Let's get the terminology straight...

One of the big things that makes broadcast news so mysterious is the terminology. If you don't work in the business, it's pretty hard to know what people are talking about when they say things like "copy" or "vo-sot." So, as we get underway on our writing class for this Fall, a good explanation of the terminology could be very helpful.

A newscast 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.

Those stories take a number of forms...

There's the 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.

Then, there's the 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.

A more complex version of the scripter is the wrap, which is also called a spot or a package. Basically, it's the same idea, but a reporter is delivering the story...not a newscaster. What the newscaster (or anchor...or host...to give you two more terms) reads is a host intro...or host lead. This is written by the reporter, and given to the newscaster as a way to introduce the story. It will almost always include the important news the story is about to tell. A good host intro is something like this:

Connecticut Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd campaigned in New Hampshire today, fresh off his endorsement by the nation's largest firefighter union. WNPR's Av Harris reports.

Then, the story begins, with the reporter's pre-recorded voice, and a soundbite included. At the end, the reporter signs off. Something called an SOQ (standard outcue). It's pronounced "sock" and goes something like this:

For WNPR News, I'm Av Harris in Manchester New Hampshire.

A simpler version of a reporter-delivered story is the voicer. This has all the same elements...but the soundbite is left out. Thus, just the voice...a voicer.

At the end of the spectrum, we have the most complex type of story...the feature. It's really just a wrap...but with more soundbites from multiple voices. It's longer, so there can be more background information, and even scenes...where sound can be used to tell the story. The feature is complex enough that we'll spend a lot more time talking about it later.

Typical August story

I stumbled across this piece on NPR the other day. I'd love to get your reaction. It's a perfect example of the type of story that plays in August...but not in months when there's more news happening.

A new semester...a new project...some new listening

We're starting another semester of JRN 521 at Quinnipiac - the unfortunately named "Writing for the Ear." The idea is good, but it doesn't really tell us a lot about what the class does. Really, it's about doing good stories for the radio - a medium that can inform us a lot about how to do good print reporting...and also give us a basis for television writing as well. Honestly, though, it's a way for me to get graduate students excited about radio as a way to tell stories...as an artform...and as a link to tother types of new media production.

Later in the semester, this blog will host a regular podcast featuring the work of our JRN 521 students...along with WNPR interns and others who are learning the craft. For now, it's a source of information...listening links...and discussion.

As we get started, I want you to get familiar with some of the kinds of work we'll be producing. I'm going to be showing you a lot of work by my station, WNPR and by our network, National Public Radio. That's because I think we do good work...and our stuff is also pretty free and easy to listen to online. No silly subscriptions needed...yet. Anway:

First, there's the good old fashioned news spot by WNPR environmental reporter Nancy Cohen. A news spot is usually short, and breaks news - in fact, this is the first reporting that's been done on this story. It doesn't have all of the elements a longer story might need, but it lets us know the news - quickly. Here's a little blurb about the story...it serves as a kind of "Host Intro."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is charged with restoring damaged natural resources on the Housatonic River, has put its work on hold because of a dispute with Connecticut over money. WNPR's Nancy Cohen reports.

A good example of a "News Feature" is this story by Minnesota Public Radio reporter Sea Stachura. It's got all the elements of a news story...but it's told with some distance in time, and with a chance to reflect. The host intro is something like this:

Flash floods in Minnesota left 1,500 homes and many businesses under water last week. Six counties were declared federal disaster areas. In the small town of Rushford, flood victims face a grim aftermath.

Not all stories fit into these very specific news categories, though. There's never been a really good way to describe this next type of story. It's sometimes called a "Light Feature" or a "Soft Feature" - but we'll call it a "Fun Feature." We'll have many more examples in the future...but here's one by Chana Joffe-Walt that seemingly hits a nerve for many this time of year.

We'll also be exploring a form that's coming back into style. NPR calls it a "Reporter's Notebook," some call it a commentary, but it's really "First-Person Journalism." You, as the reporter, putting yourself into the story. With so many reporters being asked to blog and report, it's something listeners are ready to hear...and that is a great job skill to learn. Here's a recent piece by NPR's sport's reporter Tom Goldman.

That's all for now...more coming soon.

"Long-Form" feature listening

To go along with our discussion of final project story ideas, I wanted to present some things for you to listen to, and comment on. I want to give you some ideas and options of how to creatively put together a story similar to the one we've proposed. Most NPR reporters have between a few days and a few weeks to deliver a story like this. You've got a whole month.

This story by NPR's Carrie Kahn appeared just a few days ago. She's reporting on a controversy that's still going, but with far less ferver than last year. Like all of the stories we'll hear, she leads with a scene, and gets the stakeholders involved from there. For comment: What's the theme of this piece?

The next story is one I promised you that I did for NPR. It's about a very local reaction to a controversy that's happening nationally. I did this before I read the Updike manifesto, but in going back to that early post, I realized that this is what I was trying to do:

"Writing, in a radio story, has to be tighter and simpler than print: the beginning should hook listeners fast and hard, the way a song does."

For comment: What's another possible scene I could have led with? Also, what do you think about the actualities? Do they "work" in helping to tell the story? One note here: this story was on a tight turnaround, so I have a census official on the phone, not in person...you've got to find ways to talk to your stakeholders in person. That, by nature, will make it a more "local" story.

Here's another story I did a few years ago...and we're back to immigration. (You must think that's all we cover!) Listen for how the argument is set up - we establish the theme early, by using a scene. We let the stakeholders themselves discuss the controversy. For comment: I think it's a good story...but not really very "compelling." How could it have been better?

Writing for the Ear: The Final Project

Thanks to JRN 521 for joining me online to discuss the final project. You've probably already seen the parameters for story ideas that I've put down...here they are:

1. Find a controversy Something in your town, or that you know about, that has clear tension. A dispute over land-use, perhaps...a battle over noisy neighbors...a plan to shut down a town landmark. You want a story where you can find real passion on both sides of an issue.

2. Find the stakeholders Who are the people you really need to talk to if you're going to tell this story? Who is most affected? Who would be sorely missed if you did the story without them? Chart out who these people are, and come up with some ways to contact them. For our purposes, we'll want at least one character on each side of the issue, people with a clear stake in what's happening. And, we'll want at least two "outside" voices - it could be "man on the street" - getting reaction to this issue.

3. Find a scene We've heard some great scenes in class already, and I'll be sharing more examples. What we want is one of our stakeholders speaking in a place key to the story. Or, some action happening in that place. For the purpose of our exercise, look for a scene that will open the story...the first thing the audience will hear after the host intro.

4. Find your themes Even a great story has to be "framed" right for the radio. How do you want to tell your story? Whose points of view should be heard first? Who else needs to be heard? How do you work in your "outside" voices?

So, in your comments, tell me how you'd address these issues. What controversy? What stakeholders? What scene(s)? What themes? I've adjusted the comment field so you don't have to go through the google logon...but please put your name on the comment, so I can tell who you are!

Porn case raises questions for teachers

WNPR's Diane Orson is covering a rather remarkable case. A substitute teacher in Norwich, Connecticut faces up to 40 years in prison for exposing students to pornography. The thing is, many experts say she's not to blame - instead, they say, it's the school that should take the rap

This story was originally broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition.

New London Rocks

Where We Live staged the most elaborate, community-builiding live music event we've tried so far. We highlighted the thriving music scene in New London, with an interview about the city's music scene, an old-time banjo band and a country-tinged duo.

(The photo is by WNPR intern Chion Wolf - it shows Where We Live technical director George Goodrich with the band The Can Kickers)

Connecticut students look for in-state tuition

Here's the story that the folks from my "Writing For The Ear" class are reporting on this week. WNPR's Lucy Nalpathanchil is covering the continuing story of undocumented students in Connecticut and the attempt to get them in-state tuition rates.

The story's been covered by The Hartford Courant extensively this week. Mark Spencer's story in the paper includes an interesting reader survey. As of the time of this writing, some 80 percent of people responding said "No" to the idea.

Clearly, this sort of survey isn't scientific, but the reaction to an obviously sympathetic article is surprising.

(The photo is from The Hartford Courant)

On a roll...

WNPR's Where We Live had a really good couple of weeks. Our producers put together an amazing series of guests and ideas. Two of Connecticut's leading pollsters came in to talk about the ever-expanding importance of polls - especially to the already heated 2008 Presidential campaign.

The next day - we talked about AIDS in Africa and the U.S. through the lens of an acclaimed play, an important documentary, and a current conversation.

Elizabeth Wurtzel, the author of the best-selling confessional Prozac Nation joined us to talk about depression, writing, and what's she's doing at Yale Law School. Her new writing ideas are coming from her experience in Manhattan during 9/11.

That event - which killed thousands, and wrecked Elizabeth Wurtzel's nearby apartment building - also led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Clark Kent Ervin was the agency's first inspector general. What he uncovered about the department got this long-time Republican "dis-invited" from his job, and led him on a new career, writing about the current threats to America. He talks about his deep disagreements with the Bush Administration.

Author Susan Eaton and attorneys John Brittain and Wes Horton helped us uncover the history and look ahead to the future of the desegregation case Sheff v. O'Neill. Eaton's astounding book, The Children in Room E4: American Education on Trial chronicles the case from the beginning, and updates it with the story of students struggling in Hartford's failing schools.

Finally, Filmmaker Ken Burns visited to talk about his upcoming documentary "The War" - to be seen on PBS stations in September. There's a reason why people like his movies. It's pretty clear he really cares about history, and knows it cold.

"Your skin would feel like it's burning..."

David Kestenbaum is a great storyteller. He's a trained physicist who does science reporting because he seems to truly love putting a human face on stuffy scientists.

In this story about a new, experimental, non-lethal weapon he uses some great techniques that we can all apply to our radio reporting. He sets up the story with a "host intro" that really makes us want to listen.

Then, he starts his copy with a very simple technique...he goes back "to the beginning" where the technology was still young. He's found a way to illustrate just what the ray-gun does by using a personal experience of someone who helped build it, and who's been hit by it. We "feel" it in a way we wouldn't if the reporter just explained what he "heard" it felt like.

Big Broadwater Story Part 2

A few weeks after Nancy Cohen reported on Broadwater's place in the overall LNG landscape for WNPR, she wrote an entirely new story, adding new information for National Public Radio's Morning Edition. It's a very different story - written for a different audience. (Image Credit, Wes Rand Hartford Courant)

Spots of different spots

"Spot" News can be breaking stories, daily updates, important items, and total trivia. The idea is that these stories encapsulate what's happening right now, that radio listeners should hear. And hear quickly. For our purposes, the spot news story is no longer than 1:15.

A few examples include the sad but silly story of "The Nut Lady," a 94-year-old Connecticut resident who devoted her life to, well...nuts. It includes a few interesting, archival pieces of tape - telling the important parts of a life in a very short bit of time.

A "newsier" spot might include the elements of this story about pending legislation at the state capitol. A controversial issue, where you hear both sides of the story...again, very quickly. When we include audio in a story like this, it's a "wrap."

Here's another story, basically ripped from the day's newspaper. It's what we call a "voicer" - just a story, written by a reporter, and read as a script. There's no sound bite involved.

"Thank you for joining us this morning"

When faced with a Washington news policy piece, there's sometimes little a reporter can do to make it interesting and lively. The chances to find ambient sound, quirky events, or connections with real people are very difficult...especially under deadline. That's why I love what NPR's Andrea Seabrook did with her story "Can We Afford State of the Union Proposals?".

She uses some techniques that I wouldn't try too often, including the way she introduces the story's first character. But look at the writing, and the way she uses very conversational, non-sentences to explain...or "translate" what the subjects are saying.

NHL Hockey back in Hartford?

NHL Hockey left Hartford back in 1997. Most people think it's never coming back. Here's Lucy Nalpathanchil's story about an attempt to make it happen.

This story has some great little moments - as usual, it's the tape with "regular people" that really makes it.

Coliseum comes tumbling down

Few stories have the raw impact of a building being imploded. TV News loves it, of course - great visuals. But there are also a million little stories to tell: What was the building's history? What memories do people have of the place? Now that it's gone what goes in it's place? What would the people who built it think?

WNPR's Diane Orson got to cover the implosion of the New Haven Coliseum - a troubled, and some would say ugly, building...that once held a lot of hope for the city.

Her report has so many of the elements you want in a radio story:

- Great characters
- A compelling narrative
- And, of course...amazing tape

Listen for how the elements are put together - how else could you mix & match them?
(photo credit: MICHELLE MCLOUGHLIN, HARTFORD COURANT)

The "99 Ways"

For both intriguing listening, and an excellent production lesson, take a listen to 99 Ways to Tell a Radio Story at the Third Coast International Audio Festival site. The premise is simple: Set up some basic rules about what the story should contain - but limit the production style in no other way.

This results in some straightforwardly compelling pieces, and some just downright strange ones.

Garrels goes back to Baghdad

This week, NPR correspondent Anne Garrels goes back to Iraq for the first time since November. Where We Live went to her house in Connecticut to talk about what she expects to find when she gets there. She says from all reports the violence in the city is as bad or worse as when she left, and she'll be covering the long run-up to U.S. troop increases there. She's not terribly hopeful that it will help.

Our interview aired Thursday morning on Where We Live - here is an audio link.

Updike Manifesto Pt. 2

Part two of the Updike manifesto is a step-by-step about how to write to tape. She includes some perfect examples, and boils it down to a few key points:

~ Don't repeat the tape.
~ Let the tape have the money shot.
~ Tell listeners what they need to know to get the most out of the tape.

Updike Manifesto

One of the problems I've had in teaching "Writing for the Ear" classes in the past is finding - for lack of a better word - "inspirational" writing about radio writing. Here is part of a radio production manifesto by Nancy Updike who has done stories for This American Life among others. It gives a really good sense of how to start a radio story.

"Wailing like a lost soul..." or "Moaning like a lost spirit..."

During a new, monthly "listening lunch" at WNPR, Nancy Cohen reminded us of this amazing piece of reporting by NPR's John Burnett. It's a story about a sandstorm hitting U.S. Troops in Iraq. Listen for the evocative writing...and the few things left in that could have been left out.