Main Aim(s) of the Unit:

This Unit takes traditional broadcast journalism skills and updates and extends them into the converged multi platform world. The Unit builds on the core journalism knowledge and skills acquired by students at Level One - Certificate, including writing for broadcast, packaging, bulletin writing, features and programme making, but also provides tuition in new production, broadcast and transmission technologies, as well as online and internet applications.

The Unit contents also recognise that today and tomorrow’s broadcast journalist is not only going to have to multi-skilled across all digital platforms, but also need a wider range of knowledge and skills within each discreet media, as well as understanding wider broadcasting skills, including programme types and styles, presentation, formats, audiences and audience research

Main Topics of Study:

News and News Values

• The Broadcast Industries - history and development
• Broadcast news - radio
• Broadcast news TV
• Differences between print and text news
• The changing media landscape - broadcasting to narrow casting
• Greater choice, smaller audiences
• Demographics
• Audience research

Writing for Broadcast

• Conversational English
• Right choice of words
• Style guides
• Accuracy and attribution
• Short words & short phrases
• Avoiding clichés, jargon and officialise
• Officialise
• Short forms and abbreviations
• Spelling and punctuation
• Hype
• Numbers

The Interview

• What’s the Story
• Why the Interview
• Research and background
• Approaching an interviewee
• Picking the location
• Interview techniques
• The two way

The Bulletin

• The Five Ws
• The personal angle
• Deciding priorities and item lengths
• Ordering

The Voice and the Voicer

• Reading the news
• Articulation and enunciation
• Voice care
• Reading speeds
• Posture and breathing

The Package

• Finding the story
• Research and evaluation of content
• Longer form and extended artefacts

Pictures and Visual

• Preparation
• Equipment
• Selecting the right location
• Framing the Shot & Shot selection
• Graphics
• Astons, Foot of frames
• Photographs and Still Images
• User Generated Content

Broadcast Sound

• Sound recording
• Microphones
• Ambient sound
• Creating a sound image or soundscape
• Wildtracks
• Music
• Phone interviews
• Down the line

Radio Technologies

• Editing techniques
• Editing software
• Radio studios 
• Content management 
• Playout systems
• Music recording and multi tracking

Television technologies

• Cameras
• Recording Media
• Sound
• Microphones
• Video editing software systems
• The television studio
• Chromakey and greenscreen technology
• Virtual studios
• Traditional studio playout systems
• File server based content management and playout systems
• Studio and location prompting systems

Research

• Internet research - beyond Google
• Picture and Film archives
• Libraries and text
• Building contacts, note taking and keeping record

Presenting on Radio

• Bulletins
• News magazines
• Current affairs programmes
• Music and entertainment
• Live sequences
• Phone-ins
• Music scheduling, formats and branding
• Presentation styles

Presenting on Television

• Bulletins 
• News magazines
• Current affairs programmes 
• Music and entertainment
• Presenting on location
• Pieces to camera
• Studio presentation
• Vocal skills and voice care

Audio Visual Material on the Web

• Adapting and reversioning traditional broadcast material
• Presenting audio and video material on the web - reports and features 
• Text, headlines and intros
• Audio clips
• Video clips
• Headline, links and introductions
• Online software content management systems - Dreamweaver, Flash
• Blogging
• Vlogging
• Interactivity
• Feedback

Legal and Physical Constraints

• Reporting from Hazardous Environments
• Risk Assessment procedures
• Health and safety in the studio, office and on location
• Image rights
• Copyright
• Release forms
• Online regulation
• International law

Career Development and Employability

• Employment opportunities for the multi skilled multi platform journalism
• Further career development
• Training opportunities

Learning Outcomes for the Unit

Knowledge and Understanding - having completed this Unit learners will have :

1. A general understanding of the key issues in the history, development and future direction of Broadcast Journalism
2. An understanding of the practical professional skills required to be a broadcast journalist
3. The skills and experience to write effectively for broadcast media, assemble and deliver news bulletins and packages, as an individual and as a team player
4. A knowledge and understanding of the new digital production and post production technologies as applied to broadcast and online platforms
5. A knowledge and understanding of formats and presentation styles and programme/content management
6. A knowledge and understanding of the legal, statutory, ethical constraints on journalist, as well as physical constraints such as health and safety and hazardous environments
7. A knowledge and understanding of the structure of the digital broadcast and online industries and the available career opportunities

The numbers in the boxes below show which of the above unit learning outcomes are related to particular cognitive and key skills.

Learning and teaching methods/strategies used to enable the achievement of learning outcomes:

Learning should take place on a number of levels, principally through lectures, but centres should also encourage seminars, presentation and class discussion, including review and analysis of current media issues.

Formal lectures should provide a foundation of information on which the student builds through directed learning and self managed learning outside the class.

Assessment methods which enable the student to demonstrate the learning outcomes for the Unit:

Written examination : 3 hours duration

Weighting : 100%

Indicative Reading For This Unit

Main Text

Hudson, Gary & Rowlands, Sarah ( 2006) The Broadcast Journalism Handbook (MacMillan)

Alternative Text and Further Reading

Beaman, Jim ( 2000) Interviewing for Radio - (Routledge)
Trewin, Janet (2003) - Presenting on TV and Radio ( Focal Press)
Boyd, Andrew (Revised Edition Feb - 2008) - Broadcast Journalism: Techniques of Radio and Television News Techniques of Television News (Focal Press)
Starkey, Guy (2004) Radio In Context (Palgrave Macmillan)

Recommended websites :

BBC Online www.bbc.co.uk
Avid www.avid.com
Avid iNews http://www.avid.com/resources/briefs/iNEWS_pb.pdf
Quantel www.quantel.com
Adobe www.adobe.com/products/premiere/
Final Cut Pro www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/finalcutpro/
Gee Broadcast www.geebroadcast.co.uk/
Autocue www.autocue.com/
Myriad www.psquared.net/
RCS http://www.rcsworks.com/en/default.aspx
Burli Software www.burli.com/
Dart Centre www.dartcenter.org/
Voice Care www.voicecare.org.uk

Guideline for Teaching and Learning Time

50 hours Lectures/ Seminars/Tutorials/Workshops
Tutorial support includes feedback on assignments and may vary from college to college according to local needs and wishes

50 hours Directed Learning
Advanced reading, research and preparation, background reading, Group study and portfolio

50 hours Self managed learning
Working through the course text and other recommended reading material, use of the web, interaction with other students and in the field research at relevant sporting events