Week 13

Critique of a News Bulletin

Firstly, I looked at a local Gold Coast News bulletin from Channel 9, during the coverage of Cyclone Marcia. The program predominantly covers local news stories and highlights the rundown of a general news bulletin.

The first issue I noticed with the bulletin was an imagery issue. The background behind the presenter is completely blurred and covered in rainfall. A camera displays the live backdrop of the Gold Coast and during wet weather the camera is covered in water. I believe this suggests the program is amateur. It would be better suited to have a still background or have a live shot with a camera that isn’t covered in water droplets. The background therefore becomes immediately distracting to the viewer.

At 1min 50secs there is a shot that does not fit the screen (filmed on an iPhone) and this is simply mirrored to cover the wide screen. This shows the footage has been sent in by the public and it is not as good quality as the rest of the bulletin. This is an issue with the harsh deadlines and a lack of stronger technology allowing journalists to gather better footage.

At 3 mins 17secs the talent is also filmed incorrectly, the talent is looking directly at the camera and is centred, rather than being shot in two thirds of the screen. Again this is an amateur issue with the filming of the news segment.

Yet again, the weather news continues with a separate reporter in a new location with another angle to the Cyclone Marcia story. At 3mins 46secs we can again notice the mirror image method used when footage has been taken on a phone. It looks much less professional, but is used because of the short deadlines set on journalists.

Here is the segment of the bulletin with the most issues that I focused on with my critique...

Week 12

Editing Processes

In order to edit the news bulletin package I first checked the rundown of the stories to ensure that they were in the correct order. The most important stories lead the bulletin to the more ‘fluff stories’ at the end of the bulletin. This also sometimes follows the theme that bad news comes first. Celebrity and sports news is classified as the entertainment news, so it follows the lead stories in most news bulletins, depending on its relevance and value too.

During the read of the bulletin, I rehearsed the story to make sure that I made as little mistakes as possible. I also learnt to read loud, clear and paced to make sure that the read matched the pace of the news bulletin as a whole.

The planning of the news bulletin editing process begins with a story plan or story log. This is known as the story bed (Alysen 2012, p.195). It frames the news bulletin and is a journalist’s tool to creating a pre-recorded bulletin.

To cut each video I chose to save them individually and test each sound level to ensure that they all matched up. In a bulletin the sound levels should sit between -6 and -12, to ensure they all matched up to the program. Next I cut up my bulletin read. I chose to cut them also piece by piece, but I edited the sound levels to suit the program first.

Next, I added the introduction and began to insert each bulletin read with its corresponding story. However, the project required time to pause at the end of each lead in to a story. Allowing for a short pause at the end of a segment allows for the viewer to process the information and the bulletin then begins in a timely manner.

Week 11

Lectures and Readings:

This week relied on editing a bulletin and constructing the entire bulletin. In order to construct a bulletin there needs to be a specific structure to the bulletin. In any news presentation there is a specific pyramid structure with the most important news coming first to the least important news and the entertainment news with the sport. The bulletins was thus ordered in this manner with the most important news stories being more hard hitting pieces that are more newsworthy than the segments that discuss events or present the sports news.

During the editing process timing is also a key factor. To edit the presenter around each bulletin requires the editor to take time and care so that there are not long pauses or awkward silences in the presentation. In a live studio however, the editor would need to ensure the segments are ready to play on a reel for when the bulletin goes to air. This is a more difficult technique for the team as the presenter has to ensure they are as on time as possible for the cue to play each news package and the editing team need to ensure they are ready to play each package as soon as it has been presented by the journalist on screen.

Throughout the process of editing my video I found that the segments and news bulletins followed well together. The structure of the presentation matched the packages and I also allowed time after each read to pause and allow the package to play. Overall, this is the finished product of the semester...

Week 10

Lectures and Readings:

This week was the final presentation week and all bulletin presenters had their final go at perfecting a bulletin.

According to Barbara Alysen 2012, a good bulletin has to start with a good script and more importantly, the script has to suit the reader and the audience. For a more mature news bulletin like the ABC the script has to suit an educated mature demographic, but for programs such as the local Nine News and Seven News there is a more casual undertone to the news program to suit a younger demographic. The local bulletins also have a more local focus meaning sometimes the stories are more focused on soft news rather than hard news, which means they are read in a more casual soft manner.


Prior to the read I practiced the scripts until I knew them all in general. It was time to then focus in the pace of the stories. The pace for the first story was quite moderate and it maintained that pace throughout the bulletin. One story was read at a slower pace about a medical revolution to re-construct a young boy's face. I felt the need to add emphasis to this story to gain the special interest of the viewers. For human interest stories there needs to be an added emphasis to the story, so the viewers know the next story is of an important interest. The technique is commonly used on current affair programs including Today Tonight and A Current Affair or Four Corners. The slow-paced strong story emphasis grabs the readers attention making them feel as though the story is of a particular interest to them.

A few issues I originally found with reading the script were that I was pacing some stories too fast or too slow and at other times the emphasis on words did not suit the story. After a number of voice exercises I also found it easier to read the bulletin without making too many mistakes. If a mistake is made it's suggested that the reader goes back to the start of that line and immediately corrects themselves. For example, this is very important in facts of court cases and money figures, because misinformation is damaging in these cases.

Week 9

Lectures and Readings:

This week was our practice run-down for our news presentations and we developed an understanding of the news room and the set up of the studio. However, this week also primarily focused on the aspect of shooting and the techniques involved with reading the cue prompter. There are a variety of aspects that need to be checked in order to present the news bulletin at a professional standard.

AUDIO
Firstly, the audio levels need to be checked, the audio manager can do this by calling for a sound check. The presenter then reads a line or two of the script and the levels are checked. In most cases the audio should be mostly in the green meter, and just touching the yellow from time to time. This generally sits at 6 to 12 on the meter levels.

CAMERA FRAMING
In terms of the framing, the presenter should be in the front and centre of the camera. There should be around 15 centimetres of head space. In the shot the journalists lower arms and hands should not be showing in this case and the desk is cut out. In some studios there should be some hand space to show the desk and the presenter's entire upper body. However, in our case the desk was not necessary for our shot.

CUE PROMPTER
The cue prompter has the difficult task of managing the cue to match the reader's speed and the pace of each segment. Some stories are made to be read slower than others to add emotion or sympathy. In some cases stories should be read faster or more upbeat. For example, a story about a sick child should have a slow sad pace to stress emotion and sympathy in the story. On the other hand, stories that are about events and good news should have a more upbeat pace or feel.

PRESENTER
The presenter has one shot to get the story right and set up their bulletin. The presenter is the focal point of the bulletin. He/she has to prepare themselves for the camera and ensure there mic is on and ready to go. Some presenters have make-up and assistant teams, but the reading and presentation pace is all reliant on the presenter, they not only set the pace for the story, but they also need to know the pronunciation of words and the stories for the program.

DIRECTOR
The final say is all on the director as they send the checks out to ensure everyone is ready. The director then gives the floor manager the 'go ahead' and the recorder presses record, as the bulletin goes on the countdown.

This was my first practice read...

Week 8

Lecture and Readings:

From the film crew to sound checkers and even the first and second directors, everyone plays an important role to ensure that the program goes to air without a hitch.

Firstly the camera controller needs to frame the talent front and centre with a small amount of head space and lowered just below the shoulders to the desk. The view of the anchor also shows authority over the reader. By highlighting the reader as important it gives the presenter dominance over the stories and shows that they're credible.

Communications an important part of the broadcasting process, because without the directors and audio communicating with the visual team the program would not be collective. The video has to match up with the sound levels that need to be monitored through air checks. Next, the floor director/producer needs to contact the booth director to ensure everything is set and ready to record and go on air. The program then begins with a que in as the floor director counts down.

From the moment the director hits one on the count down the talent and the que controller are in the spot light. The talent/reader steps the pace of the story as the que director follows their lead. The reader also needs to set an emphasis to certain parts of the story so the que controller also needs to be in tune with the script and the way a presenter reads. Overall, the bulletin would not work without the entire production team working as one.

As part of my own video assessment I chose to source two authoratative sources on the issue. I chose not to include a vox pop in my piece as I believed the two interviewees gave the story enough context. Additionally, the time frame for the news story was not long enough for me to include this piece. I angled the story on the issues and what is happening now to ensure that it was still newsworthy at the time of submission. The piece also features a range of shots at the scene of the story. Below is the completed project...

Week 7

Lecture and Readings:

This week we worked in the studio to build our confidence up ahead of presenting a news bulletin. During reading a bulletin introduction, it's not as simple as reading a piece to a camera. Whilst reading there are certain ways you have to read the story to add emphasis and keep the attention of the audience.

During our reads to the camera we developed a news voice; a voice of authority and description. A journalist is not only required to write and present a bulletin, but as they are reading they need to understand the story to add their news reader element to the piece. The stories of the day also have to flow, so it makes the job of the bulletin presenter nearly as difficult as the job of the field journalists who compile the stories (Alysen 2012, p. 215).

Bulletins can be prepared before they go to air, but presenters also need to be alert in the case of breaking news (Alysen 2012, p. 211). In this case they will be fed the news story by ear and they will need to present it to the public directly, without preparation. This is an important skill that journalists need to master as breaking news can develop for online media outlets, radio news and television news bulletins.

Another important aspect of the bulletin is to understand the stories before they go to air, so there is pressure on field journalists to deliver and pressure on the presenter to read the stories. The presenter is also required to keep a steady pace and ensure they know what story is directly ahead (Alysen 2012, p.212). This means there are a number of skills that a presenter requires in order to read a bulletin; it's not as simple as just reading.