Radio

Striking your target

Striking your target audience is a fundamental ability, if you are to make it as a successful journalist.

Writing for radio, calls upon a journalist to be direct, precise, simple and engage the listener. A journalist must always ask themselves, 'what is this story about?' and 'what will interest the listener?'

Talbot FM is predominantly a music station, appealing to mainly female listeners, aged between 16-30 years old.

Talbot FM offers quick news and its content focuses on lifestyle, celebrity and sport.

South Coast Radio is a contrasting station, appealing to professional or retired individuals, aged 45 and above. The radio station is regional, covering Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

South Coast Radio supplies its listeners with detailed news, in which an authoritative voice is offered from reporters and correspondents. The news content is mainly of local interest and often includes court stories, social affairs and surveys.

Working as one

A group of people, who possess particular skills, who are responsible for making individual decisions and meet together to communicate and collaborate, is how a team should operate.

An effective team is one that works well together. Each individual member should offer their own special qualities in which, to enhance the team and certain rules should be set in order to operate efficiently and successfully:

• Roles should be appointed and each member should understand how they are going to function within the team


• Members should agree on goals
  
• Each individual should work with everyone on the team.
  

Keeping to your side of the deal

Allocating roles to each member of your team, ensures that all work is divided responsibly and that your team achieves the best results.

The radio newsday's called upon the need for the following roles to be appointed to individual members:

• Editor


• Producer


• Presenter


• Entertainment Presenter


• Sport Presenter


• Reporters

On the Talbot FM newsday the following roles were appointed:

• Editor: Claire Edwards


• Producer: Lauren Archell


• Presenter: Isobel Smith


• Entertainment Presenter: Kat Alder


• Sport Presenter: Nick Summers


• Reporters: Sam Cooper and Sophia Stuart-Clark

On the South Coast Radio newsday the following roles were appointed:

• Editor: Isobel Smith


• Producer: Nick Summers


• Presenter: Claire Edwards


• Sport Presenter: Sophia Stuart-Clark


• Reporters: Kat Alder, Sam Cooper and Lauren Archell

The editor is responsible for overseeing the general operation of the team, ensuring that all individuals are contributing effectively. The editor should proof read the scripts, working to improve the content and seeing that it suits the radio station's listeners. Responsibilities also include deciding on news stories to run, the running order of the news bulletin and seeing that the news team are fulfilling their roles appropriately.

The producer schedules and manages the whole production process, ensuring that the news bulletin is put out 'on air', on time, the scripts are in the studio and the system has all the news stories and clips ready to run.

The Presenter is on the front line of broadcasting and will present the news bulletin 'on air'. A presenter will have an excellent communication style, a likable personality and must be able to make decisions responsibly under pressure. Presenters may also present sports and entertainment.

A reporters responsibility is to find suitable stories for the news bulletin and to write-up the news stories appropriately. Reporters may often go out in the local area to find stories and to investigate public opinion.

Real-time coverage

Real-time coverage of news and events is expected of media organisations in the 'new digital age' that we are living in today.

Listeners expect to be supplied with the latest news throughout the day. Therefore, radio news bulletins should only contain the latest news, relevant to the station's listener's. It is essential that the news bulletin is continually updated until it is put 'on air', to ensure that the radio station's listener's are receiving a much required, high standard of news content. Keeping the listener's in the know and up to speed at the touch of a button.

Working by the clock

Any journalist will be aware that time dictates. A radio station acquires structure via keeping to time.

Accuracy is timing. Working by the clock successfully, displays professionalism and competence as a journalist.

It is essential for news bulletins to be punctual and for journalists to respect the operation of a radio station. Journalists should be prepared to work under the pressure of time and must be able to make decisions aptly.

Using ENPS

ENPS is a software application, designed for producing, editing, timing, organising and running news broadcasts.

The 'running order' is the basic organisation of a news broadcast. ENPS provides a grid in which, scripts, video and audio can be listed, organised and integrated.

On the radio news days, ENPS proved to be an efficient, simple and reliable system. Working with the software, allowed all the members of the team to access the news bulletins on all the newsroom computers. Therefore, we could work together effectively as a team, in developing the bulletins.