Specialty Announcing

Meeting 11
English for Broadcasting
 introduction
• Specialty announcing include weather, financial,
feature, multimedia narration, and on-air sales
announcing.
• Each has its special requirements and attractions;
however, each also relies on the basic performance
principles examined earlier in this text.
WEATHER REPORTING
 Weather Reporting (1/7)
• Certain segments of the population, such as
farmers and resort area operators, have
always had a serious interest in weather.
• In addition, the nation has become much more
conscious of the potential for sudden, serious
storms and the value of broadcasts about them.
• As listeners and viewers have grown more
interested and knowledgeable, weather
reporting has become an acceptable
professional career for a young broadcaster.
• individuals with little or no weather training do
get opportunities and pursue them successfully.
• Seals of Approval
• The American Meteorological Society
(AMS) maintains standards for recognizing
weathercasters and awards “seals of
approval” to those who are properly trained.
• The AMS Seal of Approval is given to
television and radio forecasters who have a
degree in meteorology or have completed
12 credit hours in atmospheric or related
sciences.
• For television, the weathercaster must
submit a recording that is reviewed by a
board of professional meteorologists.
 Weather Reporting (2/7)
Seals of Approval
• A satisfactory rating must be earned in four
areas: technical competence, informational
value, explanatory value, and
communication skills.
• Another organization, the National Weather
Association (NWA), also awards a Seal of
Approval after two years of full-time or
three years of part-time on-air experience,
submission of a recording, and passing a
written exam.
• Both the AMS and NWA Seals of Approval
must be renewed annually
Source of Information:
• locally developed reports
• the U.S. National Weather Service
– Satellite dishes and the Internet (satellite
images of cloud patterns and storms from
around the world.)
• Commercial weather information
services such as Accu-Weather and
Colorgraphics
• The Associated Press and other news
wire services
 Weather Reporting (3/7)
The weathercasters
• Today, particularly in television,
stations like to develop their own
weathercasters as one of their stable
of personalities (resident weather
expert)
• In general, the field favors a
personable, but serious reporter.
• These solid individuals are the ones
who are called upon when storms
and severe conditions threaten.
Weather-related Vocabulary
• Weather reporting comes with a
variety of terms, many of which are
not familiar to the average new
graduate.
• There is a vocabulary to be learned
and applied.
• A list of common terms can be found
in the next slide:
 Weather-Related Vocabulary

Anemometer High Squall

Atmospheric pressure Humidity Thunderhead
Barometer Hurricane Tornado
Barometric pressure Isobar Wind chill
Celsius Isotherm
Discomfort index Jet stream
Front Low
Hail Sleet
The Chroma Key System for weather (4/7)
 Weather Reporting (5/7)
Reporting Style
• Three qualities that are common to all
weathercasters:
1. Seeming to be involved and interested in
what they are doing
2. showing some energy without becoming
a caricature, and
3. relating to their audience
• Can be informal in the introduction, smile
unless the weather is really bad.
• You can comment on the heat, the cold, or
the rain as one who is also suffering through
it or enjoying it.
Points to note
• Staying connected with the audience is
critical and eye contact will be a big factor.
– Don’t get so attached to your side monitors. Look
at the monitors when you are about to point out a
city or region, but get back to the camera quickly.
• Don’t get into rocking or moving around.
Keep yourself balanced and stable. You may
need to change sides once during your
report, but limit your movement.
• Don’t turn your back on your audience.
• Finally, watch your word rate (not too fast)
 Weather Reporting (6/7)
Reporting Style
• The report is largely ad-libbed
• a plan as to how you will approach your report:
– comment on current local conditions,
– review the national scene, and
– return to make your local forecast.
• When covering the national map, present your
material in some sort of geographic order, e.g. left
to right (Sumatra to Papua)
• If you find yourself covering a significant local
storm, be sure to stay calm and don’t say anything
to alarm the viewers. You could warn your
audience to take cover or lay in some supplies, but
be sure not to exaggerate.
Reporting Style
• Plan in detail what you’re going to cover and
especially how you’re going to conclude the
report. A summary sentence or two is often the
best solution, but have it in mind.
• Don’t expect to create it on the spot. Be
particularly alert, as it is easy to slip into the “uh”
filler in this situation.
• Furthermore, you should have the report clearly
in mind for those occasions when the technology
fails you.
• As a final reminder, remember to hold when you
finish your report or do something appropriate.
Sample weather report
 Weather Reporting (6/7)
Reporting Style
• Many stations, in an effort to make the news
team seem more human, will expect some
chatter, usually at the end of the report,
sometimes referred to as “ Happy Talk. ”
• This could come in the form of a question or
comment from an anchor, such as, “ Do you
think it will clear for the game Saturday? ”
or “ Will I be able to get in a round of golf
before the storm hits? ”
• You’ll be expected to make a pleasant and
interesting response
FINANCIAL REPORTING
 Financial Reporting (1/5)
• For general reporting of financial news, a student
needs to know about the elements that are most
interesting to the public and how to interpret them.
• For full-time anchoring on a cable channel,
knowledge of economics and experience in the
stock market, as well as news writing and reporting
skills, are essential
• financial commentator: involves specialized
knowledge
• The financial reporter/anchor will need to be able
to understand and interpret the guest’s
statements and ask meaningful questions.
• Often the host must screen guests ’ remarks for
jargon beyond the knowledge of typical viewers,
and ask follow-up questions to clarify.
• If the host will ask questions to which he or
she knows the answers, they must be posed in
a sincere way, so they don’t seem staged or
forced.
• Good interpersonal skills are essential as
well, as some guests may try to pontificate or
run on at great length and must be cut off.
• Some executives being interviewed may try
to become public relations agents for their
company or mask problems their company is
having.
– In these cases, the financial reporter has to ask the
hard questions and recognize that the speaker is
avoiding them.
 Financial Reporting (2/5)
• The skills needed
• A good understanding of the world’s political
and economic structure is important since
they influence stock prices movement.
• When big events happen, nationally or
internationally, stock prices can move rapidly
up or down and the number of viewers of a
financial program can rise quickly.
• While light banter is generally acceptable
when times are tranquil, a dropping market
calls for calm reporting with no evidence of “
scare ” remarks or other comments that could
cause the audience undue anguish.
• Financial commentators have great
influence with their audience. It is an
area where the individual has a
tremendous responsibility to be
careful of remarks and avoid any hint
of favoritism.
• Furthermore, unscrupulous
individuals exist who have tried to
influence the announcers to speak
favorably of a stock, even to the
extent of offering gifts, trips, and
outright bribes
 Financial Reporting (3/5)
• Ethical Issue
• Talking about the market every day, hearing
tips and recommendations, and perhaps
knowing people who have made a great deal
of money in stocks, presents a great
temptation to dabble in the stock market
yourself.
• Your station will have rules concerning this,
but it is an area loaded with danger. If you
purchase a stock and then seem to be
making favorable remarks about it on the
air, you can be accused of “touting” the stock
so that the price will rise, making a profit for
yourself. This is both unethical and illegal.
 Financial Reporting (4/5)
What a financial reporter covers
• When only a brief period is set aside for stock reports,
the first choice to cover would be the Dow Jones
Average.
• The Dow Jones Company issues three averages
– the Industrials
– the Transportation
– the Utilities
• most people prefer the Industrials. This is a number
derived from the selling prices of 30 major stocks, such
as IBM, GE, and General Motors.
• Listeners will want to know the current figure and the
amount of change since the end of the previous business
day. In addition, they will want to know if the change is
an increase in price or a decrease.
Dow Jones, S&P 500, NASDAQ
• A second popular average is the S & P 500, put out by
Standard and Poor’s, which includes 500 companies.
– Some experts view the S & P as a better gauge
– Here again, the latest number and the amount and
direction of change are what is desired.
• The third popular average is the NASDAQ (pronounced
“ Naz-dak ” ), which stands for National Association of
Securities Dealers Automatic Quotations.
– This is a separate, computer based operation and
deals primarily in smaller and cheaper stocks.
– Many people who do not have much money to
invest prefer this exchange because of the lower
prices.
– Here again, the latest number and the amount and
direction of change are desired.
Sample Financial Report
 Financial Reporting (5/5)
When there is more time…
• The next step would be to list the current prices and
the changes in price for several widely owned stocks
such as IBM, GE, or Microsoft. As usual, give the
current price and the amount and direction of change.
• If your city has a major company that is a big
employer, listeners and viewers will be interested in
this as well
• On the stock exchange and the Internet, stocks are
identified by two, three, four, and occasionally five
letter codes. Some are quite obvious, such as GE and
IBM. Others are not. Dupont is DD and Union Pacific
Railroad is UNP. Can you figure out what MSFT and
INTC are?
Source of news and reporting style
• Source of news:
– Your wire service, e.g. Associated Press.
– local stockbroker
– Internet sites, e.g. www. CNNmoney.com
– You can set up an “ account ” there, listing
the stocks you report on regularly.
• Avoid showing excitement over any company
reports, as it might appear that you are
encouraging listeners to buy or sell the stock.
• Deliver the reports in a calm but energetic voice.
If the markets are taking a serious fall, reduce
your energy but remain unemotional.
FEATURE SPECIALIST
 Feature Specialist (1/3)
Some examples
• One-Tank Trip – promote site
attraction
• and be an interesting person to know.
Del’s Folks - highlighted individual
and small businesses
• Outside the Box – a lighter moment
to the serious stock market report
Host requirement
• The host of a specialty feature must have
considerable rapport with the audience
• You only have a few moments to
connect with your audience, to establish
your topic, and get to some interesting
aspects.
• Example: Jim Sislo is a television time
salesman who does a segment known as
the Sislo Kid, which deals with new
innovation in technology
 Feature Specialist (2/3)
A case study: Jim Sislo
• He identifies his audience as
individuals who are not particularly
knowledgeable about the field. He
has three minutes to inform and
entertain his audience. Jim looks for
gadgets that are interesting,
entertaining, and inexpensive.
• As a feature specialist, deciding who
your audience will be and what kind
of subject matter you will cover is a
good place to start.
 Feature Specialist (3/3)
A case study: Jim Sislo
• Since the length of his segment is
rather fixed and some seconds are lost
to a produced opening, he has to plan
carefully.
• His general formula is to allocate a
little time to his greeting and topic
introduction, then focus on two or
three points related to the subject, and
then quickly build to some sort of
strong, sometimes comedic, ending.
• Since he has been a professional magician
since childhood, he often draws on that
knowledge to add a little flair.
• Jim finds that manufacturers are more than
willing to provide items for his use. Many contact
him. However, when he makes the contact
himself, he invites them to visit his section of the
station’s website to establish his credibility.
• A key point to remember is that he returns the
items after use, as ethical issues could come into
play, and he does not want to jeopardize his
credibility.