TV News Background

1
TV News Background

• TV news and the styles of writing employed grew
  out of Radio News
• Since the 1960s and 70s a clear effort in
  English language television to develop forms that
  are distinctly different from newspaper, radio,
  and other forms of writing

2
Basics of TV writing

• Back in the 1950s and 60s several TV pioneers
  in America and Britain laid the foundations for
  good TV writing
• Edward R. Murrow 1938 to 1962
• Watch excerpt from a 1960 CBS Documentary
  Harvest of Shame. The voice is Edward Murrow.
  The film about migrant workers in America.

3
Writing in early US TV doc

• Note the writing from the Murrow documentary.
• The Sunshine State welcomes them back.
• Homestead, Democolley, Pahoky, Belgrade and
  hundreds of other communities. This is home. New
  housing is available. The rent 15 dollar per
  room, per week. The migrant is at the mercy of
  the weather. This year in Florida there was a
  freeze. Killing beans, celery, tomatoes, corn.
  Its bi-product was a breadline. Migratory farm
  workers are not eligible for unemployment
  insurance.
• This happened in the United States in 1960.
  A line of humans waiting for a ration of tin
  goods. Milk and Bread.

4
TV News History

• Before the 1960s TV news looked and sounded like
  old movie newsreels -
• stodgy newspaper style writing
• Black and white TV until the 1960s
• Edward R. Murrow and his team developed the early
  style of crisp TV writing short sentences,
  picture led

5
TV News Background

• English Language TV News
• Traditions over 50 years
• BBC
• American network television
• Hong Kongs TV traditions do not emphasize good
  writing in English language TV News

6
Watching TV News

• Observe writing styles
• BBC World
• http//www.bbcworld.com/Pages/default.aspx
• SKY News and ITV News, Britain
• American Networks
• ABC 730 am on TVB Pearl
• http//abcnews.go.com/wn
• CBS 730 am on ATV
• http//www.cbsnews.com/

7
Watching TV News

• FOX News (on cable)
• CNN
• http//edition.cnn.com/video//video/nitn.intl/lat
  est/nitn.intl
• NBC
• http//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/22687700
• TVB Pearl ATV World in Hong Kong
• 730 pm and late in English

8
Watching TV News

• Other English language TV News
• ABC Australia, Channel 7 9 TVNZ
  http//www.abc.net.au/news/video/
• Al Jazeera English News
• Singapore Channel News Asia
• India Eight English language channels
• including NDTV, Times Now, CNN-IBN,
• Headlines Today, CNBC
• CCTV 9 Beijing
• Philippines TV ABS CBN

9
TV News how it works

• A collaborative effort
• Producers, directors, cameramen, video editors,
  technicians, IT specialists, anchors or
  presenters, reporters and many others
• How the News is Made see BBC video

10
The Run Down
11
How is the Run Down decided?

• Producers, anchor, editors
• Target audience
• Newest
• Impact
• Pictures
• Exclusive elements
• Story mix
• Hard vs soft news

12
Elements of TV News

• Headlines, teases, readers or links, std/VO,
  newsroom VO Pkg (packages), reports or pkgs from
  the field, two-ways, live shots with reporters,
  doughnuts or sandwiches, walk throughs, studio
  chats, and many more TV news presentation devices
• Each with distinctive writing or presentation
  styles

13
TV an emotional medium

• The limitations of television
• Best
• War
• Natural manmade disasters
• Revolutions
• Worst
• Economics and Finance
• Stories of complexity backgrounders