The television has become such an integral part of homes in the modern world that it is hard to imagine life

without television. The television is also referred to, provides entertainment to people of all ages. Not just for
entertainment value, but TV is also a valuable resource for advertising and different kinds of programming. The
television as we see it and know it today was not always this way. Lets take a brief look at the history of
television and how it came into being.
Timeline of TV History
ifferent e!periments by various people, in the field of electricity and radio, led to the development of basic
technologies and ideas that laid the foundation for the invention of television.
"n the late #$%%s, &aul 'ottlieb Nipkow, a student in 'ermany, developed the first ever mechanical module of
television. (e succeeded in sending images through wires with the help of a rotating metal disk. This
technology was called the )electric telescope that had #$ lines of resolution.
*round #+%,, two separate inventors, *.*. -ampbell./winton from 0ngland and 1ussian scientist 2oris
1osing, used the cathode ray tube in addition to the mechanical scanner system, to create a new television
system.
3rom the e!periments of Nipkow and 1osing, two types of television systems came into e!istence4 mechanical
television and electronic television.
Mechanical Television History
"n #+56, an *merican inventor called -harles 7enkins used the disk idea of Nipkow to invent the first ever
practical mechanical television system. 2y #+6#, his 1adiovisor 8odel #%% was being sold in a complete kit as
a mechanical television.
"n #+59, just a little after 7enkins, a 2ritish inventor known as 7ohn Logie 2aird, was the first person to have
succeeded in transmitting moving pictures through the mechanical disk system started by Nipkow. (e also
started the first ever TV studio.
3rom #+59 till #+6#, the mechanical television system saw many innovations. *lthough the discoveries of these
men in the department of mechanical television were very innovative, by #+6:, all television systems had
converted into the electronic system, which is what is being used even today.
Electronic Television History
The e!periments of /winton in #+%,, with the cathode ray tube for electronic television held great potential but
were not converted into reality. 3inally, in #+5,, &hilo Taylor 3arnsworth was able to invent a working model of
electronic television that was based on /wintons ideas.
(is e!periments had started when he was just a little boy of #: years. 2y the time he became 5#, &hilo had
created the first electronic television system, which did away with the rotating disks and other mechanical
aspects of mechanical television. Thus was born the television system which is the basis of all modern TVs.
#
*ll the early television systems were black and white, with color television being invented much later on. /ince
the early invention of television in the beginning of the #+%%s, history has seen many firsts in the area of
television
Television was not invented by a single inventor, instead many people working together and alone over the
years, contributed to the evolution of television.
Overview - Timeline of Television History
Broadcasting Pioneers: The Many Innovators behind Television History
*t the dawn of television history there were two distinct paths of technology e!perimented with by researchers.
0arly inventors attempted to either build a mechanical television system based on the technology of &aul
Nipkow;s rotating disks< or they attempted to build an electronic television system using a cathode ray tube
developed independently in #+%, by 0nglish inventor *.*. -ampbell./winton and 1ussian scientist 2oris
1osing.
0lectronic television systems worked better and eventual replaced mechanical systems.
Pal !ottlieb "i#$ow - Mechanical Television History
'erman, &aul Nipkow developed a rotating.disc technology to transmit pictures over wire in #$$: called the
Nipkow disk. &aul Nipkow was the first person to discover television;s scanning principle, in which the light
intensities of small portions of an image are successively analy=ed and transmitted.
%ohn &ogie Baird - Mechanical
"n the #+5%;s, 7ohn Logie 2aird patented the idea of using arrays of transparent rods to transmit images for
television. 2aird;s 6% line images were the first demonstrations of television by reflected light rather than back.
lit silhouettes. 7ohn Logie 2aird based his technology on &aul Nipkow;s scanning disc idea and later
developments in electronics.
'harles (rancis %en$ins - Mechanical
-harles 7enkins invented a mechanical television system called radiovision and claimed to have transmitted the
earliest moving silhouette images on 7une #:, #+56.
'athode )ay Tbe - Electronic Television History
0lectronic television is based on the development of the cathode ray tube, which is the picture tube found in
modern TV sets. 'erman scientist, >arl 2raun invented the cathode ray tube oscilloscope ?-1T@ in #$+,.
Vladimir *osma +wory$in - Electronic
1ussian inventor, Vladimir Aworykin invented an improved cathode.ray tube called the kinescope in #+5+. The
kinescope tube was sorely needed for television. Aworykin was one of the first to demonstrate a television
system with all the features of modern picture tubes.
5
Philo T, (arnsworth - Electronic
"n #+5,, &hilo 3arnsworth was the first inventor to transmit a television image comprised of 9% hori=ontal lines.
The image transmitted was a dollar sign. 3arnsworth developed the dissector tube, the basis of all current
electronic televisions. (e filed for his first television patent in #+5,.
&ois Par$er - Television )eceiver
Louis &arker invented the modern changeable television receiver. The patent was issued to Louis &arker in
#+:$.
)abbit Ears - -ntennae
8arvin 8iddlemark invented Brabbit earsB, the BVB shaped TV antennae. *mong 8iddlemark;s other inventions
were a water.powered potato peeler and rejuvenating tennis ball machine.
'olor Television
-olor TV was by no means a new idea< a 'erman patent in #+%: contained the earliest proposal, while in #+5C
Aworykin filed a patent disclosure for an all.electronic color television system. * successful color television
system began commercial broadcasting, first authori=ed by the 3-- on ecember #,, #+C6 based on a system
invented by 1-*.
History of 'able TV
-able television, formerly known as -ommunity *ntenna Television or -*TV, was born in the mountains of
&ennsylvania in the late #+:%;s. The first successful color television system began commercial broadcasting on
ecember #,, #+C6 based on a system designed by 1-*.
)emote 'ontrols
"t was in 7une of #+C9, that the TV remote controller first entered the *merican home. The first TV remote
control called BLa=y 2ones,B was developed in #+C% by Aenith 0lectronics -orporation ?then known as Aenith
1adio -orporation@.
Origins of 'hildren.s Programming
The *merican 2roadcasting -ompany first aired /aturday morning TV shows for children on *ugust #+, #+C%.
Plasma TV
The very first prototype for a plasma display monitor was invented in #+9: by onald 2it=er, 'ene /lottow, and
1obert Dillson.
History of 'losed 'a#tioning TV
TV closed captions are captions that are hidden in the television video signal, invisible without a special
decoder.
/eb TV
Deb TV was rolled out in #++9.
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Potential of TV:
Television is a powerful medium for appealing to mass audiencesEit reaches people regardless of age, se!,
income, or educational level. "n addition, television offers sight and sound, and it makes dramatic and lifelike
representations of people and products. 3ocused TV coverage of public health has been largely limited to crises.
(owever, for audiences of the late #+C%s, the #+9%s, and the #+,%s, television presented or reinforced certain
health messages through product marketing. /ome of these messages were related to toothpaste, hand soaps,
multiple vitamins, fortified breakfast cereals, and other items.
&ublic health authorities have e!pressed concern about the indirect influence of television in promoting false
norms about acts of violence, drinking, smoking, and se!ual behavior. * hypothetical eFuation for viewers
might be4 drinking plus smoking eFuals se! and a good time. /afe se! practices are rarely portrayed on
television. *n additional public health concern is that TV viewing promotes sedentariness in a population
already known for its multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses.
* more focused coverage of health matters occurred in the #++%s as a result of two events4 ?#@ an e!pansion of
Bhealth segmentsB on news broadcasts, which included the hiring of BhealthB reporters, and ?5@ the e!pansion
and wider distribution of cable television ?-*TV@ and satellite systems. Television coverage of health issues
reveals some of the medium;s weaknesses as an educator, however. (ealth segments incorporated into news
broadcasts are typically one to three minutes in lengthEthe consumer receives only a brief report or Bsound
bite,B while the broadcaster remains constrained by the fact that viewers e!pect the medium to be both visual
and entertaining. 3ortunately, with the advent and maturation of -*TV, more selected audience targeting has
become possible. The (ealth Network is dedicated entirely to health matters, while other cable networks ?e.g.,
iscovery -hannel@ devote significant amounts of broadcast time to health. This narrowcasting allows the
medium to reach particular market segments. (owever, the proliferation of cable channels decreases the volume
of viewers for a given channel at any point in time. *ccording to 'eorge and 8ichael 2elch, even networks
such as -NN, 0/&N, and 8TV draw only # to 5 percent of primetime viewers.
*lthough TV has the potential to deliver messages about ("VG*"/ ?human immunodeficiency virusGacFuired
immunodeficiency syndrome@, smoking, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and so on, televised messages have the
characteristic of low audience involvement. The main consumer effect of messages occurs through repetition
and brand familiarity. 8ost health messages do not have the e!posure level that brands of toothpaste, soap, or
antiperspirant receive, for public health groups rarely can sustain the cost of television, thereby limiting their
message;s penetration.
3or all its potential strengths, TV suffers many shortcomings. The cost of placing health messages on TV is
high, not only because of the e!pense of purchasing airtime, but because of production time for &/* creation.
Televised messages are fleetingEairing in most instances for only #C to 6% seconds. 2elch and 2elch point out
:
that for #6 to #, minutes of every hour viewers are bombarded with messages, creating a clutter that makes
retention difficult.
Potential and Im#act of Television on Behavior
Television is an audio.visual medium and has a tremendous potential to influence its viewers to a ma!imum
level. "ts mode of persuasion distinguishes it from the rest of the media. 2esides, it has a greater entertainment
value. That is why for people it does not have any informative or educative priority. The history of television in
&akistan shows that it was introduced as an entertainment gadget.
The mode of education through television differs in its manner and organi=ation. *s 8arshal 8e Luhan puts it,
it is a cool medium one has to present things softly and pleasantly if one wants a ma!imum impact. That;s why
education information and guidance must be presented in an entertaining manner. The more it is light and
indirect, the more it would penetrate deeply into the minds something which we, in &akistan, badly need for
ma!imum awareness among the masses. De, also need to know the tremendous potential that T.V has for
educational purposes. "t is ironical to note that the government and the masses both are unaware of the
remarkable role of T.V. The unchecked use of television for personal ends by successive governments has
marred the credibility of television to a disastrous level. They have never considered television more than an
entertainer. This has created a distorted image of television in the minds of the viewers. This hinders the mass
education revolution which can transform our society from illiterate to literate.
There is a need to systematically arouse the e!pectations of the masses as without their consent nothing useful
could be imparted. *t the same time the government must loosen its grip on television and make proper
arrangements to recover the lost credibility of the medium and use better minds for arranging its policies. This
must always be kept in mind that without the informative credibility, the medium would never gain the status of
a guide and educator, and would remain as an entertaining juggler with less positive utili=ation.
0!tensive research has been conducted and is continuing, to determine how, and to what e!tent, watching
television influences human behaviour. "t is matter that concerns social &sychologists as much as media
theorists.
The youth audience ?&re.school to high school@ is Television;s most eager and impressionable audience.
*ccording to studies audience aged up to #$ spends more hours watching television than in the class room.
-hildren 6 to : years old spend 5% percent of their working hours on Television.
Television is also considered as a reason for the drop in student;s reading skills. T.V *dvertisements has been
considered as health ha=ard for children of 5 to $ years age.
(owever no research has ever recommended to stop television as a medium, but its systematic and judicious use
has always been emphasi=ed. "ts potential and impact as a very persuasive, convincing and positive medium has
been recogni=ed without any doubt.
C
-, 'ltral Im#act
8edia not only inform but also serve the cultural purpose of lessening tensions and enhancing
harmony. The positive cultural values can be easily made clear through the audio.visual medium of television.
"n the same way the negative and destructive tendencies can be shown in an evil shape. Thus making the task of
harmoni=ing the culture on cultural and sub.cultural level easy.
Television do have cultural effect. 8edia theorists believe that a new global culture is emerging through
television. 3ashion, dress, decoration and food are under influence.B &op 8usic is now considered as a universal
music. Television is the sole source of its wide popularity. /pecial production techniFues and use of special effects
has made pop music the most popular among masses and now there is seldom any country in the world where
this form of music is not on the top ratings.
&rogrammes like 3ashion shows, /tyle, -atwalks dress designs has influenced people;s dresses.
&rogrammes on food dishes are another field in which television has influenced its viewers. The powerful cultural
traditions of alien cultures are getting popularity due to television;s repeated telecast.
"t is imperative to safeguard the local culture and traditions by depicting right perspective and true
representation of the local customs and cultural heritage.
B, Political Im#act
&olitically speaking, television accentuates the image of leadership. This e!aggeration of the leadership
potential can easily be used to support the fragile leadership structure, which has never got its due respect due
to weak political consciousness. *lthough the political consciousness is a task within the dominion of education,
for a transitional phase it can help to build a stable system.
The &akistan political culture is in its development phase. "t is developing its democratic institutions.
Television can play a vital role in the development of democracy. "t can educate people through the audio.visual
debates which are nearer to reality because they give a feeling of participation to the viewers. This also gives a
boost to a culture which has freedom of e!pression as its basic principle.
Television also has the potential to transport images of political activity from other political systems.
This enhances political consciousness and the glimpses of
advanced political systems heighten the e!pectations of the masses. The developing political system does not
have the facilities of a developed one. This, in turn, becomes a cause of general political an!iety. /o, it is
always the responsibility of the media men to educate the masses that the system is heading towards the goal of
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greater freedom and responsibility. 2ut this can only be useful, if the political leadership also busy themselves
in the fulfillment of these promises. "f they fail to do so, television will lose its credibility . thus relegating itself
to mere propaganda gadget.
"t is important to know whether television is strengthening or weakening the political system, political
institutions, and enhancing the political knowledge and awarenessH ifferent nations has conducted surveys and
concluded that television as a medium has enhanced the political knowledge and awareness.
Television has proved the most powerful during election campaigning. *part from election related
activities it has been covering all important political events. "n #+:, in I/* the opening of $%th session of the
congress was telecast for the first time. "n #+:+ people watched the inauguration of I2/ &resident (arry
Truman. /ince then such political events are covered live and millions of people witness these history making
moments.
"n &akistan all important political events are telecast live, which include inauguration of National
*ssembly, /enate, Jath taking ceremonies of &resident and &rime 8inister.
"n I/* before presidential election TV debate between presidential
candidates has become the most important event and plays a decisive role.
"n I/*, TV debates started in #+9% and first television debate was between the then Vice &resident
1ichard Ni!on and /ent 7ohn 3. >ennedy.
"n &akistan;s presidential election of #+$$, television time was offered to all the presidential candidates.
0!cept the then sitting &resident 'hulam "shaF >han all presidential candidates accepted the offer and
briefed the public about their future planning and programmes.
"n #++6 election, &akistan television invited all leading party leaders to e!press their views on
different important, issues in a series of programmes under title B0L0-T"JN #++6B. &TV launched a number of
other programmes for general public, such as B(ow to cast a voteB B"mportance of casting of voteB and
information about &akistan;s political system.
Television has now become an integral part of political system. "ts role starts well before election and it
continues till the political activities of ne!t elections.
"t is an established fact that Television has elevated the level of politics. "t plays an important role in
making democracy more rational and responsible. "n developing countries television has enhanced overall
political awareness.
,
', Economic Im#act
*part from giving live information about the economic activity imparting economic education,
television creates consumerism. *dvertisements on television; are so fabulous that almost all with capacity to
buy go for it. This also affects the saving capacity of the society. Dith the decrease in savings the institution of
social welfare also diminishes because with increase in demand the people are not left with much to invest.
0, 1ocial Im#act
Television directly affects the social relationships which bind individuals to each other. "t shows the
nature and patterns of a nation;s cultural structure. "t also shows the interactions among different sub.cultures.
The fusion of local cultures into a national culture is also depicted on television. These are the patterns which
govern social relationships.
Television also combats the signals from alien cultures. The cultural invasion is nothing but depiction of
the structure of the social relationships of the alien culture.
Television has made people captive in their homes. They spend more time before TV. They prefer
watching their favourite programmes than visiting friends.
2efore television evenings were free and social contacts were more. TV has affected the social get together.
-hildren spare less time for games than watching cartoons programmes and other favourite programmes. TV
has made people passive than before.
"t depicts the alien social relationships which create awareness and an!iety at the same time. "n fact, it shows
the weak and strong points of social set up, thus giving a chance to repair and strengthen the weakening bonds.
Jn the other hand, if used for nefarious designs, the televised picture might develop frustration among the
viewers. "f the picture of the alien social relationships is made all rosy, e!empting the flaws which are always
there in every structure, the e!posed viewers will resent their own arrangement. Inluckily this is how present
state of affairs is. The western pattern of life seems to be very well organi=ed because the western media depict
those social patterns which are lacking in our own set up. They never e!pose their weaknesses. 0ven if they do,
it is always done in a controlled manner. They show that there are many ways out of any trouble, within their set
up. They have alternatives. Their capacity of the social structure to absorb opinions is greater.
2,2 Television and 1ocial Vales
Television has the potential of e!plaining values. "t can use the pictorial capability to show the values within
their proper environment. "t can also make the viewer feel the importance of values by documenting the
e!pressions. There must be an effort to educate them before making them comply with any change or progress
$
in social values. "f this is properly done, the impact would be for more greater than the other media. The reason
is that television can convince the people more easily and powerfully than the rest.
Television supports status.Fuo. "t follows the social agenda and strengthens the already e!istent values. The
reason is that television is an entertainer. &eople take it. casually. /econdly, its target groups are never clearly
demarcated. Thus creating the proper mind for change it is not within the purview of television. "ts perishable
signals are also a handicap which incapacitate the medium of a second look. *s such, the task of change and
control is still within the domain of the printed word.
2,3 'redibility of Television
/eeing is believing. Television is a medium which has the advantage of showing actual visuals to viewers.
2eing visual medium it has edge over media. "t is much easy for this medium to establish its credibility.
-redibility is the most important factor for any medium of communication. Viewers trust is prime reFuirement.
/ome western and *merican networks claim objectivity in reporting, yet one can feel slant. -redibility is the
most fragile object. Viewer.ship is directly related with credibility. /light mishandling may cause distrust.
Jne opinion about television credibility is that it is a propaganda gadget. "t never gained the degree of
credibility which its predecessor, the newspaper, had and still has. There are psychological as well as physical
reasons behind it. &sychologically speaking, television is less incredible because it was put into the war
propaganda machinery from the very outset. The image which it gained was of a persuasive agent of the men in
power and never that of an educator or reformer. "n our own country, it took its first breath during the martial
law. Thus television has no history of struggle and pain to make it worth.while in the eyes of the viewers.
To make the medium credible there is a need to give it a greater autonomy. Jnce this is done the medium can
work far more actively. &hysically, the audiovisual capacity of images affect the e!pectations of the viewers. Jn
their television agenda priority is given to entertainment, to fiction rather than facts. *lthough this is also a
psychological hindrance, but still its cause is physical.
2,4 )ole of TV in Pa$istan
&akistan television started during dictatorship. "ts policies were initially formulated then. The process of change
towards freedom is slow, even slower than the democratic process in this country.
&TV has national integration on the top of its agenda. "t tries its best to make a &akistani culture evident. "t has
not been properly successful because the lack of independence makes it less credible. "f censorship and
governmental control is lifted &TV might perform a more positive role. "t also has a role in development
awareness. The unity of 8uslim Imma through the cultural representation of different "slamic cultures is also a
major contribution. The countering of the enemy;s propaganda is a task which the &TV is forced to do, and is
doing continuously.
The attitude of the &akistani political elite is never democratic. Thus, this effective instrument, within the full
grasp of the government, could never work for freedom of e!pression. This is what is happening to &TV. The
+
private channel, NT8, is also very much dependent upon governmental advertisements, and the fear of
censorship which could ruin its great investment also forces NT8 to comply with governmental commands
even more than &TV.
The reason behind the lack of courage in NT8 is political as well as economic instability in the country. There
is not any well developed industrial base to support the information structure to the limit of independent
criticism. Thus, the lack of competition among the channels, as well as, donors make the television a servant to
the government in power. De have great majority of rural television viewers while the programmes, especially
the &rime Time programmes, are made for the urban population. There has been an effort to compensate, by
depicting rural scenes, but there is still a lack of understanding due to the lag in proper survey of rural attitudes.
2,5 Potential of Television as a Medim
Television has an immense motivating capacity for change in a society which occurs imperceptibly i.e., change
through drama and fiction.
Television has some drawbacks in our socio.economic structure, its high cost and dependence on electricity, for
e!ample. This factor has been greatly minimi=ed by the cheap 1ussian and -hinese sets. Now these sets have
also alternate power arrangements.
"f used properly, television has the potential of bringing about political, economic and socio.cultural change. "t
can educate most powerfully through its audio.visual capacity. The mimic makes the linguistic barrier obsolete.
3or making this useful, there is a great need for a survey of all the target viewers, to know their strength and
weaknesses, to learn their needs and prepare programmes accordingly. Infortunately this has not yet been done.
*s such, the potential of television as a medium has remained unutili=ed.
The #rinci#les of blletin or "ews 0ocmentary #re#aration
1adio and Television bulletins are usually made up from three types of material4
written stories in the form of a scri#t<
voice reports from journalists, either recorded or live<
1ecorded sound called actality. This is usually the sound of someone speaking, perhaps taken from an
interview or a speech. * short segment of actuality is called a grab. 'rabs are used in a similar way to
Fuotes in a newspaper story. "n some countries, grabs are called cts or inserts.
&reparing a bulletin should not be difficult if you remember the basic principles of news reporting. 1emind
yourself of the criteria for what is news4 "s it new6 nsal6 interesting6 significant and abot #eo#leH
#%
0ach of these criteria will help you to decide what stories you should include in your bulletin and where you
should place them within your five, #% or #C minutes. "t is usual to give the most important story first and the
least important story last. "f you are putting together your first bulletin, stick to this techniFue.
(owever, once you feel confident that you can put together a simple bulletin, you can start to consider some
e!tra factors which will change it from a list of stories to a proper bulletin.
The two main factors you have to consider are the overall order or balance of the bulletin and the #ace of it.
Balance
Try to avoid seeing the bulletin simply as a collection of individual, self.contained stories. "f you put a string of
economic stories ?however important@ at the start of the bulletin, you risk losing your listeners; interest.
They e!pect a balance of items, some heavy and some light, some about major political events and some about
ordinary people. Jf course, the actual mi! of stories, their tone and pace of delivery will depend to a degree on
the format of your station< serious national broadcasters tend to use more serious stories, delivered in a more
deliberate style whereas youth.oriented music station bulletins might be lighter and brighter with more stories
about popular culture. Dhatever your station format, your ranking of stories in order in the bulletin will give
your listeners some indication of how important you consider each story. 2ut there is some freedom within
bulletins to re.order stories to add variety and balance to the bulletin as a whole.
Pace
Kou must also get the right pace of stories through your bulletin. 2y pace we mean the length and tone of a
story as it appears to the listeners. /ome stories have a fast pace. The report of a fire, for e!ample, will usually
be written in short sentences, using short snappy words to convey simple ideas. "t will have a fast pace.
2y comparison, a story e!plaining some involved political controversy may need slightly longer sentences with
words e!pressing more complicated ideas. The story itself may need to be slightly longer. The whole effect is
one of a slower pace.
Too many long complicated stories will slow the pace of the whole bulletin and allow the attention of your
listeners to wander. Too many short, sharp stories may leave listeners confused, unable to keep up with the pace
of changing stories.
##
Kour ideal bulletin will have a steady pace throughout to maintain interest, with variations in pace during certain
sections< slower at times to let your listeners catch their breath or faster at other times to pick up their lagging
interest. (ow do you achieve balance and pace in practiceH Kou should rank your stories in order of importance
then look at the order afresh, to see that you have a good balance of items and variations in pace. Kou may
decide that your most important three stories are all rather serious political stories about ta!ation, health
insurance and an internal party sFuabble. *sk yourself4 BDhat will my listeners think of three minutes of this at
the start of the bulletinHB "f you think they will be bored, what about putting the report of a street fight up to the
third place in the bulletin, to inject some pace into that sectionH This may force your party argument story into
fourth place, but you will now be giving it new life by changing pace after the street fight story.
1trctring the blletin
Now you understand the basic principles behind building a news bulletin, you can start thinking about how the
stories and components such as headlines and actuality can fit. 2ulletins are the broadcasting eFuivalent of a
page on a newspaper, e!cept that in radio and television you are more limited in where you place the different
parts because, as we know, news bulletins are linear, therefore all the elements must be placed along the line of
time so they are used most effectively.
1tarting the blletin
The start is the most important part of any bulletin. "t determines whether or not your listeners will stay tuned.
7ust as the intro is the most important part of a news story, the lead item is the most important one in the
bulletin. "f your listeners find this boring, they will assume that there is nothing better to come and go out to dig
the garden.
"f you are faced with a choice between two stories of eFual strength for your bulletin lead, choose the story
which is more dramatic. "f your obvious lead story is rather dull, you should write it in such a way as to add life.
>eep the sentences short, the ideas clear and simple. *lthough you should try to write every story well, you
should give special attention to your lead story. This is the one by which listeners will judge the bulletin.
Headlines
Jnce you have decided on the order of stories, you should write some headlines for the bulletin. "t is usual to
start a long bulletin by headlining the major stories. This may not be necessary for a short, three.minute bulletin,
but for longer bulletins your listeners will want to know what kind of stories they can e!pect.
#5
Kour listeners will use the headlines to judge whether or not the bulletin is worth listening to, so write your
headlines to promote the stories in the most powerful way possible.
"t is good practice to headline the first two or three most important stories, and also one or two dramatic stories
which come later in the bulletin. 8any stations also like to headline the final story, on the assumption that, if
they make the headline attractive enough, listeners will stay tuned to the entire bulletin until they hear that story.
Kou should write headlines for dramatic stories in such a way that you hint at the drama without giving away all
the details. 1emember that if you tell everything in the headlines, listeners have no need to hear the rest of the
bulletin.
"n 0nglish bulletins, headlines do not have to be grammatically complete. They can be more like newspaper
headlines, stripped down to the main words. The following are e!amples of possible headlines4
B8ore trouble for the *sean alliance.B
BTwelve die in a mine blast.B
BDhy 1ussia is angry with "srael.B
Dhen writing headlines about announcements or humorous stories, it is best to be mysterious, to keep the real
information secret until the listeners hear the story itself. /uch headlines are sometimes called teasers, because
the tease the listeners; interest.
3or e!ample, if you have a story about rising petrol prices, you might write the headline B8otorists face another
shock at the petrol pumpsB. Never write the headline B&etrol is to rise by #% cents a litreB . that gives the whole
story away, and your listener can now tune to another station;s bulletin or go and dig the garden again.
'losing stories
/ometimes called tail-enders, closing stories are almost as important as lead stories. They are the last stories
your listeners will hear and remember from the bulletin. Kou need to choose them carefully. (owever, because
many listeners do not maintain their attention throughout the whole bulletin, you should not keep your best
stories to the end. Light or funny stories make the best tail.enders. They add relief and a change of pace to
heavy bulletins. They should be written in a more informal way than other stories, possibly with a play on
words which your listeners will appreciate. "t is usual in 0nglish bulletins to signal the light tail.ender with the
words B*nd finally...B, as in the following e!ample4
#6
*nd finally, police in *pia are looking for a thief who broke into a house last night ... and left his trousers
behind.
2e careful, though. (umorous stories may not be appropriate if the rest of the bulletin is dominated by a major
tragedy.
'losing headlines
Dith longer bulletins, you can use closing headlines to remind your listeners of stories they may ?or may not@
have heard #% minutes earlier. *gain they should be the major stories of the bulletin, e!cluding the tail.ender,
which they should have just heard anyway. Inlike opening headlines, which should attract your listeners to
listen to the bulletin, closing headlines are simply there as a service, especially to listeners who may have tuned
in late. 0ach closing headline should be a summary of the main point of the story, written in one sentence. *ny
longer and they become a repeat of the story itself. o not simply repeat the opening headline or intro of each
story as a closing headline. This is la=iness which does not serve your listeners. Never repeat teasers as closing
headlines4 give the details. -losing headlines are usually introduced with a phrase like4 BNow to summari=e the
main stories, ...B
-ctality
/hort grabs of actuality are a useful part of news bulletins, for a number of reasons4
They can often tell the story more effectively than a script. "f your story is about a violent protest outside an
embassy, a #%.second grab of demonstrators chanting and shouting will convey the atmosphere better than any
words. They can add variety to the pace of the bulletin, breaking up a long section of reading by one voice. Jn
the practical side, they allow the newsreader to take a 6% or :% second rest.
They are often a chance to let people within your community speak on the radio and Television. &eople like to
hear their own voice on radio and seen themselves on TV screen occasionally, or the voices of people they
know.
Ising a grab of someone speaking can convince listeners that the person really did say a certain thing. They
might not believe your report that the 'overnment is resigning. Dhen they hear the &rime 8inister announcing
it, they have to believe. *ctuality grabs should be kept short ?between 5% and :% seconds@, clear and well.edited.
* minute.long grab of a dull voice will slow the pace of your bulletin and may force listeners to switch off.
'rabs must be introduced, stating clearly who will be speaking. Kou only need to identify a person after paying
the actuality ?called bac$-annoncing@ if the grab is long and the voice is not familiar.
#:
'rabs in languages other than your own should be overdbbed with a translation. This means that you fade
down ?reduce@ the sound of the original speaker until it can only just be heard, then play the voice of the
translator over it.
Kou can occasionally use grabs in languages other than your own without overdubbing, but only if you know
that your listeners will be able to understand them. * short grab in simple language may be usable without an
overdub, especially when it is used to show the emotion behind a speech, rather than the content.
"t is occasionally possible to open the bulletin with dramatic piece of actuality, then e!plain it with a back.
announcement. /uch a grab must be dramatic, short and make sense to your listeners. 3or e!ample, a TV
journalist used a #%.second grab of guns firing and people screaming during the assassination of 0gyptian
&resident *nwar /adat, then back.announced4 BThe guns which destroyed the hopes of peace in the 8iddle 0ast
as &resident *nwar /adat of 0gypt was assassinated.B
Jnly use such opening grabs on special occasions, otherwise they lose their effect. *lso, it is not good to play
the grab before the opening theme, as it will confuse your listeners.
Msic
Never use music as background to a news bulletin. "t is distracting and ruins any variations in pace within the
bulletin.
* special theme should be used to announce the bulletin and may occasionally be used within the bulletin,
perhaps to separate different segments. De call such short music inserts stabs or stings.
Kour opening theme should be short and dramatic. "t should either end before the presenter starts reading or
should be faded out under their opening words. 8any record companies now produce selections of electronic or
instrumental themes especially for use as stabs.
*ny stabs within the bulletin should echo the opening theme as a link throughout the bulletin. (owever, too
many stabs will annoy the listener and reduce the amount of time available for real news.
"t is possible to use a closing theme at the end of the bulletin, although this should be different from the opening
theme ?you do not want to fool your listeners into thinking that this is the start of the bulletin@. The best
compromise is to use the opening bars of a theme at the start of the bulletin and use the closing bars at the end.
Timing yor blletin
#C
There is never enough time on TV for all the stories a journalist would like to include, so the timing of your
bulletin is very important. 2y careful timing you will be able to include all your important stories, giving
adeFuate details of each.
The e!act time of each item depends upon4
(ow long the whole bulletin is<
(ow many items you need to include<
(ow many grabs of actuality you want to use.
Kou have to balance these three considerations. "f your bulletin is #C minutes long you can use up to 5% stories,
several of them with grabs, and still treat each story properly. "f the bulletin is only five minutes, long you might
not manage more than seven or eight items and have time for only one or two short pieces of actuality.
2ecause some important stories can be told briefly and some less important stories need lots of e!planation, you
cannot set a fi!ed time for each story. (owever, if you aim to tell each story in about 6% to :C seconds, you will
be able to cover the news properly and in some detail.
"f you have a number of less important stories which you want to mention, run them as briefs at the end of the
bulletin. 2riefs are short stories, no longer than one or two sentences each. They are not designed to tell the
whole news, simply to let people know that something has happened.
The inclusion of briefs also helps to increase the pace of the bulletin if the rest of the stories are long and heavy.
"f you are a newsreader too, you must always read your bulletin through fully before going to air. Ise this
opportunity to time each item, writing the time in the bottom right.hand corner. 0ventually you will be able to
look at a piece of copy and estimate within a second how long it will take to read. "nitially, timing each item
with a watch will help you to develop the skill. /ome modern newsroom computer systems can automatically
calculate the duration of a story based on the number of words and the newsreaders reading rate.
2elow, in the section 1eading rate, we give some practical advice on how to calculate the length of your bulletin
and its components.
*lways take more copy than you need into the studio, just in case you have misjudged your timing or you have
problems with a piece of audio which does not play. The e!tra copy may be a story which you would not
normally consider important enough for the bulletin, but which will provide a useful reserve in emergencies.
#9
>eep glancing at the studio clock as you read the bulletin so that you can make adjustments, adding or taking
away stories. *nd always be ready to use that e!tra story in an emergency.
"n some cases, when your bulletin comes before a current affairs segment, you will not need to run full details
of some stories in the news. Kou can say something like4 BDe will have full details of this story in our current
affairs program after this bulletin.B
1#ecial blletins
De have been speaking so far mainly about regular news bulletins. There are, however, special bulletins which
need considering.
"ews flashes
* news flash is when the newsreader breaks into a program on.air to read an important, urgent news story, such
as a major disaster or the death of a national leader. The news flash should only be used on e!tremely important
stories.
Irgent news which arrives in the studio as the bulletin is going to air should be read at the ne!t most suitable
break in the bulletin, although it usually makes sense to use it at the end of the bulletin, just before any closing
headlines.
The newsreader should have the story as soon as possible, so that they can decide where in the bulletin to use it.
"f you intended ending the bulletin with a light story and the flash comes through of a major air crash, you must
drop the light story.
"t is possible to interrupt a non.news program for a news flash, although you must warn people in the studio that
you are coming with the flash. The best method of introducing a flash is for the program presenter to introduce
the newsreader with words like4 BNow we interrupt the program to cross over to the newsdesk for some urgent
news.B
The newsreader should then read the story in their usual tone, speaking clearly and repeating details. "f you only
have one sentence, you can read it twice to get the message across clearly. Kou should end with words like4
BThose are all the details available at the moment. De will give full details in our ne!t bulletin, at si! o;clock.B
/ee$end blletins
#,
Kou may need to treat weekend news bulletins in a slightly different way from weekday bulletins, because there
are usually fewer stories available.
Kou will need to re.assess newsworthiness at weekends, perhaps running stories which you would not use at
other times. Kour listeners will understand this. "n fact, they may even welcome a change from a diet of death,
disaster and politics.
Kou may want to make your weekend bulletins shorter and perhaps include a segment on sports news. Kou may
want to save lighter stories during the week to run at the weekend, as long as you still cover the major events as
well.
Practical techni7es
There are many practical techniFues which will make the job of preparing news bulletins easier and more
professional. "f you use these techniFues, they will help you to overcome many of the problems which
ine!perienced journalists can encounter.
)an$ing stories
Jne of the major problems in bulletin preparation is ranking the stories in correct order. 7ust follow some
simple steps.
3irst read through all the stories available. Then go through them again, making three lists ?or selecting the
stories on to three piles@. These categories should be4
#. "mportant stories which you must use<
5. /tories which you can use, but which are not so important<
6. /tories which you cannot use, for any reason.
3irst look at the stories in category one. -alculate roughly how much news these will give you ?if each story
will be appro!imately :% seconds long and you have four of them, they will take about 5 minutes :% seconds to
read@.
Now choose enough stories from category two to more than fill the remaining time. Together with your
essential category one stories, decide the order in which you want to use them, taking into account their
importance, length and pace.
#$
Kou can combine stories on similar topics, either running them as one story or as two stories linked with words
such as B8eanwhileB or B/till on the subject of ...B. * word of caution. o not combine too many stories,
because they will become a shapeless mass and you will lose the impact of separate intros.
)eading rate
"t is very useful to know your reading rate or the reading rate of the newsreader who will read the bulletin. Jnce
you know how long it will take you ?or the newsreader@ to read one line of type, you can time your bulletin by
counting lines, rather than by timing yourself each time you practice. 1eading rates are calculated in words #er
second ?wps@ and usually range from 5 wps for slower readers in some languages to 6.C wps for Fuite rapid
readers in other languages.
*sk a colleague to help you calculate your reading rate. 'et them to time 9% seconds while you read a short
piece of news script. 8ark where you stop after 9% seconds. *dd up how many words you read in 9% seconds
and write this number down. 1epeat this process ten more times with different scripts. To calculate the average
number of words you read in 9% seconds, add up all the numbers from the ten scripts and divide the total by ten.
ivide this figure by 9% to get your reading rate in words per second.
3or e!ample, you might find that over #% scripts, you read #5C, #59, ##+, #56, ##$, #5%, #55, #59, ##$ and ##,
words in 9% seconds. *dd these up< they total #5#: words. ivide this by #% to get the average number of words
per script ?#5#@. Now divide this average by 9% to get the number of words per second. The answer is roughly 5
words per second . your average reading rate.
Jnce you know your average reading rate, you can estimate how long it will take to read each story. Jf course,
you will not want to count all the words in all your stories< this would take too long. "t is better to count just the
number of lines.
3irst, count how many words there are in C% lines of your standard news scripts, then divide the total by C%.
This will give you the average number of words per line. 3or e!ample, if there are 9%% words in C% lines of
script, the average is #5 words per line.
Now you can calculate how long it takes you to read a line of script. 3or e!ample, if your reading rate is 5
words per second and your script contains an average of #5 words per line, you can read one line in 9 seconds
?#5 divided by 5@. 2y counting the total number of lines in each story, you can calculate Fuite accurately how
long they will take to read. 3or e!ample, a story with $ lines of type will take :$ seconds to read ?$ times 9@.
8ark the time on the bottom right.hand corner of each story.
#+
Jne final step is to add up the times for all your stories. This will tell you the total time it will take to read them
all. Dhen you are adding up total reading time for the bulletin, add an e!tra two seconds for the pause between
each story.
?Jne tip on counting lines4 "f the final line in the paragraph ends less than half way across the page, ignore it.
-ount only those lines which end more than half way across the page. Jver a number of paragraphs, this will
average out accurately.@
Jf course, you may need a calculator to work out all the sums, but it is worth the effort. Jnce you learn how to
calculate the length of your bulletins, you will be able to time them accurately. *fter many years, you may
become so e!perienced that you can judge the length of a bulletin just by looking at it.
The scri#t
8ost newsrooms today use computers to produce news stories and features which newsreaders can either print
out or read directly from a screen in the studio. "f your newsroom uses printed scripts they must be typed neatly,
with any last.minute changes clearly crossed out. "f you make more than a couple of crossings.out, re.print that
script.
/tart a new paragraph for each sentence and type double.spaced. Type only one story per sheet, as this will
make it easier to find stories if you want to drop or insert them during the bulletin. Ise good Fuality paper
which will not rustle as you move it. Never turn a phrase from one line to the ne!t and certainly never
hyphenate words from one line to the ne!t. Never staple the pages of your bulletin together. Kou must be able to
pull the sheets aside noiselessly as you read them. /tack the stories neatly on one side after you have read them<
do not throw them on the floor.
0ven if you read Loff the screenM, much of the above advice still holds though the challenge now is how to
manage the scrolling of the script and the re.arrangement of stories while you read. *s mentioned earlier,
television newsreaders usually read from an autocue operated by another member of the production staff. 1adio
and Television newsreaders seldom have such help so have to present their bulletins single.handed.
Dhether you work in radio and television, if your news stories and bulletins are well.prepared in an orderly
manner, you will make your work easier and serve your audience more effectively.
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