Fall 2009 gets underway!

Welcome to a new semester...should be a fun chance to learn about storytelling, radio-style.

As usual, I start with some basic terms that you'll be hearing from me throughout the semester...so we're talking the same language. Then, we'll be listening to some examples of the kinds of stories we'll be telling:

Newscast: This could be a lot of things...five minutes of headlines read by a radio reporter at 6 a.m. or maybe a full, half-hour television broadcast, complete with weather and sports. For our purposes, a newscast is: The framework within which we place stories. We'll be talking in later classes about how to "stack" a newscast, or choose the important stories in the right order.

Reader: That's when the newscaster reads news copy (otherwise known as a script) directly to listeners. It's news that he has written himself, and doesn't include any additional outside sound. Many radio stations provide newscasts that are little more than a series of readers, strung together taken from wire service copy. It might look something like this:

The state Supreme Court ordered a new sentence today for a man convicted of shooting a New Haven police officer. The high court unanimously upheld the conviction of Arnold Bell, but found part of a law giving him a stiffer sentence as a persistent dangerous offender unconstitutional.

Scripter: That's when the newscaster reads copy, and inserts a soundbite into the the story. Of course, there's a million ways to refer to the soundbite, like: cut, bite, clip, sound on tape (or SOT), tape (that's pretty old-fashioned), audio, and probably a few I'll forget. Here's the same story, written as a scripter:

The state Supreme Court ordered a new sentence today for a man convicted of shooting a New Haven police officer. The high court unanimously upheld the conviction of Arnold Bell, but found part of a law giving him a stiffer sentence as a persistent dangerous offender unconstitutional. Bell's attorney, Joe Blow said the ruling was a victory:

Bell :12 "...will be vindicated."

Bell was convicted of shooting officer Jane Smith in 2001.

Another name for the scripter is the donut...and it's easy to see why. There's some stuff...then a hole where the soundbite goes, then more stuff. Many TV stations (they call them VO-SOTs, or voiceovers with sound on tape...catchy, no?), and some radio stations dispense with the second bit of "stuff" and just move on to the next story.

Spot (or Wrap): Basically, it's the same idea as a scripter, but a reporter is delivering the story...not a newscaster. A spot is short (for our class, :50 to 1:30) and it usually breaks news. It's the first reporting on a story, and is meant to get the basics out there. That doesn't mean spots can't be full of information.

Each spot includes a "Host Lead" or "Host Intro" read by an anchor. It gives a description of what's to come. Here's an example from WNPR reporter Anna Sale....First the Host Intro:

Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez was arrested today on charges of bribery and fabricating evidence in connection with renovations at his home by a city contractor. WNPR's Anna Sale reports. Here's the link to the story itself.

Here's another spot from Lucy Nalpathanchil. First, the host intro:

While Mayor Eddie Perez maintains his innocence on corruption charges and says he won't resign, Hartford City Council may have a say in Perez's future. WNPR's Lucy Nalpathanchil reports. Now, the link to hear the story.

It's still a spot that's breaking news...but it's taking a different angle. Some people might call this a "sidebar" story - an old newspaper term. I just call it good reporting...following up on all aspects of an important story.

Feature: This is what you'll be producing later in the class. It's a longer story than a spot, although it has some of the same elements (news at the top of the story, background, voices of stakeholders, a conclusion that moves the story forward) as a spot, but takes more time, and provides more depth. We're going to hear a few different kinds of stories from today's Morning Edition...

Here's a good recent example of a story driven by a need to more fully develop an ongoing news story. And, another example, where we took a "micro" look at a bigger problem. You can do more listening here to different kinds of stories that fit into these categories.

Okay, now those terms make sense, but we can't do much with them, unless we first explore the "Basic Rules of Broadcast Writing." For next week - we'll get more depth on these subjects by tearing into our textbook, "Sound Reporting" - and reading the first four chapters.

Talk Show Intro: This is the newest thing we'll be discussing in the class...and it's an often overlooked aspect of broadcast writing. The introductions that hosts read for talk programs draw listeners into the conversation. A poor introduction means a disengaged audience...a good intro has people clamoring to get involved. Here's an example of an "okay" intro from our talk show Where We Live.