Information
about Careers
By Dinesh Kamath
Broadcast
Journalist
Introduction
Broadcast
Journalism is the field of news and journals which are "broadcast",
that is, published by electrical methods, instead of the older methods, such as
printed newspapers and posters. Broadcast methods include radio (via air,
cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, and Internet), and,
especially recently, the Internet generally. Such media disperse pictures
(static and moving), visual text and/or sounds.
Scripts
for speaking to be broadcast tend to be written differently from text to be
read by the public. For instance, the former is generally less complex and more
conversational. Radio and television are designed to be seen and heard sooner
and more often than is a daily or weekly newspaper.
Broadcast
"stories" (articles) can be written in "packages",
"readers", "voice-overs" (VO) and "sound on tape"
(SOT).
A
"sack" is an edited set of video clips for a news story and is common
on television. It is typically narrated by a reporter. It is a story with
audio, video, graphics and video effects. The news anchor, or presenter,
usually reads a "lead-in" (introduction) before the package is aired
and may conclude the story with additional information, called a
"tag".
A
"reader" is an article read without accompanying video or sound.
Sometimes an "over the shoulder Digital on-screen graphic" is added.
A
voice-over, or VO, is a video article narrated by the anchor.
Sound
on tape, or SOT, is sound and/or video, usually recorded in the field. It is
usually an interview or "soundbite".
Radio
Radio
was the first medium for broadcast journalism. Many of the first radio stations
were co-operative community radio ventures not making a profit. Later, radio
advertising to pay for programs was pioneered in radio. Later still, television
displaced radio and newspapers as the main news sources for most of the public
in industrialized countries.
Some
of the programming on radio is locally produced; some is broadcast by a radio
network, by syndication etc. The "talent" (professional voices) talk
to the audience, including reading the news. People tune in to hear engaging
radio personalities, music and information they want. In radio news, stories
include speech soundbites, the recorded sounds of events themselves and the anchor
or host.
The
radio industry has undergone a radical consolidation of ownership, with fewer
companies owning the thousands of stations. Large media conglomerates such as
Clear Channel Communications own most of the radio stations in the United States
Television
Television
(TV) news is considered by many to be the most influential medium for
journalism. For most of the American public, local news and national TV
newscasts are the primary news sources. Not only the numbers of audience
viewers, but the effect on each viewer is considered more persuasive, as
described by Marshall McLuhan ("the medium is the message" in his
book Understanding Media). Television is dominated by attractive visuals
(including beauty, action, and shock), with short soundbites and fast
"cuts" (changes of camera angle). Television journalism viewing
numbers have become fragmented, with the 24-hour cable news television
channels.
Local Television
The
industry divides television into local and national. Such local television
markets are defined by viewing area and are ranked by the number of audience
viewers. New broadcast journalists generally start in the smaller markets with
fewer viewers and move up to larger television stations and television networks
after gaining experience. The larger stations usually have more resources and
better pay.
Normally
local stations typically broadcast local news 3 or 4 times a day: around 4:30,
5 or 6 am, 11, 11:30 am or noon, 5 and/or 6 pm and 10 and/or 11 at night. Most
of their nightly local newscasts are 30 minutes and include sports television
and weather. News anchors are shown sitting at a desk in a television studio.
The news anchors read teleprompters that contain local interest stories and
breaking news. Reporters frequently tell their stories outside the formal
television studio in the field, where the news is occurring, in a remote
broadcast setting where Electronic news-gathering (ENG) techniques are used
with production trucks. Daytime television or morning shows include more
"soft" news and feature pieces, while the evening news emphasizes
"hard" news.
News jobs
News
anchors (formerly "anchormen") serve as masters of ceremonies and are
usually shown facing a professional video camera in a television studio while
reading unseen teleprompters. The anchors are often in pairs (co-anchors), sit
side by side, often alternating their reading. Meteorologists stand in front of
chroma key backgrounds to describe weather forecasting and show
"graphics" (maps, charts and pictures). Any of those people can
become the most recognizable television personality of the television station.
Reporters research and write the stories and sometimes use video editing to
prepare the story for air into a "package". Reporters are usually
engaged in Electronic field production (EFP) and are accompanied by a
videographer at the scenes of the news; the latter holds the camera. That
person or assistants manage the audio and lighting. They are in charge of
setting up live television shots and might edit using a non-linear editing
system (NLE) too. The segment producer might choose, research and write
stories, as well as deciding the timing and arrangement of the newscast. An
associate producer, if any, might specialize in elements of the show such as
graphics.
Production jobs
A
newscast director is in charge of television show preparation, including
assigning camera and talent (cast) positions on the set, as well as selecting
the camera shots and other elements for either recorded or live television
video production. The Television Director (TD) operates the video switcher,
which controls and mixes all the elements of the show. At smaller stations, the
Director and Technical Director are the same person.
A
graphics operator operates a character generator (CG) that produces the lower
third on-screen titles and full-page digital on-screen graphics. The audio
technician operates the audio mixing console. The technician is in charge of
the microphones, music and audio tape. Often, production assistants operate the
teleprompters and professional video cameras and serve as lighting and rigging
technicians ("grips").
On-line convergence
Convergence
is the sharing and cross-promoting of content from a variety of media, which in
theory might all converge and become one medium eventually. In broadcast news,
the Internet is key part of convergence. Frequently, broadcast journalists also
write text stories for the Web, usually accompanied by the graphics and sound
of the original story. Websites offer the audience an interactive form where
they can learn more about a story, can be referred to related articles, can
offer comments for publication and can print stories at home, etc.
Technological convergence also lets newsrooms collaborate with other media.
Broadcast outlets sometimes have partnerships with their print counterparts.
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