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.

Talbot FM News Day

Piecing together news bulletins for Talbot FM, calls upon the need to research the audience profile for the radio station, designate roles, find news stories and produce well-structured news bulletins, in which Talbot FM themselves would broadcast.

The News Day format:

Each bulletin will start with a headline sequence and MUST contain 75% local news.

The Talbot FM team will produce:

1200 : 4’ bulletin including at least 1x voice piece, 2 x desks.

1400:: 3’ bulletin which must include a national political story.

The news stories run for the 1200 news bulletin were:

• British couple kidnapped by Somali pirates
  
• House prices in Dorset soar
  
• The postal strike
  
• Poole council tackle teen pregnancy
  
• Pliosaur skull discovered on the Jurassic Coast

The news stories run for the 1400 news bulletin were:

• Man appealed in the Baby P case


• David Cameron
  
• Poole council tackle teen pregnancy


• A girl found dead after chatting on the Internet
  
• Facebook memorials

Talbot FM, having a mainly young audience, meant that news stories had to be tailored to suit. Therefore, such stories about 'facebook' and teenage pregnancy are topical. Entertainment news is also a key element for Talbot FM, and should focus on popular television such as the X-Factor and offer updates on celebrity gossip.


When searching for news stories, a journalist should have an open mind and try to think outside of the box. There are an array of news sources for any journalist. The voice banks of the local emergency services should be checked regularly and an eye should be turned towards council's and politicians, pressure groups, rivals, news releases and the Internet. Keeping the television on throughout the News day also meant that we remained up to date with the news.



As a team, we were well-organised. Designating roles, meant that there was clear communication between the team members and allowed the team to work efficiently.

High level production skills, saw that we were prompt and allowed us to have a run-through before going 'live'. The chosen news stories were suitable for the audience and the news values of the station with much of the audio being self-generated. We also rose to the challenge of making our own stings and headline beds. The end product was young and lively.

The stepping stones of learning

Looking back on the Talbot FM News Day, there were a number of elements in which to improve upon.

1200 News Bulletin

British Couple Kidnapped by Somali Pirates

The top story of the 1200 news bulletin lacked audio, which is a key element for a leading story. Furthermore, for legal reasons, it would have been more appropriate to have said 'unconfirmed reports claim that the boat has been seized by Somali pirates.'

Poole Council tackle teen pregnancy

Perhaps this story would have been a better lead, as it was local and had impact. The story had good audio, which would also secure the decision to have made it the lead story.

Postal Strike

Making writing active is essential as a journalist. Unfortunately, this story was not written in the present tense and thus the quality of writing was not as it should have been.

South Coast Radio News Day

Producing news bulletins for South Coast Radio, offered a new challenge, as its style is somewhat different to that of Talbot FM.

The News Day Format:

The South Coast Radio News team will produce:

1300: 4’ bulletin including at least 1 x voice piece, 1 x ‘;ive ‘2/way and a crafted news sequence with clips. One of the stories must be a national political story.

1500: 3’ bulletin including a court story.

Appealing to a mature audience of professionals and the retired, South Coast Radio has longer news stories and clips, delivered at a slow pace and offering authority from reporters and correspondents. Court and financial stories are well suited to the audience of South Coast Radio and audio from professionals help to develop the stories.


The news stories run for the 1300 news bulletin were:

• RBS and Lloyds shake up


• Bournemouth Surf Reef opens


• SAS officer pardoned


• David Cameron on the Lisbon Treaty


• Mouth cancer increases


• Child abuse in Poole
  

The news stories run for the 1500 news bulletin were:

• House prices on the rise


• Lapland Court case


• Obesity


• Bournemouth Surf Reef opens


• Hampshire tornado
  

Our team produced successful news bulletins, with a wide use of audio to illustrate stories and offer authority to the reporting. A finance expert gave sound advice, as to the banking shake up and locals offered their opinion on the opening of Bournemouth's surf reef.

Working well as a team enabled us to produce news bulletins suitable for the radio stations target audience, using a variety of production techniques. Each member of the team contributed effectively, taking on their own responsibilities and working to achieve a good result.

The stepping stones of learning

Although the South Coast Radio News Day was successful, there were a few aspects of the news bulletin that could have been refined.

1300 News Bulletin

SAS officer pardoned

The top line of this story should have been updated to highlight the news development. The written copy suggested that Simon Mann had not yet been pardoned, when he had been. Therefore, a simple alteration of the top line would have been beneficial and shown that we were following the moving news development.

Poole child abuse

This story should have included the name of the court, in which the couple were accused. The story also posed some legal complications, as the story failed to highlight that the couple were accused of cruel acts and instead the stated that they 'punished children by...'

Tackling the sport news

Tackling the sport news was a challenge, but it is beneficial for the development of a journalist, to try something new and to take on challenges.

Rarely watching any kind of sport or listening to sport news, made finding and writing the sport rather daunting. However, turning on the television and turning to the Internet for sport updates and video footage, allowed me to immediately engage in the world of sport. Picking up the style of writing and learning the language of sport was fairly easy to adapt to.

Sport news has a style of its own, in which is rather different to that of general news and public affairs. When writing the sport news, it is essential to keep a lively tone and to make it an active piece. Certain abbreviations, nicknames and general sport language are key elements of the news and made it evermore challenging. For example, instead of Rafael Benitez, he is referred to as 'Rafa Benitez'.

Tackling the sport news, was certainly a learning curb and it was also the first opportunity I have had to present news, 'live'. The South Coast Radio News Day in particular offered confidence in tackling new things in the future and I have gained more journalistic skills as a result.

Radio Feature

Producing a radio feature allows a journalist to be more creative in their work. A feature enables a journalist to look into an event or news story in detail and allows one to dig deep into the crux of a matter, where a news story will simply offer a broad perspective.

A topical issue that effected the whole of the UK in recent months, was the postal strikes. The dispute between the Royal Mail and The Communications Workers Union (CWU) over pay and working conditions, saw thousands of Royal Mail workers go on strike for a number of days. As a result there was a backlog of millions of letters and packages, causing potential chaos over the christmas period.

The Royal Mail and The Communications Workers Union (CWU) showed no intent on reaching an agreement and therefore, it seemed to be an obvious focus for a radio feature.

In order to produce a feature, it is essential that a journalist gains background knowledge of the events surrounding the situation. Reading the daily newspapers and scanning the Internet allowed me to gain confidence in producing the radio feature and in finding interviewees.

Acquiring interviews simply meant picking up the phone and ringing relevant organisations, in which have been involved in the events surrounding the postal strikes. Looking to the Internet for contact details, made it quicker and easier to contact individuals. On ringing the CWU, I spoke to the Bournemouth and Dorest Amal Branch Secretary, Derek Clash. Speaking to a local branch gave me an insight as to the situation in Dorset and offered extensive background information. External Relations Manager, Richard Hall, from the Royal Mail offered an opposing view of the situation and therefore, supplied the feature with a balanced argument.

Having contacted the main organisations, it was essential that I got some more personal interviews, with businesses that were being effected by the postal strikes. Thus creating a feature that reaches its listeners on an emotional level and explores an essential angle of the dispute between the Royal Mail and The Communications Workers Union.

The DVLA offered reassurance to its customers, that no fines would be issued if tax discs were not received or delayed. TNT Post, displayed their disappointment, as they rely on the Royal Mail for the last mile of their deliveries. The South West Policy Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses, expressed concern that many small businesses rely on the income that the christmas period brings. With much of their business relying on the Royal Mail, small businesses in the South West were effected greatly, at a time which is usually their busiest.

Phone interviews proved to be more convenient for the interviewees, as the postal strikes were creating a large work load for many of the organisations. Although it would have been beneficial to have had a face to face interview, it is not always feasible.

Target programme

As part of the project criteria, the radio feature had to be suitable for the audience of the target programme, News Xtra, which is like BBC Radio One's Newsbeat in style or News Briefing, which is like BBC Radio 4's PM programme.

Focusing on the postal strike, the radio feature seemed better suited to BBC Radio 4's News Briefing. Appealing mainly to a mature audience, the issue of the postal strike would be of concern for BBC Radio 4's listeners.

Adhering to the style of BBC Radio 4's News Briefing, meant that the radio feature was delivered at a slow pace, with long audio clips. To an extent, a journalists creativity is limited when producing for BBC Radio 4, as its features do not contain music and production techniques are restricted in order to suit the audience.

The stepping stones of learning

The challenges of the radio feature and choosing the topic of the postal strikes, was that it was a particularly fast moving story, in which was changing everyday.

A fast developing story, such as the postal strikes, makes it difficult to focus a feature and requires a journalist to continually update the story, in order to serve the audience appropriately. In the future, I would make a point of choosing a feature topic more carefully, ensuring that I choose an angle on a story, as opposed to presenting a broad perspective.

Perhaps, a more appropriate angle to have explored, would have been the effects of striking on small businesses and families or on strikes in general and not simply the events of the postal strike, 2009.

A feature calls upon the ability to dig deep within the cracks of a story or of an event. A feature should be personalised to an extent and reach people on an emotional level. It enables a journalist to be creative and think outside the box. Although, my intentions were to create a feature that was personalised and focused on an obscure and interesting angle, I found it challenging to step outside of the news writing style.

Looking back, I feel that it may also have been beneficial to have produced a feature in the style of BBC Radio One's Newsbeat, as it enables a journalist to be more creative. Adding music to a feature piece, makes it lively and adds atmosphere, which I feel adds depth to a radio feature. Radio is not visual and therefore, the use of sound is evermore valued and helps to create an environment or paint a picture.

Television

Working as one

Working as a team effectively ensures that your work as a team is of a high standard.

An organised team that works well together, where each individual's input is equal, makes for success.

A broadcast journalist is often required to work as part of a team and learning how to make the most of team work is essential as a journalist.

Keeping to your side of the deal

Working as a team can be successful if each individual contributes to the work.

Allocating roles, ensures that each individual knows how they are participating and the expert skills that each member possesses is allowed to flourish.

Allocating roles within a team means that all aspects of work are being attended to and ensures that work is done quickly.

Each role has specified responsibilities and ensures that no one individual has a heavy burden of work. It is divided fairly.

Real-time coverage

A journalist must always be up to date with the latest news and must ensure that their audience are receiving the latest news, as quickly as possible.

Television in particular is relied upon for breaking news. With the 24 hour news cycle, news organisations are in increasing competition to get news out fast.

Therefore, during the News Day and Youth Show, it was essential that any news covered was up to date and serving the public as they would expect.

Working by the clock

Working by the clock is of great importance as a journalist.

Punctuality is key to the running and general operation of a news organisation. The structure of television is built on timing; ensuring that a programme is broadcast on time and serves the public.

Timing sets the standard of an organisation.

'The Way of Tea' Exhibition

The way of tea: 'an art of conviviality', references various rituals associated with tea and welcome.

Inspired by Buddhism, it is a performative, musical and architectural experience, in which a tea garden and ceremony aims to reconnect human beings. In a world where respect has been lost, the art of sharing something with a complete stranger, aims to reintroduce the human relationship.

The Japanese saying: 'eechy go, eechy yay' means one chance, one opportunity. The artists Ajay Kumar and Guerdon Delformann aim to reintroduce this idea, in their exhibition and to make people see that every day of life should be appreciated.

Picture by Denis Roberts.

Filming 'The Way of Tea' Exhibition

Filming the exhibition posed a number of challenges. 'The Way of Tea' exhibition was held at Kube art gallery, in Poole, where the artists wanted to create the sense of a journey through a tea garden.

As part of a tea ceremony, the artist's walk the spectator around the meandering tea garden, in order to gain a sense of calm. Therefore, I had to hold the camera in my hand for much of the filming, posing a challenge to keep the frames still and not to have blurred images.

The tea ceremony invites the spectator to sit with the artist's in the tea hut. The spectator is asked to take their shoes off and the artist's bathe your feet in water. A complete sense of calm is achieved when the artist's take the spectator through the ceremony; massaging your back and sitting together with closed eyes. In order to portray the human connection made through the ceremony, I positioned the camera to the side of the artist's and myself whilst this process of calm was taking place.

Filming the tea garden was also rather challenging, as it was made up of tea cups and saucers, which looked somewhat small when placed on the floor in a large room. In order to film the tea garden in a way in which, would be visually effective on screen, I used the macro setting on the camera for part of the filming. Thus, allowing a close up shot of the tea cups and saucers and making it visually clear that the tea cups were filled with soil and growing grass.

The tea cups and saucers being white in colour and the floor being the same, often made it difficult to film from a distance, as the tea cups seemed to blend with the floor, creating a blurred, indistinct image. Therefore, remaining fairly close to the tea cups whilst filming seemed most feasible.

Editing 'The Way of Tea' Exhibition

Television is made up of both pictures and audio, which are of equal importance.

Editing television footage, requires the ability to match pictures to audio appropriately and to produce a package that offers a balanced argument and a smooth sequence of effective pictures and audio.

Editing 'The Way of Tea' exhibition did bare its difficulties, as all the images were fairly similar and I didn't want to produce a package that was visually monotonous and lacking variety. In order to break up the images of the tea cups and tea garden, I introduced images of the tea hut, made up of materials simply found in the art gallery. The tea hut offered colour and shape to the package and variety was offered by presenting different shots and patterns of the tea cups.

Aiming to create the sense that the television package is taking the viewer on the journey themselves, I started the sequence with images of the tea garden and then moved the images to the tea hut. I also introduced the images of the artist's and myself, in which we share a biscuit and sit together, in order to portray the human connection that is developing throughout the ceremony.

Throughout the television package, I wanted to create the sense that something lost, is being found and which, is found by the end of the package. Thus, truly inviting the viewer to share the experience that the exhibition offers.

Picture by Denis Roberts

The Television News Magazine Day

The Television News Day, required the team to produce a news magazine, in which included all our individual television packages. The news magazine was presented 'live' and included the latest news and weather.

Roles Appointed were:

Editor: Amber Phillips

Producer: Kat Alder

Presenter:Sophia Stuart-Clark

Tricaster: Claire Edwards

Production System: Nancy Duckels

Roles allocated appropriately, ensured that we performed well as a team. We were well organised and good production skills, ensured that we had time for a run-through before going 'live'.

The editor's responsibility was to ensure that all the scripts were written and typed correctly, that the running order had been decided appropriately and that the general operation of the team was a success.

The producer must ensure that everyone is in the studio promptly, that all material has been sent to the tricaster, that all the scripts are in the studio and that the studio is set up suitably for broadcasting.

The news stories of the day were:

• Poole Council to receive extra support for social care services
  
• Missing Angler off the Dorset and Hampshire Coast


• Man left seriously injured after car crash in Boscombe
  

Reporting for 'I-News', meant that the news stories had to be of local interest. Headlines were produced for the top stories of the day and each news story was supported with a picture.The weather was pre-recorded in the studio and edited, with symbols to highlight the weather conditions.

Role as Presenter

The role of presenter is a position, in which requires a journalist to have confidence, a good personality, a high level of communication skills and the ability to make decisions quickly.

Presenter was a role, in which I particularly wanted to undertake, but it carries a number of responsibilities, that are often overlooked. All eyes are on you, if you make a mistake and it is the presenters responsibility to make sure that they simply carry on if they do make a mistake. A presenter must be prepared to deal with the unexpected. If the auto-cue suddenly breaks or is too fast, then the presenter must make sure that they have a script on the desk, to pick up from.

On the News Magazine Day, the auto-cue did not introduce the weather and travel news and therefore I had to improvise. There was also a misprint on the auto-cue, in which I did read incorrectly. However, I continued presenting regardless. In this situation, it is better to carry on and often, the mistake goes unnoticed.

Presenting the news was extremely rewarding and I feel that it has aided my development as a journalist.

Creating a Documentary

Producing a documentary was a welcomed challenge, in which allowed our team of journalists to be creative and experiment with a different style of television production.

A documentary requires a journalist to think outside of the box and to find something that the public are not educated about, but in which, they would find interesting.

Having acquired a contact, Amber suggested that we do the documentary on burlesque dancing. This was a favourable choice throughout the team, as it was certainly something unusual and has been misunderstood throughout the years.

As a team, we aimed to highlight that burlesque is not simply about stripping and in fact, should be seen as an art form. Dita Von Teese, being the icon of burlesque, shows herself that it can be somewhat sophisticated. With this is mind, an obvious title came apparent to the team; 'Burlesque Undressed'. A clever play on words, it suggests that there is something to be discovered.

Annie Young is a contact of Amber's. Annie is otherwise known as 'F-Annie Whiskers', she is a burlesque dancer, teaches burlesque and makes burlesque costumes. Annie let us into her world of burlesque and introduced us to Rubyz Cabaret Club, in Bournemouth.

Filming on a number of days, we attended Annie's Burlesque sale and Rubyz christmas pantomime production of 'M-Alice in Wonderland'. As a result of these visit's, we discovered exactly what burlesque is. We interviewed a number of burlesque dancers, including Miss Lottie Bon Bon (Charlotte Blake) and Dame Kitty, the owner of Rubyz.

These burlesque dancers, proved that burlesque is not sleazy, in fact, it does not even have to include stripping, the art is to tease. Burlesque can be anything and so can the dancer. From teacher to mother, burlesque is often just a fun hobby.

Filming and editing the documentary

Filming and editing the documentary, we aimed to take the viewer on a journey.

Interested in the documentary style that Dawn Porter uses, we wanted to build up a personal relationship with Annie and the burlesque dancer's. The viewer is invited to experience the life of a burlesque dancer.

With this in mind, whilst filming we ensured that only one individual in the team went on the journey. In order to portray the relationship that was built between Amber and the burlesque dancer's, we ensured that we kept her in shot throughout filming and made her very much a part of the documentary.

When editing the documentary, again we aimed to create the sense of a journey. Starting the documentary with the typical view of burlesque dancing, the viewer is educated throughout in the hope that they will conclude with a positive outlook of burlesque. And if not, to at least respect it.

Challenges

Filming in Rubyz Cabaret Club posed many challenges.

Rubyz had rather dim lighting and therefore, whilst filming we had to ensure that the camera was set to suit the environment as much as possible. When filming interviews, we tried to position the interviewees where there was the most light. Despite, our efforts, the images were still rather dark and often we had to use the colour corrector in the editing suite to enhance the images.

When filming the pantomime, the large number of people that attended, meant that often our filming was restricted, due to people walking in front of the camera. As a result, we simply had to position the camera in a suitable place for both the guests and ourselves, although this was not a complete resolve.

Editing the documentary, also posed its challenges, as there were many technical effects that we wanted to add, in which we were unfamiliar with. The title sequence, in which we had a silhouette stripping and slowly revealing the title 'Burlesque Undressed', was the first hurdle as we were uncertain as to how to create a silhouette and get the title to appear gradually.

In order to overcome the challenges of editing, we worked as a team, using each individuals specific skills to produce the documentary in which we desired.

The stepping stones of learning

Close to completing our documentary, the file was deleted. The documentary was not backed-up and therefore the work was irretrievable.

Having realised how easy it is for work to be lost, we as a team learned that backing-up work onto an external hard drive or on any other device is absolutely essential. A journalist should back-up their work as often as possible, and it is a lesson that we have most definitely learned and will address in the future.

Bringing news to the young

Making news accessible to young people, requires the ability to think outside of the box. Focusing on how to bring news to the youth of today, is a challenge, but something that is of great importance.

The future depends on the decisions that we make and therefore, it is essential that we invite young people to watch the news, so that they are able to make the correct decisions.

In order to connect with young people, we as journalists need to create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, unlike the formal nature of BBC news programmes. We need to create an environment that young people want to be a part of and not feel intimidated by.

News can be informative, but it must also have an element of fun and have the ability to be understood by anyone. A youth show should have an easy, punchy name, which immediately draws in the audience.

As a team, we welcomed the opportunity to produce a youth show, in which has the ability to educate young people. We attempted to put ourselves in a younger persons position and ask ourselves what we would want to watch and how we would like news to be presented to us. In doing so, we hoped that we would produce a desirable youth show.

The Youth Show

'Face 5'

'Face 5' was the decided title of the youth show, as there were five of us in our team and a news show invites you to face facts, face the music and so on.

In order to create a relaxed environment, the presenters sat in deck chairs with colourful throws over them and cushions.

The opening title sequence of the show was fun and lively, with the two presenters playing around and introducing the theme of news by reading newspapers and using video cameras. Thus, immediately putting news into a new light, making it accessible for any young person.

The youth show, as well as having news, had a weird news section, to add an element of fun, but remaining educational.

The Fashion Fix and Music sections would appeal to a young audience and placed after the news, the audience are forced to watch the news before receiving the entertainment.

Presenting the news in a relaxed style, laughing, joking and wearing casual clothes, signals to young people that this is accessible and invites them to watch.

As a team, we worked hard to produce a youth show that was effective and would have an appeal to the youth of today. There was a small timing issue, in sending last minute items to the tricaster, which meant that we did not have a few pictures to accompany the weird news. However, this is something to improve upon in the future, ensuring that all material is sent to the tricaster in good time.