News unit prep

Sources and Contacts:

• A Broadcast Journalist relies on a wide range of sources and contacts in the never ending search NEW news 
• The best journalists do not just sit around and wait for an idea to appear, they go out and FIND it...
• You now have experience from the documentary unit of some of these - suggestions on how to find new stories?

How journalists find stories with "news value":

• Working what Fishman (1997) called 'patrolling' much like a police officer on recognised chains of information to supply potential stories with 'news value'. 
• What 'beats' form part of this chain of information?
• Many of these 'beats' are exclusively accessed by news journalists e.g. calling police stations or press offices.
• But in doing so, what other stories are ignored? Is it right to give priority to those particular sources? Why?

Primary Sources:

• Your own direct contacts
• original sources direct from source material e.g. archive material from libraries etc such as kew (National archives)
• Public appeals 
• Press releases/ Official Stats 

Secondary Sources:

• Stringers (freelancers)
• Other platforms/ Media 

Wires:

• Newsrooms frequently trawl 'the wires' for up to the minute tip offs on news stories such as - 
• PA (Press Association) - provide a range of news stories and content for print and digital media for the UK and Ireland 

Correspondents:

• These subject specialists work in newsrooms and are prized for their in depth knowledge and well honed contacts - often invited to confidential 'lobby' briefings with politicians and on the mailing lists of important relevant bodies 
• 'Lobby' politics - influential groups lobby the government in such meetings to get their views across and attempt to influence policy. 

Foreign News Sources:

• Journalists, editors and correspondents based permanently abroad for news networks e.g. Gavin Hewitt Europe Editor or Mark Mardell North American Editor
• Sometimes pooled foreign news 'bureau' with other broadcasters.
• Again valued for their local contacts and on the ground knowledge and access 
• Often long hours, lots of travelling due to wide area covered and can be in dangerous or politically unstable areas - special training usually needed and obviously goof language skills 

Communication:

• Whichever your source of information and stories, you will need to be a consummate COMMUNICATOR in order to access these.
• As with the documentary unit, know the essentials BEFORE you make a call - do your research and know what questions you want to ask.
• Get used to USING THE TELEPHONE.
• Emails are good for exchanging information and more functional tasks, but nothing can replace a CONVERSATION thus - 
• Build a rapport, gauge the person you are talking to and make a decision about them and the story 

Get Them On Side:

• Sometimes you have to be prepared to be creative in order to get what you need.
• Providing you are being ethical, find ways of negotiating obstacles to gain the access you need.
• Often you need to have stamina and be prepared to push at a story and find a way of telling your story in order to make it work
• When people are reluctant to take part, sometimes with good reason, it is useful to explain this is their chance to put their side of the story.

Methods:

• The art of tracking people down is one you need to master - do your research to identify key contacts and build from there -
• Just like a private investigator you will spend a lot of time simply trying to find people 
• Sometimes you have to think beyond the obvious in order to get what you need.
• Finding people who will talk might mean looking for someone outside the direct area of your story, look instead for those with a credible association with it.

Finding your Angle:

• The News 'Angle' is key to developing your story.
• The angle can be defined as the main significance of your particular audience. It is a particular viewpoint of any story.
• There will inevitably be several angles on any story, your job is to decide the angle which best suits and sells your story and will engage your audience. 

Setting up your story:

Just like in the documentary unit, the proof of your journalistic skills is when you try to set you up to shoot it.

By the time you set it up you should be clear about :

• What your story is (and is not)
• Who is in your story
• Where it is (locations)
• When is it to be shot (Schedule)
• How you will tell it (treatment/ style/ angle)
• Why are you making the story

Decisions:

Journalistic instinct plays a big part in determining the tone of the story:

• Location
• Timelines
•  Impact
• Prominence/ 'Impotance'
• Conflict
• Simplicity
• Broadcaster's 'values'

News unit - my part of the report/ story - Staying vs Going

My role in the group for this unit is to pursue a story that we may possibly use for our live broadcast or You Tube channel. We decided to target students as an audience so we can focus on problems that not only we but others we know can relate to. Not only this but "Students" as an audience are a guaranteed demographic due to the nature of education (one year moves on as a new one arrives - continuous flow of people for an audience). The subject i will  be focusing on is Students deciding to stay at home while they study or move into accommodation, which for many is a big step in their life and in some people's opinions the first step to adulthood.

Doing your own washing

   The average rent for a room in purpose-built accommodation has gone up by 25%o over the past three years to just under 1£23.96 a week, according to the latest figures from the National Union of Students (NUS). That is £5,244 a year, 95% of the maximum available student maintenance loan. So of course students will need to take up a part time job along-side studying to supplement their living cost etc. However, with the number of university attendees swelling each year bar jobs and waiting staff vacancies are becoming few and far between.

 Rents tend to vary depending on where in the country a student is studying. As you would expect, London is the area with the most expensive rents overall, averaging £157.48 a week. This is largely attributable to the increasing number of privately run student flats in the capital, some of which can cost £300 a week. The East of England has the second highest rents for purpose built accommodation overall at £134.18 a week and Northern Ireland the cheapest at £83.01.    















Ensuite self-catered rooms, the most common type of accommodation accounting for 55% of the purpose-built market, cost an average of £121.71 per week for a single room, compared with an average of £97.48 for a single room with shared bathroom facilities. Unfortunately not all universities supply this type of "affordable" accommodation which leads to my next section, why people stay at home when studying at university.








Mum still doing your washing


Now with all the points above about money its not hard to be dissuaded from considering the option of upping sticks and relocating closer to uni. For some it is a freedom thing, they rejoice in knowing they are free to do whatever they want with no parental shackles binding them. But for some it is a necessity, for some students pursuing their dream job and furthering their education not only cost them thousands a year on tuition fees, but also thousands in accommodation. So if you're reading this and live within commutable distance ask yourself whether living closer to uni is a need or a want. I'm not saying moving to accommodation just because you want to is a bad thing or isn't a good enough reason, simply that you should really think through you're options before jumping at the first opportunity to get a taste of what it feels like to live on your own. For example if your train fair was less expensive than accommodation and you also don't have to buy your own food and wash your own clothes, then you might consider staying at home. However staying at home isn't everyone's cup of tea and with student finance always available all you need to be set up for a year is to fill out some criteria checks online. Yet i think here is where the problem lies. It is so easy to sign yourself up for debt as a student now that you don't think twice about it, quite often it's advertised between students as "free money". If only that were true.












There are downsides to living at home too though. Annual rail tickets that cover the whole rail network cost roughly £6000! Now there are ways around things like this and being a student you are often given some kind of price reduction HOWEVER remember that this is at home so this will be without the maintenance loan, meaning if you live at home, you will definitely need to work more.


With these decisions more often than not it's just a case of weighing up the pros and cons and choosing the option with the less cons. So my advice for you as students would be to not rush into things, especially not on impulse. Let your decision brew for a little while and then when you're sure (and have spoken to your family about it as well) by all means take the path you choose.

News Unit brief

Skills to take forward:

• Sourcing stories and story telling (narrative)
• Sourcing contributors
• Sourcing locations 
• Scripting/writing to pictures "tie writing"
• interviewing
• sequencing
• SWEFF
• Good Coverage (GV's)
• Good Sound
• Factual Accuracy/ fair dealing/ impartiality and balance
• Team Work and Comunication
• Time Management and organisation 
• Interpreting information and finding news angles

New Skills:

Reporting - On screen/ directing talent

Fast Run - around 6 weeks to submission including this week) get story and access quickly!

Online Platform Development/ Branding/ Concept

Studio presentation/ News/ News Anchoring

Sourcing Talent - e.g. repoters, presenters

Unit aims:

A1 promote critical understanding of the news and current affairs output

A2 facilitate the development of a creative methodology for the production of news and current affairs 

A3 further develop technical and collaborative skills for production and post production of news and current affairs content

A4 develop group presentation and pitching skills 

Video Project Brief:

You are challenged to develop your own ORIGINAL online news channel and produce content for that channel 

Find a brand which will fit a particular audience and provide content for that audience - niche rather than mixed

You will be working in groups of 3 - 4 and will have individual responsibilities