned by local, state or national government organisations. It is usually legal to be on the premise of the public property.
• Telent release- A document that gives video producers permission to photograph the talent and/or to use audio of the talents voice. 
• Copy right law- Set of laws that protect the creditors of original materials from having their materials and creative work used without proper permission and compensation. 
• Transformative use- Using a work for an entirely different purpose than it was originally created and intended to be used. 
• Trademark Law- A set of laws that protects a company's brand identification in an effort to avoid confusion in the marketplace. These laws ensure that when a consumer sees a logo or label on  a product, the consumer knows who makes that product. 
• Public Domain- A status designation applied to material that is no longer copyrighted due to the passage of time or when rights are relinquished by the copyright holder. 
• Public forum- An environment or location, typically public property or media, where an individual can stand and publicly speak their mind. 
• Non-public forum- Either public or private property or media that is not typically used or made available for public expression. Regulation on speech is allowable in non-public forum, but must be reasonable and not internationally exclude any a particular or opposing viewpoint. 

 

 

Here are a few photographs from the book about scripting and finding stories.