Introduction to Radio Broadcasting

Radio Broadcasting
- A kind of news casting which is done on the radio.

Technical Terms in Radio Broadcasting

1. INTRO – is the opening part of the news program.

2. EXTRO – is the closing part of the news program.
3. STATION ID – is the name of the radio station.
4. PROGRAM ID – is the radio program’s name.
5. AFFILIATION – the organization of which the radio station is a member. Example is the KBP or
Kapisanan ng mga Broadcasters sa Pilipinas.
6. SLOGAN – the philosophy or the norm that the news program upholds.
7. HEADLINES – are the most important news of the day/the title of the news story
8. RECAPITULATION (Recap) – is the repetition of the headlines. It gives the summary of the news covered
in the program.
9. NEWS BED – is the background music used in the news program.
10. AIR GAP (also called DEAD AIR) – happens when no one is speaking or no news bed is being played on
air.
11. NEWS SLUG – is a short introductory phrase in all caps followed by a colon, in a news story.
12. TEASER – is a short line delivered by the anchor about the news he will pass to the segment reporter
13. TIME CHECK – is traditionally done to inform the listeners of the time. In school competitions, it is done
to notify the reporters of the remaining time in the news program.
14. COMMERCIALS – are the advertisements that are aired when the news program takes a break. There are
three types of commercial in radio broadcasting:
a. Spot Commercial – is just a portion of a commercial, usually the gist of a regular full length
commercial. It usually goes with the time check.
b. Full Length Commercial – is a regular commercial from start to finish.
c. Infomercial – contains Advocacy Plug. It advocates a certain message which is usually a lesson that
the radio station and the sponsors of the program want to teach the listeners. It usually goes with the
Spot Commercial.
15. JINGLE - is a short tune that is used to promote something.

People involved in Radio Broadcasting

1. ANCHOR – is the main reporter in the news program. He delivers the major news of the day. He usually
opens and closes the news program. He also cues in and out the other reporters.
2. SEGMENT REPORTER – reports minor news of the day. This reporter is inside the news studio along
with the anchor.
3. FIELD REPORTER – also reports minor news of the day. This reporter goes out in the field to cover news
where it happens and to interview people who are connected with the news he is covering.
4. COMMERCIAL ARTIST – is the one in charge of the commercial.
5. TIME CHECKER – checks the time. He is usually the anchor of the news program.
6. SOUND TECHNICIAN/ENGINEER – is in charge of the manipulation of the news bed and other sound
effects.
7. NEWS EDITOR/DIRECTOR – edits the news in particular, and the script in general. He directs everyone
in the news program.

Script for Radio Broadcasting

- The standard script for radio broadcasting in school press conferences has the following parts:

1. OBB (Opening of the Billboard) – refers to the switching of the radio ON so that it may be heard on
air. In the actual radio broadcasting in school press conferences, it is called the INTRO.
The INTRO usually has the following parts:
a. Station ID
b. Station frequency
c. Affiliation (e.g. KBP)
d. Slogan
e. GREETINGS - contains the following:
 Words of greetings addressed to the listeners (Good morning/afternoon!)
 The name of the news program (e.g. News Blast)
 The date (e.g. Wednesday, May 7, 2014)
 The name(s) of the anchor(s)
2. HEADLINES - contains the top of the hour news for the day.
3. TIME CHECK – checks the current time. It usually comes with a SPOT COMMERCIAL.
4. DETAILS OF THE NEWS – provide the body of the news as prompted in the headlines.
 5. INFOMERCIAL – contains the ADVOCACY PLUG.
6. RECAPITULATION – is the RECAP in short. It gives a summary of the news covered in the program.
It is usually the repetition of the HEADLINES.
7. JINGLE - is a short tune that is used to promote something.
8. CBB (Closing of the Billboard) – refers to the switching of the radio OFF to signify the end of the
news program. In the actual radio broadcasting in school press conferences, it is called the EXTRO.

News to be covered in the program

1. National news
2. Local News
3. World or foreign news
4. Sports news
5. Entertainment news
6. Weather news

General pointers to remember when writing the script for radio broadcasting

1. Choose the most important news to be aired.

2. Use double space when writing or typing the news in the script.
3. Have one paragraph per sentence.
4. Listen for the font size to be used in typing the script. (Usually announced by the proctor)
5. The script must be written in duplicates.

DO’s and DON’T’s in Scriptwriting

1. Organize your news broadcast by preparing a news wheel or a chart containing the essential elements of a
newscast such as the station ID, headlines, national news, local news, weather news, sports news, showbiz
news and the likes.
2. Don’t forget to include the national news in your program. It is a MUST. You may have one or two of this
news type. In this connection, you should not have all national news all throughout the program. There
should be variations.
3. You should not do the following:
a. Showbiz first before the national news. (Exception: When one of the showbiz personalities dies!)
b. Weather news first instead of the national news. (Exception: When there’s a storm or typhoon or when
there are casualties due to storms or typhoons!)
c. Sports update first instead of the local news. (Exception: News about Manny Pacquiao’s victrory!
4. The script should be meant for the listeners not for the viewers. Use simple but colourful, catchy, distinct
descriptive words.
5. Avoid discriminate use of personal pronouns. Repeat the names of the persons or use alternative titles in
the news story rather than using he, she, or they whenever there is the slightest chance that the reference
may be misunderstood.
6. Change the pronouns in direct quotations from the first person to the third person whenever the change will
help the listener understand the news much better. It is clearer to say “THE MAYOR SAYS SHE’S
GOING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE MATTER.” than to say, THE MAYOR SAYS, “I AM
GOING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE MATTER.”
7. Avoid using the words “LATTER” and “RESPECTIVELY” which are acceptable in print but should not be
used on air because the listener has no way of referring to the original word that is being talked about.
8. Avoid excessive redundancy. Repeating important facts is advisable, but too frequent repetition is dull.
(Examples: stressed, expressed, said, clarified/nabanggit, naturang, etc.)
9. Spell out acronyms in the script especially if they are not frequently used or unfamiliar to the audience.
10. Simplify numbers. For example, change 2.6123 million to “SLIGHTLY MORE THAN TWO AND A
HALF MILLION” and 35.7002 percent to “NEARLY 36 PERCENT”. If the number is not an essential part
of the story, drop it.
11. Never use words that are only appropriate for TV news cast such as:
a. You have just witnessed the interview of DZBB with Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago)
12. Never include unnecessary ages, middle initials, addresses, occupations, unfamiliar or obscure names or
anything else that slows down or clutters up the story. Use of the passive voice in this situation is highly
suggested.
13. Actualities (Voice Clips) must be appropriate and in line with the news script. Remember that actualities
are meant to supplement only. They should not lead to redundancy.
14. Use appropriate and catchy program intro and extro. It depends on the image you want to project. Its
effectiveness depends on the anchor’s delivery.
15. There must be a news summary script.
16. Advocacy plugs or commercials may be written. These plugs must be relevant and creatively produced.
17. There must be an intro and an extro (especially if there is no program ID). There should also be transition
words in between news stories. Turn-over of news must be done properly. Teasers are also highly
 suggested to be used. Time of the broadcast must be prescribed (morning, afternoon, evening) and must be
consistent.

DO’s and DON’T’s in Broadcasting

1. Unacceptable delivery such as wrong pronunciation, phrasing, stress and blending is a big NO in
broadcasting (especially in English). Critical sounds in English must be given prior importance (soft and
hard /th/, /f/ and /p/, /b/ and /v/)
2. Wrong positioning of the broadcasters (sitting or standing arrangements) affects the manner of delivery.
3. News beds must be appropriate for the newscast. The sound technician must be knowledgeable in the
manipulation of the news bed and other sound effects.
4. There shouldn’t be:
a. Air gaps
b. Feedback
c. Too much loudness (e.g. in news bed, voice, etc.)
5. Proper use of the microphone must be practiced.
6. It is advisable to bring a stopwatch and a watch to keep abreast with the time.
7. Over time is subject to deductions of scores by some percentage.
8. Take good care of your voice. It’s your number one tool in broadcasting.

News Chart (A Sample Time Allotment: 5-Minute Radio Broadcast)

NEWS ELEMENT RUNNING TIME

Intro (Opening of the Billboard) 20 seconds
Greetings 15 seconds
Headlines 15 seconds
Time Check 10 seconds
National News 30 seconds
Local News 30 seconds
Foreign News 30 seconds
Infomercial (Advocacy Plug) 30 seconds
Sports Update 25 seconds
Showbiz Update 25 seconds
Weather Update 25 seconds
Recap (Optional) 15 seconds
Extro (Closing of the Billboard) 10 seconds
Transitions and Turn-Over 20 seconds

Usual Criteria in judging broadcasting contests:

A. SCRIPT (35%)
1. Organization (15%)
2. Variation/Transition (10%)
3. Appropriateness and accuracy of the script (10%)

B. DELIVERY (40%)
1. Voice quality, projection, modulation and vocal dynamics (15%)
2. Confidence (15%)
3. Articulation, enunciation and pronunciation (10%)

C. TECHNICALITIES (10%)

D. UNIQUENESS AND CREATIVITY (10%)

E. AUDIENCE IMPACT (5%)

TOTAL: 100%

Prepared by:

MEL M. GARCIA
Speaker
07/18-19/2014