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.