Session 1- The Working Television Newsroom
The first class session will focus on how a television newsroom operates. Students will learn about the inner workings of the newsroom including how it’s staffed.We will discuss news director, executive producer (managing editor), assignment editor, producer, photojournalist, editor, news writer and director. Students will learn about each position including hierarchy, responsibilities and what’s expected out of each position. In addition, students will be taken hour by hour through a typical day inside the newsroom. This will begin with staff assignments in the morning through the broadcast in the afternoon.
Session 2- Scenarios: Expect the Unexpected
The second class session will focus on how the news day evolves. Nobody knows when news will happen, so workers must be prepared at any given time to switch gears. This could be during the calm of mid-day or during the hectic moments just before air time. Breaking news is the biggest “game changer.” We will look into different breaking news scenarios and the various ways they might be handled. We’ll also discuss how to navigate through the various sources that will provide producers with news content. Students will also learn about how a daily newscast rundown is put together. The rundown is a detailed list of the stories in the newscast. It displays various information including story length, reporter locations, anchor reads and other important information. We will discuss how producers decide which stories go where in the rundown and why.
Session 3- Stacking the Rundown
This final class session will give students a chance to put together their own news rundown. The instructor will spend the first few minutes discussing the different content the students will have to choose from. This will be provided by the instructor. It will list up to 50 possible news stories for that day. The students will build the first segment of a newscast, which traditionally is the segment featuring the most important news of the day. Students not only will decide which stories will be included in their rundowns, they’ll also format the news segment as well. Students will have one hour to complete this assignment.
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