Baltic Film and Media School

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Baltic Film and Media School Basics of TV
Journalism 26.02.2008 Key Elements II
Processing ideas Instructor Hagi Shein
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Being a journalist

• Be interested in what you are doing and let the
  TV audience to see, hear and feel it.
• Be open minded and live with socially opened
  eyes, be sensitive towards society and peoples
  needs, problems, desires, thoughts and lives.
• Be a personality with a mission what would lead
  you in your work in order to serve the people and
  the society

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Methods and ways for generating ideas

• you wait for occasional divine inspiration
• you generate ideas on editors demand or are
  assigned by producers and editors in chief
• you are involved into the professional sphere,
  you communicate and discuss issues with your
  colleagues journalists what helps you to find new
  themes
• you live with open eyes - you obtain knowledge
  and experince by observation, participation and
  talking to people
• you work continously on your specific fields of
  interest (your beat), you read, listen, study,
  research
• you use and aply active methods of generating
  ideas brainstormings together with colleagues,
  your crew and team members and your friends
• you use other intensive group work methods
  written brainstorming, clustering what starts
  from a key word, then writing ideas down and
  branching them out whatever assiociations, key
  words, aspects come to mind (string of comments)
  with later review and refinement of the results

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Organising ideas

• Organising ideas means translating them into
  stories, into the TV programme and production
  formats.
• Once you have an idea, the most important is to
  specify it, to find the best context, your
  angle, approach or focus for your story. Dont
  move ahead without these decisions!
• The focus and treatment are keys for many of
  decisive decisions

• what information you need
• what research should be done
• what structure is best for yor story, programme,
  broadcast
• whom you need to produce it
• what equipment is necessary for production
• what resources, production modules and budget you
  need

Confine, constrain and narrow!
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Chain of journalistic activities

• Collecting facts and knowledge
• Checking facts for accuracy
• Getting information from people direcly involved,
  from the experts
• Looking for additional sources
• Reinforcing the information by addtional sources
• Checking facts against documentary evidence
• Observing
• Reporting, interviewing
• Writing
• Producing rehersing, presenting, performing,
  hosting, commenting, conducting, analysing
• Shooting, recording, editing

Stand for, believe in, fight for
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The basic model


Where?
When?
Who?
5 WH model
What?
How?
Why?
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What?

• What happened?
• What is the point of this story?
• What was the reason of what happened?
• What are the results of what happened?
• What am I really trying to say?
• What does the viewers need to know to understand
  this story?
• What surprised me?
• What is the most important single fact I learned?
• What is the history here?
• What happens next?
• What can people do about it?

Deborah Potter (2006). Handbook of Independent
Journalism
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Who?

• Who is involved in this story?
• Who is affected by it?
• Who has more information about this?
• Who is the best person to tell the story?
• Who is missing from this story?
• Who is in conflict in this strory? Do they have
  anything in common?
• Who else should I talk to about this?

Deborah Potter (2006). Handbook of Independent
Journalism
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Where?

• Where did this happen?
• Where else should I go to get the full story?
• Where is this story going next? How will it end?

When?

• When did it happen?
• When did the turning points occur in this story?
• When should I report this story?

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Why?
How?

• How did this happen?
• How will be things different because of what
  happened?
• How will this strory help the viewer? The
  community?
• How did I get this information? Is the
  attribution clear?
• How would someone describe this story to a
  friend?

• Why is his happening? Is it an isolated case or
  part of a trend?
• Why are people behaving the way they are? What
  are their motives?
• Why does this story matter? Why should anyone
  watch it?
• Why am I sure I have this story right?
• Whom I should primarily address this story?

Deborah Potter (2006). Handbook of Independent
Journalism
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To determine the focus

• Selection! What is this story really about?
• (what is the central point, main theme, essense,
  specified angle, general context, most important
  to know focus of the story)
• Whats the news?
• A fire destroyed two houses in the mountains east
  of the city, but no one was injured and the city
  business district was spared
• Whats the story?
• Two families are homeless but grateful to be
  alive
• Whats the image?
• Familiy members hug each other near the smoking
  ruins of their house
• How can I tell it in six words?
• Fire destroys homes but not spirits.
• So what?
• Property damage from a dangerous fire was limited

Make your stories coherent and focused!
Chip Scanlan, Poynter Institute, in Handbook of
Independent Journalism
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To determine the focus

• Whats the news?
• Businesses in our city escaped from a wildfire
  that destroyed two houses in the mountains east
  of downtown
• Whats the story?
• Business owners grateful the fire spared them
  this time
• Whats the image?
• A business owner shakes hands with a firefighter
  outside his store
• How can I tell it in six words?
• Fire cant stop business.
• So what?
• Economical impact of a dangerous fire was limited

• Whats the news?
• A fire destroyed two houses in the mountains
  east of the city but no one was injured.
• Whats the story?
• Two families are homeless but the community is
  ready to help them to repair their homes
• Whats the image?
• Familiy members near the smoking ruins, friendly
  people around them, many started to help
• How can I tell it in six words?
• People could expect help when disasters happen
• So what?
• People could trust thier neighbourhood and
  communities

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Criteria for Newsworthinessthe criteria of news
value

• Timeliness
• Proximity
• Prominence
• Consequence
• Conflict
• Suspense
• Human interest
• Novelty
• Progress

Gatekeeping and agenda setting
W. Richard Whitaker, Janet E.Ramsey, Donald
D.Smith (2000). Media Writing. Priont Broadcast
and Public Relations. Longman
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Criteria for Newsworthinessthe criteria of news
value

• Timeliness - timeliness or immediacy, what is
  happening now, fresh news in change, something
  that just occured or a few days ago
• Proximity - giving people the local angle,
  telling about the events near the audiences and
  explaining how closely it touches their lives.
• Prominence - names make news, what the
  prominents say or do is usually newsworthy,
  giving people the local angle, telling about the
  events near the viwers explaining how closely it
  touches their lives.
• Consequence, Impact - the more people affected or
  involved the greater is the news value need to
  know the audience in order to consider what is
  important to them.
• Conflict - conflict and confrontation is an
  universal news value, whatever conflict sells
  newspapers and draws broadcast audiences

W. Richard Whitaker, Janet E.Ramsey, Donald
D.Smith (2000). Media Writing. Priont Broadcast
and Public Relations. Longman
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Criteria for Newsworthinessthe criteria of news
value

• Suspense - suspense strories (following an
  explosion in a coal mine, rescues, tracing of
  kindnappers etc. Are interesting for the
  audience.
• Human interest and unusual - people like to read
  and watch about other people and feature
  treatments that empasize human nature. Features
  are ofthen characterised by their human-interest
  elements , their creation of emotional responses
  such as happiness, sadness, anger, sympathy,
  hate, love, envy or humor.
• Novelty - an unusual or strange aspect will help
  lift a story out of the ordinary. Unusual stories
  at the end of news program (kickers).
• Progress - the most on beat news and feature
  stories are often about people accomplishing
  goals and making their communities better places
  in which to live or work.

Television is a visual medium, so pictures (and
audio with them) are worth thousands of words
W. Richard Whitaker, Janet E.Ramsey, Donald
D.Smith (2000). Media Writing. Priont Broadcast
and Public Relations. Longman
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Story structures- inverted pyramid

• Story begins with the most newsworthy
• information, it is at the top, in lead

• Other information is following in descending
• order of importance

• Information following the lead expands or
• develops, elaborates on the point that is
• made in the lead

• In following supporting paragraphs details,
  backround and even secondary information could be
  given
• The usefulness of this structure is that editors
  could cut it from the bottom to save space and
  time without worrying about cutting vital
  information
• useful for breaking news and when
  timeliness is of the essence

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Story structures- hourglass

• Story begins with the most newsworthy
• information, it is at the top, in lead

• After some pargraphs it becomes a
• narrative usually told in chronological order

• A clear transition from between the
• opening section and the narrative
• shoud be done

This sturcture is mostly used for features
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Story structures diamond, nut graph

• Story begins with a anecdote, vise saying,
• detail, introducing a character whos
• experience illustrates what the story is
  about

• The small story would then broaden out to
• show its wider significance

• Toward the end, the reporter would return
• to the individual characters strory as
• away of concluding the narrative

• This structure allows to use a device known as a
  nut paraghraph (or nut graph) to explain what
  the story matters the word nut signifying the
  hard center of the story.
• The nut graphs can answer any questions raised in
  the lead, explain why the stories are
  significant, and place stories in significant
  context
• (frequently used in television news
  and newspapers reports)

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Broadcast Construction - storytelling module

• introduction - captures of viewers interest,
  introduces the event, issue, theme, story
• acquaintance - people, events, thougths and
  feelings are introduced, presented and revealed,
  first relationships between them are established,
  identification process could start
• develpopment - the conflict become more and more
  evident, relationships are unfolding, tensions
  are continuously rising
• point of no return first temporary climax or
  culmination, conflict is opened at full extent,
  the viewer cant any more to stop watching (or
  leaves)

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Broadcast Construction - storytelling module

• step by step escalation of the conflict
  (staircase) - hero face more and more
  resistance, helpers and villains are striving
  hard. How would it end?
• climax, culmination - conflict resoves with a
  happy end or a tragedy, viewers have got enough
  facts, viewpoints,opinions and emotions to decide
  who is the winner and who lost
• resolution and fading out - ending, provides the
  viewers with an additional option to identify
  themselves with the hero after the conflict has
  been solved and solution reached
• Note not all of these phases of storytelling
  are always used or activated, but usually the
  order of these elements is maintained

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Excitement curve
Tension
5
4
3
2
1
point of no return
resolution
climax
step by step escalation of conflict
develop-ment
intro-duction
acquain--tance
Time
Carl-Johan Seth
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Storing through category, action and reason

• The lead paragraph is organized around the
  elements of category, action, and reason.

• These three elements are apparent in each
  paragraph or section of the news story.

• These three elements are replicated as the
  primary organizing mechanism of the developing
  text, it means that a news story is organized in
  a way that each paragraph "thickens" the primary
  story given in the lead paragraph.

• Elements introduced previously may be assumed
  to be still in play.

Harvey Sacks's account of story organization
(1995).
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Lead Storm-Force Winds Leave Trail of Death and
Destruction

• The elements of the headline give us the
  categories of people and property, the actions of
  dying and destroying, and the reason for these
  actions the storm force winds that have now
  passed.
• Seven people, among them three children, were
  killed yesterday as storm-force winds brought
  chaos to much of Britain.
• Categories Seven people, three children among
  them much of England
• Action people killed, chaos brought
• Reason Storm-force winds
• Airports and roads were closed, ferry services
  suspended and power supplies to more than 100,000
  homes cut as winds of up to 96 mph battered the
  country, causing damage of at least 50 million.
• Categories airports and roads, ferry services,
  power supplies to more than 1000 homes
• Action closed, suspended, cut
• Reason winds of up to 96 mph
• Eric White, 55, was the third victim in East
  Anglia. He died after being
• struck by a falling tree in the garden of his
  home in Whittington, Norfolk.
• Category Eric White
• Action died
• Reason struck by a falling tree

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A tanker leak three thousand tons of fuel off
the coast of Spain

• H A tanker which has already leaked three
  thousand tons of fuel off the coast of Spain is
  being towed into calmer waters in an effort to
  prevent ecological damage. It's thought the
  owners of the Prestige will try to dock the ship
  in Portugal but the government there has said it
  will turn down any request.
• This introduction lays the groundwork for the
  subsequent two linked strands of the story by
  introducing a category, action, and reason for
  each one.
• Story One
• Categories Tanker leak/coast of Spain/Portugal
• Action Being towed into calmer waters
• Reason The prevention of further ecological
  damage
• Story Two
• Categories Owners of Prestige/the ship/Portugal
• Actions Dock ship/refuse request
• Reason The need to take the ship somewhere

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A tanker leak three thousand tons of fuel off
the coast of Spain

• CM It's the people who live in this region of
  Galicia who are having to cope with the effects
  of this accident. As thousands of tons of thick
  sludgy oil comes ashore, all fishing has been
  banned. The livelihoods of thousands of local
  people are at stake. Teams are working on beaches
  all along the coast to try and clear up the oil
  but the wildlife has been badly affected.
  Volunteers are trying to save as many birds as
  they can.
• Story one
• Categories people who live in Galicia/wildlife
• Actions Coping with effects of accident/ban
  fishing/work on beaches/save birds
• Reason Sludgy oil polluting shore

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A tanker leak three thousand tons of fuel off
the coast of Spain

• CM The operations to clean up the coastline are
  being launched from here, the port town of
  Acarunia, but despite all the efforts being made,
  more gales are predicted for the coming days, and
  the Prestige is in a very vulnerable position.
  Many locals here fear that their ordeal is far
  from over.
• Each paragraph may have more than one thickening
  function. Here, the report from Galicia thickens
  elements of story one, but also brings it to a
  close.
• Story one
• Categories Coastline/Acarunia/locals
• Action Launching clean-up operations
• Reason (indexical) Coastline is polluted
• Story two
• Categories Prestige and locals
• Action Fear ordeal (more pollution)
• Reason More gales predicted, so Prestige is
  vulnerable

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A tanker leak three thousand tons of fuel off
the coast of Spain

• The elements realized in this sequence not only
  describe what is happening now, but also provide
  an orientation toward the future. Story one is
  thus brought to a close with this orientation
  toward what might happen next. This is then
  followed by a sequence which thickens story two
• CM The tanker is close to splitting apart, which
  would spill a cargo of
• more than seventy thousand tons of fuel into the
  sea. She is being pulled by tugs from Spanish to
  Portuguese waters but Portugal says under no
  circumstances will she be allowed to dock.
  Salvage teams are fighting to hold the aging ship
  together. Claire Marshal, BBC news, Acarunia.

Story two CategoriesTanker/oil Action
Spilling oil Reason Tanker splitting up Story
two Categories Tugs/Portuguese/Spanish
waters Action Being towed to Portuguese
waters/not allowed to dock Reason (indexical)
Tanker splitting up Story two Category Salvage
teams Action Fighting to hold it
together Reason (indexical) Tanker splitting up
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Hey! You! See? So... module

• This module helps better to package ideas
  and is suggested for short forms (news, bulletin
  news).
• Hey! - grab the viewers attention, make them to
  become interested. The introduction, the lead,
  the first couple of sentences have to let viewers
  see and hear something what keep them to continue
  watching or listening.
• You! - make it clear how does this issue affect
  the reader. What about this news, feature,
  broadcast - whatever the case is -makes it
  relevant to the reader. Why should they care,
  think, feel or even act pro or contra.
• See? - is the presentation of the issue in a
  concise, comprehencive, clear, logical and
  exciting way. Let viewer get the bigger picture,
  argumentation, dynamics, inner relationships
  between the layers of your issue.
• So... is what you want the viewers to do about
  once they have seen this piece. Take care that
  viewers could understand the reason and
  consequences, perspectives and relate it to their
  own experiences

Hans-Georg Moller, Michael Thorsen,
Teleajakirjandus
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Set up and pay off ... module

• Set up - a need or expectation journalist
  creates
• Pay off - fulfilment of this expectation or
  gratification of the need
• These two elements are used almost in all
  feature and documentary productions.
• Serve as dramaturgical tools and construction
  elements for vital journalistic storytelling and
  evoke viewers interest and attention.
• Valid both for picture and sound.
• Could be used several times per story to get
  dynamism.
• In fiction films often three set ups are used
  before the final pay off. First set up is for
  smart viewers, second for the majority, the third
  one for viewers who are slow on comprehesion
  ..... So the interest and tension is kept until
  the final pay off for all groups of viewers.

Hans-Georg Moller, Michael Thorsen,
Teleajakirjandus
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Content approach

• starts from a content idea usually inspired by
  the needs of programming
• often related to special events
• functional thinking
• logical unfolding of the content and issues

Format approach

• formats are mostly purchased
• processes of adaption to the local customs and
  cultural specifics
• hosting
• local/global

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Effect-to-cause approach
Effect- to - cause model Moving from idea to
desired effect on the viewer, then backing up to
the specific medium requirements to produce such
an effect
Defined process message
Desired effect on target audience
idea
Process message The message actually received by
the viewer in the process of waching a television
program
Drives the production process
Feedback
Actual process message
Production

• Medium requirements
• content
• people
• equipment

Actual effect on target audience

• Production modules describe the flow of
  activities necessary to move from the idea to the
  televised message, facilitate coordination
  efforts, treamlines preproduction and makes you
  preproduction activities more efficient and goal
  directed

Herbert Zettl (2006). Television Production
Handbook, Wadsworth par. 17