By Jawad Gilani

www.jawadgilani.com
Jawad.gilani@gmail.com

ACTIVE MEDIA RADIO

Radio: The First Broadcast
Medium
 1700’s Greeks were producing gigantic static
charges but were not able to understand how
electricity works.
 A German scientist Heinrich Hertz in 1887
demonstrated what we know as radio today.
 Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph.
Radio

 The radiotelephone 1906.

 Titanic 1912 ( David Sarnoff)
 Period of Transition
 Scheduled Programs Began
 Establishing economic base for the new medium
Radio

 Paying for the Broadcasts

 $ 3000 for setting up Radio station and $ 2000 as
running costs.
 Advertising as source of profit.
 Acquiring receivers for home use.
The World of Media
Radio
 Bits and pieces in speech that Matter!
 ¯ Most listeners will not be offended by or even notice bad English. But
many will notice and will get offended.

 Fact is good English will not offend anyone but would serve audiences
better.

 Getting it right!

 English is a developing language which does not stand still, and hence
creates difficulties for the audiences.

 Journalism is all about writing under pressure.

Getting it Right

 Some dreadful usage of Language.

 Reasons ?
 Poor base ( Poor teaching of language at
schools)
 Laziness
 Over anxious desire not to seem stuck up.
 When proper English language is not used, the
entire purpose of communicating through
Mass media is lost.
Getting it Right!

 First rule of writing “ Know what you want to

say”
 “ For the second time in six months, a prisoner
at Durham jail has hanged himself”
 “A suicide bomber has struck again in Bagdad”
 It’s a good idea to remember your subject “ A
walker crossing the bridge spotted the body”
 The police in west London were concerned
about the surge in Crime rate.
Getting it right!

 Lack of thought process produces “ it’s a sad

and tragic fact that if you are a farmer you are
three times more likely to die than average
factory worker”
 “ There is a overturned tractor heading north
to M II.
Basic sentence structure that works every time
in media is Subject-verb-object
Getting it right!

 In real life people do not say “ Liverpool and

England striker Michael Owen” or Microsoft
Bass Bill Gates”
 Radio broadcaster think this adds life and
impact to their output.
 Do not describe Good News or Bad News let
the listener decide.
Getting it right

 Do NOT frighten your audience

 Never start a news report with a question.
 Do not begin your story with “ as expected”
 Be positive!
Getting it right!

 Active Voice
 A does B
 Passive voice
 B is done (usually by A)
Journalist Instincts
THE basics

 Who do we write for? Think about your

audience when you are digging for the news
as well as when you begin to write.
 Basic story structure: A good story gets
straight to the point and has all the main
elements – including context, background,
human interest, colour and descriptive woven
in from the top, not just tagged on as an
after-thought.
 Story essentials: Think about the audience
you are writing for. Reuters writes primarily
for an audience of financial professional and
for well educated, world-interested,
politically and financially aware general
readers. Readers may not be specialists, so
don’t assume too much.
 Ask yourself: Does the story say what it’s
meant to say? Is it clear and unambiguous?
 STORY LENGTH : Newsbreaks should be no
more than two paragraphs if the news is
unexpected. Write three paragraphs only if
the material is so complex that it requires
additional background and context or a
crucial quote (up to 100 words). Newsbreaks
that include pre-written material may run
longer, provided this does not compromise
snapgaps.
 Targeted writing
 Good writing must be pitched correctly at its
audience. This is at the heart of how we
structure a story file, where we put our
emphasis, and where we can reduce our
effort, while still producing a news file that
makes its mark.
 Tips for good story writing: “Tell me something
I don’t already know" That’s what clients want.
Look for a new fact, angle, interpretation,
reaction and explain the implications, whether
you are covering politics, economics, corporate
affairs, financial markets, sport or any other
news. News does not happen in a vacuum –
often the story is “outcome versus expectations”
or “outcome versus comparisons”. In other
words, it’s the context that makes the story.
 Make the headline strong
 Financial terminal clients and online readers
trade, search and click open on the strength of
the headline. If you can write the headline,
you can write the lead.
 Don’t neglect the slug
 Count the words in your first sentence : If
there are more than 25, start to get nervous. If
there are more than 30 then get very nervous.
Some checks for error-free copy

 Confirm the day of the week and the date.

 Check all the numbers – do all the components add up to the total, do
individual percentages add up to 100? Double check the period covered,
conversions, whether the figure is up or down. Watch for confusion between
millions and billions, misplaced decimal points, transposed conversions.
Check share prices.
 Watch the spelling of proper names and ensure names are spelled
consistently throughout the story.
 Make sure there is a quote to back up a contentious lead.
 Ensure the story gives full company names, full and proper titles, and RICs in
both the text and header field. Check that unfamiliar RICs and web site
addresses mentioned in the story actually work.
 Does the story make clear how we got the information, e.g. newspaper
pickup, interview, news conference?
Who does what in Radio?

 Voice and Speech Development

 Speech improvement
Speech vocabulary
Breath conservation and
control exercises
Commercial Announcing and
Copywriting
 Commercial type
 Commercial announcing
 The importance of selling
when announcing comercials
 Know what your selling
 Know the characters
Know the audience
Voice Overs

 Commercial practice section

 Union or non-union guilds
 Delivery styles
 Sound effects library
 Digital editing
The final voice over mix
Seven Tips for Broadcast
Interviewing
 - Plan ahead so that you use the interviewee's
time wisely.
 Plan out a rough list of what you want to ask.
It shouldn't be a rigid script, because
sometimes the person's answers will take you
in an unexpected direction that's better than
what you planned.
 Keep a comfortable level of eye contact for
the other person. Let your face be relaxed and
your body's position convey interest -- but not
interest so intense that the person begins to
feel like a steak in front of a hungry vulture.
 - Don't rush to fill in the silences. Develop a
repertoire of interested nods, puzzled glances,
"hmm's" and other verbal and visual clues that
you want the other person to elaborate.
 Listening to what the other person is saying is
only half the story. Look at his/her mannerisms,
listen to the volume and steadiness of the
person's voice, notice how he/she has dressed
and groomed himself/herself, and notice details
of the surroundings.
 Try to make your writing as unobtrusive as
possible. I usually write with the tablet in my lap
and my eyes on the person as much as possible.
 Look over a news story that you particularly
admire. Think of the specific and the general
questions that the journalist had to ask in
order to get that information.
Disc Jockey / Talk Show Host

 The DJ
The straight announcer
The formula jock
The musicologist
The comic
The man on the street
The "True DJ"
Learn to be you
Originality
Disc Jockey / Talk Show Host
 Your radio personality
Developing your on-air-skill
Producer
Producing your show
Selecting your music
Ad-libbing
(T) Talk radio format
Developing topics for use
on-the-air
Interview format
Original concept ideals
 Show timing
Program formats
(A/C) Adult Contemporary
(CHR) Contemporary Hit
Radio
(AOR) Album Oriented Rock
(C) Country Radio
(UC) Urban Contemporary
(E) Ethnic Radio
(R) Religious Radio
(MOR) Middle Of The Road
Radio Production

 Staying within the  Station ID's

format Music surveys
Format clocks The record companies
The station log Celebrity interviewing
Disc jockey show Keeping the interview
Interviewing going
Final DJ / talk show
News Broadcasting and Writing

 News policy and  Religions

procedures Obscene or profane
Announcing the news language
Responsibility Lotteries
News sources Preparing the news
The wire services Reporting from the
UPI and AP scene.
Television The most popular
medium
 Invention and controversy of television
 In 1884 German Inventor Paul Nipkow
developed a rotating disk with small holes
arranged in spiral pattern, that when used
with light source, produced a very rapid
lighting effect.
 Radio and TV experiments knit closely.
Development of TV

 In early 1920’s corporations like RCA and GE

allocated budgets to experiment with TV.
 GE employed inventor Ernst Alexander, to
work exclusively on the problem, who was
able to develop a workable system based on
Nipkow disc.
Early broadcasts

 Early television screens used tiny screens

based on Cathode rays about 4 inches in
Diameter.
 In 1927, Herbert Hoover, then sectary of
Commerce appeared on an experimental
broadcast.
 By 1932, RCA built a TV station complete with
studio and transmission facility.
Period of Rapid adaptation

 By 1946, FCA issued 24 new licenses.

 The Big Freeze
 Becoming a TV nation.
 Coming of Color
 By 1946 two colors had been perfected by
RCA
Alternatives to Broadcasts

 The spread of Cable systems

 Video Cassette Recorders
 The Scope of Television
TELEVISION PRODUCTION
TV Production Process

 Who Does What and Why

 Producer
 Producer-Director
 Associate Producer
 Writer
 Script
 Talent
Who is Who?

 Technical Director
 Production Assistants
 Lighting Directors
 Set Designers
 Makeup Artists
Twelve Guidelines
for Better Videos
 1. Use a tripod or a solid camera support. 
 2. Rely on medium close-ups and close-ups for
your basic visual material
 3. Eliminate shots that don't contribute to the
project's goals or your basic story idea.
 4. Cut away from a shot as soon as the basic
information is conveyed.
 5. Resist the temptation to keep the camera
rolling, and pan, zoom and tilt the camera to get
from one shot to another.
 6. Make sure your key subject matter (the
talent) is not wearing white, or is against a
white (or very light) background. 
 7. Unless you are "editing in the
camera," make sure you observe a five-
second roll cue at the beginning of each take. 
 8. Cue up your piece to the very beginning of
a ten-second countdown leader before
submitting  your work.
 9. Use a auxiliary mic for interviews, never
the built-in camera mic. 
 10. Select instrumental music as background
for narration, not vocal, rap, or hip-hop
music. 
 11. Use B-roll footage with interviews
whenever possible. 
 12. Completely and thoroughly think through
and plan your piece before you start.
The Production Process

 Identify the Purpose of the Production

 Analyze Your Target Audience
 Identify Demographics to Determine the
Acceptability of Content
 Check Out Similar Productions
 Determine the Basic Value
of Your Production
 Consider Return on Investment
 Develop a Treatment
 Develop a Production Schedule
 Select Key Production Personnel
 Decide On Locations
 Decide On Talent, Wardrobe and Sets
 Decide on the Remaining Personal
 Obtain Permits, Insurance, and Clearances
 Select Video Inserts, Photos.
 Begin Rehearsals and Shooting
 Begin Editing Phase
 Do Postproduction Follow-Up
The Script

 Semi-scripted shows
 Fully scripted shows 
 The Concrete-to-Abstract Continuum
 Hold Their Interest: Once you establish the
intent and focus of the production and you
know the characteristics of the audience, you
can select and arrange the program
elements. 
 Whatever you do, be certain to present the
materials in a way that will hold the attention
and interest of your  audience. You can do this
by:
Engaging the audience's emotions
 Presenting your ideas in fresh, succinct, clear,
and creative ways
 Making your viewers care about the subject
matter
 Spicing Up Interviews
 For better or worse, interviews serve as the
mainstay of many, if not most, non dramatic
productions. Because of this and the difficulty
involved in making interviews interesting, they
require special attention.
 Assembling the Segments
 As you pull the elements together, think of
yourself as watching the show; try to visualize
exactly what's going on at each moment.
Theory of Lighting

 Hard and Soft Light 

 Light Coherence
 Coherence, often called quality, is the hardness or softness
of light. Light quality is probably the least understood and
the most neglected of the three variables.  
 Hard Light
 Light that is transmitted directly from a small point source
results in relatively coherent (parallel) rays. This gives the
light a hard, crisp, sharply defined appearance. The light
from a clear, unfrosted light bulb, a focused spotlight, or the
noonday sun in a clear sky, all represent hard light sources. 
 Soft (diffused) light has the opposite effect. soft
light tends to hide surface irregularities and detail. 
 A soft light source placed close to the camera
minimizes surface detail. The effect is commonly
referred to as flat lighting.
 Ultra-Soft Lighting
 There are a few occasions when ultra-soft lighting is
necessary to keep video equipment from exceeding
its brightness or contrast range limitations and as a
result compressing (losing) important detail.  
 In typical lighting setups, lighting instruments
serve four functions:
 key lights
 fill lights
 back lights
 background lights
Key Light
Fill Light
Back Light