Newscast Production Tips for Broadcast Journalism Students

**Note: the following tips, ideas and suggestions come from the writer's personal experience as a senior Broadcast Journalism major at the University of South Alabama. The following article and all content contained here within is not necessarily reflective of said university. For many Broadcast Journalism students, senior level courses can be summed up by one terrifying word: "production." That's right. Not only will you be continuing to develop your skills as a field reporter, camera operator and journalist, but you will be required to master the many roles, talents and responsibilities of the newscast producer.

As a producer working in a newsroom studio, you will be tasked with bringing together an entire twenty-eight minute newscast. This means you are responsible for several things, including:

• Choosing which stories you will include in your lineup and in what order you will place them (believe it or not, you will lose viewers by doing this improperly).

• Directing and supervising the news anchors, including those over weather and sports

• Writing, rewriting, reviewing and copy editing all scripts appearing in the newscast (yes, even and especially those you did not write yourself).

• Working closely with your newscast director(s).

• Choosing graphics and b-roll that fit the stories well.

• Making sure all video is ready to air without complication.

• Taking orders from your executive producer(s).

If you haven't yet learned that the role of a newscast producer is one often filled with tremendous bouts of stress, you soon will. A successful producer must be able to work well under extreme pressure, meet very strict deadlines, exemplify excellent leadership, take harsh criticism, follow detailed orders and possess only the best writing and editing skills. Here are three things you can do and learn to make things easier on yourself and to have a successful, student-run newscast:

1. Become a Master of Calculating your News Hole

Before you start worrying about anchors, scripts and audio problems, you must first calculate your news hole. In his book "Power Producer," author Dow Smith, associate professor of broadcast journalism at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in New York, defines the news hole as, "the amount of time in the newscast for actual news content." In other words, how much time do you have for news after subtracting commercial breaks, weather, sports, tosses, teases and opening and closing credits?

Yes, you will need basic addition and subtraction skills to successfully calculate your news hole. Begin by noting what time your newscast is scheduled to begin and end. For example, a 6 p.m. newscast may not actually air until 6:03 and will likely end at or around 6:28:58 (give or take a few seconds). This end time allows for enough commercials between the end of the newscast and the start of the next program. Most thirty-minute newscasts will have two to three commercial breaks, each of which will vary in length.

Add up the total time consumed by all commercial breaks, weather, sports and even your anchor tosses, teases and your station's opening and closing credits. Add a few more seconds to allow for unforeseen events that will take up extra time. Oftentimes an anchor or weathercaster will adlib lines which do not appear in the script. This will eat up additional time. Your news hole will likely land between 12 and 15 minutes. Learn to calculate this down to the very second. If you are off by so much as 5 seconds, you will throw off the entire newscast.

2. Learn to Write Attractive and Enticing Teases

One of the producer's many duties is writing teases. A successful newscast will contain several teases, spoken by anchors, to preview an upcoming story. The tease must be written so as to sell the story to the audience. This will involve some creativity and thought on your part. Ask yourself why the viewer needs to hear the story. What about the story will the viewer relate to? What can you say right before the commercial break to bring your viewer back for more?

Remember that there are several different types of teases: pre-show teases, deep teases and kickers, just to name a few. Learn the characteristics of each and how to successfully incorporate the appropriate one into your newscast script and rundown.

3. Compose an Accurate and Detailed Rundown

This may perhaps be one of, if not the, most important responsibilities of the producer. A newscast rundown outlines in a 9 to 12 column format (sometimes 2 to 5 pages) every detail of the program, including:

• The newscast block (A, B, C, D, etc.)

• The slug (title) of each specific story, nested next to the block it will appear in.

• Which anchor/reporter will appear on camera and when

• The length of each story/and or the opening and closing tag (usually spoken by the anchor) that will accompany it.

• The type of camera shot (1 shot, 2 shot, etc.) needed for each anchor intro and tag.

• The format of each news story (package, usually abbreviated PKG, Sound on Tape, abbreviated SOT, Voice Over-Byte-Voice Over, abbreviated VOBVO, etc.)

• Any on-screen graphics that will accompany an anchor, such as an over-the-shoulder (OTS) graphic.

Think of the rundown as a set of directions. It tells your production crew (camera operators and audio personnel) and your anchors where to go, when to go there and what will happen when they get there. Your college or university will likely utilize script writing software such as EZNews (www.eznews.com). It is crucial that you learn the ins and outs of these programs.

4. Maintain the Composure of a Leader who is in Control and Expect Mistakes

This one goes without saying. Any student-run newscast, particularly those led by first round broadcast students, will be full of mistakes. This is normal. As the producer, it is your job to bring the entire team together to work on correcting these mistakes. Do not blow up at a student or lose your temper in the newsroom. Remember that your crew and anchors are looking to you for guidance and direction. Maintain your leadership qualities. Be firm, but not angry. Learn to handle on-air mistakes and to adjust your rundown time and scripts accordingly, under the pressure of getting the show off air by the appropriate time.

While the role of the newscast producer may seem a daunting task, it can be mastered by bearing in mind much of the aforementioned. Do not be afraid to consult with your professor when you run into problems or have questions. Stay calm, cool and collected and have a great newscast!