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+ | ====== Reporter' | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | A guide to writing and reporting a packaged radio news story in self-empowered Solidarity.fm style. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Glossary ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * actuality, ax, cut, bite – a soundbite, a piece of sound of a person talking. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * ambient sound, ambience, ambi – the natural sounds of the place you are reporting from: birds, waves crashing, phones ringing, crowd chanting, etc. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * copy – the words in your script, the writing. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * double ender, tape sync – the practice of sending someone to record one end of a telephone conversation with a microphone in person, while the source talks with a reporter over the phone in another town. The person recording then uploads the clean sound via internet, or ships the tape/disc to the reporter through the mail. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * feature, feature story – a longer story, usually with ambient sound and multiple voices. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * graf – paragraph | ||
+ | |||
+ | * ID, announce – to identify a source in a story, name and title. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * lead (lede, leed) – the introduction to your story, which the host/anchor reads. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * manufacturing consent – a term made famous by linguist Noam Chomsky; the way most media outlets deliver the news, portraying the government as fundamentally benevolent and well-intentioned. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * phoner – a telephone interview. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * soc, sockout – the last line you read in your story. SOC stands for “Standard Out Cue”. | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Jackie Slacky, Free Speech Radio News, Whiskeytown, | ||
+ | |||
+ | * source – any person in the story who is not the reporter, the people who provide the information being reported. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * spin – information released in an effort to make reporters and media consumers believe one particular version of a story. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * spot, spot story – a one-minute story, a headline story. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * trax, tracks – the recording of the words you read into the story. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * voicer, reader – a story with no actualities, | ||
+ | |||
+ | * wrap, cut-and-copy – a one minute story (“spot”) with a soundbite in the middle. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Writing ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | How to write a sentence for radio: | ||
+ | |||
+ | Every second counts. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Put the subject at the front of each sentence, using the formula: | ||
+ | |||
+ | (subject) + (verb) + (object) + (…all other stuff) | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The White House + denies + the charge.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Mrs. Williams + says + the police + (are lying about her son’s death).” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Hamil Schlomo + sprints + the path to Jericho + (every morning, worried he might be shot by a sniper or run over by a jeep).” | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Long, newspaper-style sentences should be broken up into smaller sentences: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “For the fifth night in a row, denizens of the tunnels underneath Penn Station, the “Mole People”, are worrying that the police might barge in and evict them for trespassing on City property.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | …is not a bad sentence, but it’s a mouthful to read and understand. | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The so-called “Mole People” under Penn Station are worried. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Sentences should be written in the positive, as opposed to the negative sense, as often as possible. | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The union leadership doesn’t accept that version of the story.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | …can be rewritten in the positive: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The union leadership says the story is a lie.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Union leaders refuse to accept that version of the story.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Write in the present tense, whenever possible: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The White House denies the charge,” is easier for the listener to understand and faster to read than these common alternatives: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The White House is denying the charge.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The White House has been denying the charge.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | Writing Suggestions | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Write around your sound. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Start and end your story with a person, a personal story, an illustrative anecdote…something that the listener can understand and relate to immediately. | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Karen Conejo knows the names of most of the guards at Yamfee prison. | ||
+ | |||
+ | This is an overused device in radio news, but it’s better than the way-too-often-heard alternative: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The capital punishment rate has gone up in Nevada, from 9 executions last year to 19 this year.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | The latter is no way to invite the listener into a story that’s going to last 3 or 4 minutes. It sounds like the reporter | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Remind your listeners of the subject of your story as you go along, and again near the end. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * If you are having a hard time coming up with a definitive general statement for the conclusion of your story, conclude by telling the listener what they can expect to happen next. Example: In a story about an ethics investigation into the conduct of Senate clerk Johnny Kelley, you could conclude with: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The Senate ethics panel meets Thursday, where Mr. Kelley will have to prove his claims. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * When you are done with your script, make sure you have answered the “Five W’s”: Who, What, Where, Why, When. It’s easy to forget one of these, and leave the listener wondering, “Who are they talking about?”, “What country is this story taking place in?” | ||
+ | |||
+ | Note: The most important of the Five W’s is “Why?”. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Example: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The chemical industry has contributed 15 million dollars to congressional campaigns in the last 5 election | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Chemical industry trade association director Michael Sludge formerly served as the head of the EPA, and he’s | ||
+ | |||
+ | * If you want to talk about how people feel, put the feelings into the source’s words: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “He’s worried about his mother.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | Since you can’t read his mind, you can’t confirm this statement, so you shouldn’t use it. Instead you should say, | ||
+ | |||
+ | “He says he’s worried about his mother.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | Note: This may seem like a small matter, but in many instances, drawing this distinction can keep you from buying into a spin effort, or unconsciously manufacturing consent. | ||
+ | |||
+ | “‘I’m worried about this budget deficit.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | A typical newswire headline will read, | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Bush Worries about Budget Deficit” | ||
+ | |||
+ | The headline basically repeats what he said, as a fact. But isn’t it just possible that he’s not worried about the budget deficit? | ||
+ | |||
+ | Words to avoid in radio writing, whenever possible: | ||
+ | |||
+ | * All forms of the verb TO BE (is, am, are, were, will be, have been, being, will have been, etc.) | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Raines is asking the officer for his one phone call.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | …can be written with more color, without “is”: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Raines pleads with the officer for his one phone call.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | * “Get” | ||
+ | |||
+ | The most common word in spoken American English is also one of the least interesting. | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Moreland tried to get the tiger in his net, but he couldn’t.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Moreland tried to snare the tiger in his net, but he couldn’t.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | * “There is” / “There are” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “There is always a plainclothes officer posted out front of her house.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | …should also be rewritten with action verbs: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Plainclothes officers patrol the front of her house around-the-clock.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Plainclothes officers case her house at all hours.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Adverbs, those words that usually end in -LY. (easily, happily, angrily, etc.) Adverbs are usually unnecessary, | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The White House hastily issued a denial.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | …would be better written, | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The White House issued a denial 15 minutes later.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | Note that “hastily” makes a value judgment for the listener–one that you cannot prove– while “15 minutes later” | ||
+ | |||
+ | * “That” and “Which” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The dog that came in was covered in blood.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | …means the same thing as: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The dog came in covered in blood.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Grimes walked into the hearing to find the same lawyer that he was granted in the first trial…” | ||
+ | |||
+ | …has the same meaning if you omit “that”. | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Grimes walked into the hearing to find the same lawyer he was granted in the first trial.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Avoid common cliches in your writing, overused phrases and sentence constructions: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “…in the wake of September 11…” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “This, as police announced…” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “..against the backdrop of clan violence…” | ||
+ | |||
+ | These are often referred to as “groaners”, | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Choosing Actualities ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * Let the sources give the examples, and (if possible) draw the conclusions. | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Reporter] | ||
+ | |||
+ | “…funding has been slashed nationwide, but Clampett says Nevada prisons are worse than most.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Clampett] | ||
+ | |||
+ | “The other day i saw an inmate eating spiders, calling himself “Spiderman”. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * No matter how important a source’s point, if it’s not well articulated, | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Make sure the background sound doesn’t overpower your actuality. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Once you have chosen a bite you want to use, avoid editing within that bite, especially if it’s full of background sound that would be interrupted with your edits. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Note: Digitial editing makes it possible for you to build soundbites using several different comments that may have been spoken minutes apart. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Working with an Editor ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | First of all, remember that everyone gets an edit. Everyone. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Show up to your edit with an almost-finished product. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Don’t go into the editing process with the attitude that you’re defending your script from a butcher. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * If your editor asks you to get more material or make another phone call, do it. You might be sick and tired of the story by this point, but when it’s done, you will almost always notice your editor’s suggestion made the story stronger. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Interviewing ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * Before you enter the office or job site or house or other location you’ll be conducting the interview, press record on your machine and leave it running until after you leave. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Don’t be afraid to explain what you’re going to do in the interview, before you start asking the questions: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “I won’t be saying much while you’re talking, because I want to get a clean recording of your voice. But that doesn’t mean I am not listening.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “I might ask you some of these questions more than once, just to expand on answers you’ve already given.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “This interview will be edited, so don’t worry if you mess up and want to start over.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Before you ask any questions, make sure your source identifies herself on the microphone, with her full name and whatever title she wants you to use. (One useful technique in a crowd situation is to ask for ID and information at the same time: “What’s your name and title, what do you think about the president’s tax cut plan, and why? | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Be careful not to say, “Uh huh”, “Mmm Hmm” when the person is talking, as we all do naturally in conversation. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * If you have time, ask a few throwaway questions at the top of the interview, just to get them used to the situation. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * If what you really want on tape is the answer to the question, “Did you embezzle $10,000 from city government? | ||
+ | |||
+ | “How has the first year of your term been going Mr.Mayor? | ||
+ | |||
+ | * If you’re not sure what to ask, remember that your ignorance can often be an asset. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Once the interview is about over, you should always give the source another chance to divulge something useful. Try something like, “Is there anything else you think the world should know about this topic?” | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Recording ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * Use headphones when recording. You’ll get better tape, every time. Headphones will help you correct the most common sound problems: popping P’s, overloaded microphones, | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Keep the microphone out of the person’s face, so that they can’t really see it. The psychological effect of having a big metal rod in their face tends to make people clam up and get nervous. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Make sure your source is talking across the top of the microphone, not directly into it. Otherwise, the wind from their mouth will make a popping sound when they pronounce their P’s. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The connections between your microphone and your machine are delicate and expensive to repair. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Even if you’re in a quiet office, record a minute or two of the sound of the interview location with nobody talking. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * If you’re looking for a rugged interview microphone to carry in your backpack, you can’t go wrong with the Electro Voice RE-50 or the Beyer M-58. They both cost less than $100 new, and last forever. | ||
+ | |||
+ | For more on recording, see the Technical Tips pages at www.radiocollege.org, | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== How to make a good story better ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * Include lots of ambience! | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Whenever possible, avoid using telephone interviews. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Vary your format a little. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Most importantly, | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Time-saving tips ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * Take notes when you’re recording, whenever possible. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * When you find yourself with writer’s block, or intimidated by the subject you’re reporting on, walk away from the computer for a minute and explain aloud to yourself what’s happening in the story, as if you were talking to a friend, or a child. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Read your script aloud before you send it on for an edit. You’ll inevitably find you’ve written sentences that are hard to read aloud, and you should change them to make it easier on yourself. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Take the pen and paper out of your writing process altogether. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * At a press conference, pull your sources aside for interviews before the action starts. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Before an interview, think about what kind of tape you can get from a source that’s not related to today’s story, but that you might be able to use later in another story. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Save every phone number and email address you come by, especially mobile phone numbers! | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Label your tapes/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Bring your reporter’s kit with you everywhere, even when you think you’re not working. The time you don’t have it is the time you’ll need it. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * If you’re having trouble locating opposing viewpoints for your story, ask your sources who their enemies are, and call them. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Telephone tips ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * To locate a telephone number, put the name and area code of the person you’re trying to find into a search engine. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The receptionist is an obstacle, but (s)he should always be treated as an ally. If you can make the receptionist start to like you, (s)he will go the extra mile to get the source to call you back. Explain what you are trying to do. “I want to put Dr. Grady on the radio tonight, on 60 radio stations from coast to coast, and I only have an hour left. It’s not a live interview or anything. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * No matter how much time you have left on your deadline, tell the receptionist you only have an hour. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * If you are trying to land a difficult interview with a hostile source, play to their ego: “People are saying some pretty nasty things about you, and I think it’s only fair you get a chance to defend yourself.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | * When you end up talking to an answering machine, say your telephone number first, then leave your message. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * If the receptionist sends you to voicemail, leave a message, hang up and call right back to ask for another number. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Never trust that anyone will call you back by deadline. If you leave a message, wait half an hour, and call back. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Maintain a worried tone of voice, never an annoyed tone. You want them to feel sorry for you, not hate you. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Voicing ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Voicing takes practice. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Wear headphones. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Take a drink of water. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Relax. Before you start, pull your shoulders back, raise your arms, roll your head around on your neck, look up, look down, take a big breath and let it out slowly. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Prep your mouth. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Read your script aloud before you record it. Note those places where you may have to emphasize certain words to make your point. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Look up. Don’t look down at the page when you read. Hold the script up to your head level and read upward. It opens up your chest cavity and improves the delivery of your voice. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Breathe. It’s easy to get through half a page and find yourself running out of air. Take the time to breathe naturally as you read. The sound of breathing is a natural part of speech. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Over enunciate. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Vary your tone, but keep your volume consistent. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * When you make a mistake, start over at the beginning of the paragraph. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * After you’ve filed your story, listen to yourself on the radio and note those places where you should have emphasized words differently. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Ethics ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * Self-empowered reporters should challenge themselves to provoke thought, to inspire, and to motivate listeners, but our primary mission is to tell the truth. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Any exchange of gifts, favors, or money between reporters and sources is wrong. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * No person’s voice should be used on the air unless the person speaking was aware they were being recorded for possible broadcast. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Whenever possible, primary sources should be used to tell a story. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Synthesizing information you get from various sources is a normal part of journalism, but plaigarism is not acceptable. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * A note on “access”: | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Rookie Moves: Common beginner mistakes to avoid ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Rookie Moves: Writing ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Stating the obvious with a lazy cliche ID: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “…Janie Yoblonsky describes the situation.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “…Janie Yoblonsky explains.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | “…Janie Yoblonsky tells us what that means.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | The reporter never, ever has any reason to tell the listener that the source is “talking about”/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | You have at least nine hundred ways to identify someone, the most obvious being simply to state the name and title right before (s)he starts talking. | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Reporter] | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Union representative Janie Yablonsky says the time was right for a change.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Janie] | ||
+ | |||
+ | “We really thought the old regime was getting lazy and finding excuses not to confront the company.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Introducing a cut with the same information that follows in the cut. it shows the reporter hasn’t listened to the cuts she is using. | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Reporter] | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Janie Yablonsky says the time was right for a change.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Janie] | ||
+ | |||
+ | “It was time for a change. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Ending a story with a cut, then immediately socking out: | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Source] | ||
+ | |||
+ | “…and we want the bad people to get out of our town!” | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Reporter] | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Jackie Slacky, Self-empowered Culture Radio, Sandy, Arizona.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | Sometimes it works, but most of the time it’s just lazy. Worse, it usually betrays the reporter’s allegiances to one source in the story. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Making statements which cannot be confirmed: | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Nobody thought Lambert was innocent, but some would have liked to see him get a lighter sentence.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | You cannot prove that there is not one person in the world who thought Lambert was innocent. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Rookie Moves: Voicing ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Taking a heroic or dramatic tone when reading. We’re not gods. We’re not actors. We’re reporters. The STORY is the star, NOT the source, and ESPECIALLY not the reporter. | ||
+ | |||
+ | “For Fuh-ree Speech Ah-radiah Newzzzz, [long pause]… this…[pause]…is…[pause]…Jackie Slacky…in | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Flat reading. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [For men.] Reading in a lower-than-usual voice. When they get on the radio, some men seem to think they have to try to talk like Barry White. They’re not fooling anybody. Stick within your own natural vocal range. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Rookie Moves: Recording ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * Getting too much tape. If you go to an annual corporate conference, for example, don’t tape the whole evening’s proceedings unless it’s for archive purposes. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Recording from too far away. If your mic is not within a foot of a person’s mouth, it’s not worth recording. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Recording in a noisy environment. Often we don’t notice the noises around us, but the microphone does. Even in a quiet, carpeted office with the door closed, a simple desktop computer or air conditioner can ruin your tape. Move away from the computer, or ask to have it turned off. Big, smooth surfaces like tables and walls will bounce these sounds into your mic and make them worse. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Rookie Moves: Digital Editing ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * Cutting out too many breaths, “um”‘s and “ah”‘s when people talk. Pauses are natural in speech, as are space-fillers like “um” and “ah”. To cut all of them out makes the source sound like a robot. It takes the listener’s ear away from the content, distracting them with unnatural patterns of speech. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Cutting in the middle of a breath. | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Cutting too close. Leave a half- or a quarter-second between yourself and your sources, at the beginning and end of all your cuts. Then listen to the edits. Do they sound natural? Are the ideas coming at the listener at a speed that’s slow enough to take them all in? | ||
+ | |||