Sources for Broadcast News

Broadcast journalists get their news from the same sources as print journalists. However, instead of writing down what a source has said, broadcast reporters tape their sources’ comments to be played on the air. This change in voice gives variety to newscasts and lends authority to the news. In addition, broadcasters often use the telephone rather than a personal interview. Because newscasts are so frequent, little time is available to work on stories. Common sources for broadcast news include news services and wire feeds, people, newspapers and news releases from public relations agencies.

News Services: In days gone by, wire machines would continuously print out all news, weather and sports stories that correspondents wrote from different parts of the country and beyond. Typically, a subscribing station’s morning reporter would open the office door to find on the floor yards of paper filled with stories from a wire machine, which typed throughout the night. This Teletype machine would continue to print news and information throughout the day, occasionally ringing a bell for a particularly important story, and stopping only for someone to change its ribbon or paper.

The old term “rip and read” came from reporters ripping stories off the Teletype and immediately reading them over the air. Often nothing was changed because wire copy coming into broadcast stations was already written in the accepted broadcast style.

Today, the wire services are termed “news services,” and Teletype machines have been replaced by computers. The steady clacking of Teletype keys and ringing of the bell are gone. News service stories continue to stream into stations, but they are no longer printed. Instead, the stories are recorded in a computer system. Reporters look at national or regional headings and read every story on a computer screen. They then print only the stories they want to use.

News feeds are another news source. These also come from news services, but instead of being written, they are audio stories that journalists can tape and integrate into their news- casts. At designated times of the day, forthcoming story topics and lengths are listed on a computer, and the news feeds are transmitted to subscribing stations. Journalists can tape any stories they want. Once the story is taped, journalists simply add the opening and closing to the story.

Newspapers: Newspapers are an important source of information. Frequently, commercial broadcast stations have only one or two news reporters, who do not have time to cover all stories in person. Thus, they learn about many important events from a local newspaper. Broadcast journalists rewrite the story in broadcast style for newscasts, giving credit to the newspaper.

Public Relations News Releases: The government and businesses hire public relations practitioners to promote their image or product. News organizations are flooded with printed news releases or video news releases announcing events or happenings, such as the promotion of an executive officer or the introduction of a new product line. Rarely are news releases objective; never are they negative.

However, news releases can be quite helpful on slow news days. Journalists can look to them for additional information about changes within the community or updates on local companies. Ideally, the release should be regarded as a news tip, to be followed up with background research and interviews with competing organizations or people with opposite viewpoints. Unfortunately, too many journalists simply take a news release, shorten it for broadcast and read it on the air.

People: Many good news tips come from people who call to give information about an event that has just happened or is about to happen. Some stations encourage these tips by advertising a telephone number people can call with news. Following up on these tips with good reporting techniques, such as in-depth questions and research, can lead to more sources and interesting stories. In addition, interviewing people about one subject can lead to tips and ideas on additional subjects.

The Newsroom Environment

Commercial television and public radio stations typically schedule longer and more frequent news and information programs than do commercial radio stations. Thus, they need more journalists, more space for newsrooms and a larger news budget. Commercial radio stations often regard news as a brief update for their audiences. They have small news budgets and sometimes only one journalist. That one journalist, who has the title “news director,” is the entire news staff.

This journalist is responsible for obtaining the news from news releases or local newspapers, calling sources to verify information or to ask for interviews, writing the news and reading it over the air. This person lacks time to research stories in depth, and going out to cover events in person is out of the question.

Journalists who prefer talking to a lot of people and covering stories in depth would probably like working at a television station or public radio station better than at most commercial radio stations. Those who can become proficient at conveying the heart of a story in a few words should do well in broadcast news.