Radio

News
Guide

Contents Page
Introduction
Forms
-

- Bulletin
-Headline
- News Programme
- Copy Only
- Copy only with audio clips
- Voicers
- Live Cross
- Two Way

Styles
-

Related to audience
Public service
Commercial
Community
Small scale
Local
Regional
National
Internet
Satellite and Cable

Legal and regulatory constraints

-

Handling of stories involving minors

Contempt of court
Libel and defamation
Coverage of elections
Official Secrets Act
Ofcom
BBC editorial guides

Ethics
-

Serious and sensational stories

Invasion of privacy
Public interest

News values
-

Story priority (national and local, domestic and foreign)

Immediacy
Follow up angles
Avaliability of audio
Newsroom policy
Human interest
Public interest agenda

Bibliography

Introduction
Within this booklet, you will learn all you need to know there is about radio
news. There are many different forms and styles of radio news.
Forms
Bulletin A bulletin is a very short radio programme that usually lasts
from under a minute to 2 minutes. Due to it being very short, only the
most important and useful reports are included. This means that the
stories arent covered in depth either. Furthermore, this gives the
audience an opportunity to have a taste of the news so they are at least
kept up to date even if they do not all the information, it is simply the
main stories of the day.
Example of a bulletin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF2EhYLuz8g
Sources: http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume
%202/volume2_49.htm

Headline The headline is a short summary of the report usually only

consisting of a couple of words. The headline is just a taster of the story of
what is yet to come, so the audience is made of aware of what they are
going to listen to. The way that these headlines are delivered are very

similar to how TV news is reported. They sometimes feature the use of

alliteration and arent necessarily complete with proper English grammar.
Example of a headline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrwq2JY4XaU
Sources: http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume
%202/volume2_49.htm

News programme: A news programme is a radio production involving the

reports of all the current events in and around the world. These usually
include audio clips, interviews and commentaries. These last a lot longer
compared to bulletins and headlines. These broadcasts are normally read
by a newsreader.
Example of a news programme:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pklxx
Sources: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesauruscategory/british/types-of-television-or-radio-programme

Copy only: This broadcast involves the newsreader reporting current

stories and events as the programme. This means that there are no
interviews or any live reports from outside the studio.
Example of a copy only: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8GxQxvKyzY

Copy only with audio clips: This is a type of broadcast that includes a story
with interviews and other kinds of audio clips that have already been
recorded but being broadcasted after its been recorded. Most audiences
may already know about this broadcast as they may have been told
earlier in another programme or bulletin.
Example of a copy only with audio clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=F1l3H8HSkqg
Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX20-sO9pmo

Voicers: This is a recorded report that contains only the journalists report.
Sources: http://www.newscript.com/glossary.html

Wraps: These are short phrases that come at the ending of each story and
leads onto the next one. For example, In other news is a typical wrap
used to end the report of a story and lead on to a different one.
Sources: http://www.newscript.com/glossary.html
http://hsbj.org/uploads/Lesson%20Plans/C1L7_News
%20Wrap.pdf

Live Cross: This is where a news reporter will cross over to another news
reporter who is talking about the same subject/ story. This may be outside
of the studio and be in the location that the story is based in. This
happens frequently in international storylines.
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBtmttJzxEs
Sources: https://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/261637210?access_key=keyNkeiTxZS4EEpTuNgsrzd&allow_share=false&escape=false&show_recomm
endations=false&view_mode=scroll

Two Way: This is almost the same as a live cross broadcast except that the
news reporting outside of the studio can be recorded before it is aired.
Example of Two Way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGRoWsJsE0o
Sources: https://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/261637210?access_key=keyNkeiTxZS4EEpTuNgsrzd&allow_share=false&escape=false&show_recomm
endations=false&view_mode=scroll

Styles
Related to the audience: Most radio news has a specific target audience
that they are aiming to please. For example, BBC Newsbeat appears to be
aimed at a younger audience compared to news stations such as BBC Four
or Radio Five Live. This can be inferred from the language, (simple or
complex/using terminology related to the subject) the order in which the
stories are put in and the content of the stories themselves. For example,
BBC Newsbeat include subjects for a younger audience such as Nintendo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DiS1mK39l4
However, BBC Radio 4 involves subjects more serious subjects with a
more political approach. For example, BBC Radio 4 included a report
dealing with a Christian school fighting against an Ofsted report.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_zS_teXxLA

Sources: http://www.audiencedialogue.net/pmlr2-3.html

Public Service: A public service broadcaster is open to the whole of the

public and the main reason why it is called the public service is because it
is paid for by the public. They are paid through license fees similar to how
TV license is used. As this is paid for by the public, every report must be
based on only fact not opinions meaning it is unbiased. Its reports are
important ones from around the UK and are spread across the nation. The
reports are all current events and spread from politics to murder. Most of
BBC Radio is paid for through license fees.
Example: http://www.audiencedialogue.net/pmlr2-3.html
You can tell this a public service broadcast due to the Received
Pronunciation (RP) being heard. This is because RP is not only the Queens
English but it is also easy to understand. You can also hear the use of the
phrase Top Stories of Today which is the leader phrase for all of the main
current events. If a radio station is being funded by the public they must
follow certain guidelines as they are being regulated by organizations
such as Ofcom, meaning the news readers cannot say anything
misleading, offensive or inappropriate.
Sources - http://ask.ofcom.org.uk/help/television/what_is_psb

Commercial: These types of radio stations are funded through companies.

Similar to commercial TV channels, you will hear adverts throughout the
broadcast to promote certain products or companies. These types of
stations usually serve regional or local areas. These stations usually aim a
more niche and specific target audience which can be based on gender,
religion or even age.
Example: talkSPORT is a commercial radio channel with reports mainly
surrounding the sport culture which features live debates and live sport
updates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8GxQxvKyzY
You can tell this a commercial channel as the topic of the report is sport
based and the newsreader has a distinguishable accent.
Sources: http://www.radioacademy.org/knowledge-bank/ukradio/commercial-radio/

Community: Community stations are much smaller stations as opposed to

public service and commercial stations. They are mainly produced by
students, people who want to do work experience within the radio industry

and local volunteers. Ofcom offers those who want to get involved the
chance to apply through their website and people can find out what their
community radio station is. They are non-profitable stations and are
usually funded by their own communities gaining a niche audience. The
reports featured by the station is not detailed and usually the copy only
with audio clip reports feature pre owned audio clips. Community stations
are forbidden to raise more than half of their operating costs.
Example: http://eastlondonradio.org.uk/
East London Radio is a well-known community station that serves the
citizens of London. You can tell this station is community service as its
reports are difficult to find on YouTube and are mainly found online on the
official East London Radio website. The reports are merely only about
news within the London area and the newsreaders all talk with a London
accent.
Sources: http://www.radioacademy.org/knowledge-bank/gettingin/voluntary-radio/community-radio/
http://www.radioacademy.org/knowledge-bank/getting-in/voluntary-radio/

Small scale A small scale radio station that has a greater niche audience
than all of the styles of radio news stations previously mentioned. It even
has a smaller audience than a community station. These stations would
include college/ campus stations or even hospital stations. The reports
featured on these stations would solely focus on the citizens of the area or
building. For example, college radio stations would focus only on stories
related to the college itself for example college sports results,
competitions or recent student trips and achievements.
Example: http://www.icradio.com/
The Imperial College of London has its own college radio station. It is
mainly run by the students of the college and features reports involving
the recent news of the college. You can tell this a small scale radio station
as similarly streamed online, the newsreaders appear to be quite young
and have a variety of accents.
Sources: http://www.icradio.com/
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/
http://www.uksuperweb.co.uk/radio/college-student.html
Local: This type of radio station is simple and straightforward and is selfexplanatory. Local radio stations serve the area that you are in and deliver
news that is local and related to the area you are in.
Example: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radiobristol

You can tell this a local radio station as it serves the Bristol area as the
news is only related to the current events situated within Bristol.
Sources: https://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/261637210?access_key=keyNkeiTxZS4EEpTuNgsrzd&allow_share=false&escape=false&show_recomm
endations=false&view_mode=scroll

Regional: Similar to local radio stations, the title gives away what the
subject is. The regional radio stations attract greater mass audience as
opposed to the local radio stations. This is because the regional stations
cover a wider area and arent just based as towns but are actually based
in counties. For example, BBC Radio Lincolnshire is a radio station that
specifically services citizens living within Lincolnshire. Meaning the
newsreaders will have the northern accents and the news involving
current affairs within Lincolnshire and sometimes events that are serious
and important.
Example: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radiolincolnshire
Sources: http://www.radio-now.co.uk/north.htm

National: These radio stations cover the majority of the country and
include the most important news and issues. These are also mainly funded
by the public meaning they are public service broadcasters and are
regulated by organizations such as Ofcom.
Example: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2
You can tell this is a national radio station as there are no adverts heard,
the most important news and information is featured including
international reports. Audio clips that are live and second hand are
featured with the newsreaders using a Received Pronunciation accent.
Sources: http://www.radioacademy.org/knowledge-bank/uk-radio/bbcradio/

Internet: Internet radio stations are radio stations that can only be found,
heard and streamed online. Some of these stations are still available
offline but these are normally for mass audiences such as public service
broadcasters and commercial stations. The news reports featured usually
appeal to a niche audience.
Example: http://resonancefm.com/faq
Sources: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10409420/Thebest-internet-radio-stations.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_radio_stations
http://www.listenlive.eu/uk.html

Satellite and Cable: These radio stations can mainly be found on TV as TV

channels. The stations can be from national to local. Stations can be
moved from being broadcasted through the radio itself to being entirely
moved to satellite and cable.
Example: http://absoluteradio.co.uk/

Sources: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/html/radiostations/satellite/satellite-main.htm

Legal and regulatory constraints

Handling of stories involving minors This involves radio journalists
ensuring the protection of identity of someone who is under the age of 18.
For example, if a news report featured a case in which a victim or criminal
under 18 was involved, their identity would have to be fully protected in a
youth court case. This means the radio journalist cannot reveal the
minors name, address, place of education or any photographs of the
minor. This is to ensure that the minors identification is protected and no
one can recognise who they are. This only applies in a youth court case. If
it wasnt during a youth court case and was in fact another type of court
case, the same guidelines wouldnt apply straightaway. The court would
have to file for an order which follows similar guidelines in which the
minors identification can still be protected.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-32372611

For example, the BBC being the leading national broadcaster especially in
the news protected the identification of the minor in this story. The boys
name, address, place of educations were not revealed. The story did
reveal his age.

Contempt of court This is where the law ensures that someone cannot
undermine with the administration of justice. For example a person
cannot show certain information that isnt accurate or not approved as
this would be seen as breaking the law. Someone cannot disrespect the
court of law or it will be seen as an act of criminality.

Like the topic listed above, revealing the identity of someone who is being
protected by a court can be prosecuted. Another example, could be toying
with certain stories in the media. A Lebanese broadcaster was put on trial
for contempt of court due to them releasing names of prosecuted
witnesses from an unknown source.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/13/hezbollah-suspect-at-large-journalists-indock-at-hague-un-tribunal

Libel and defamation - This law ensures that an individuals protection

and reputation is protected. Broadcasters can be accused of defamatory if
they have:
Lowered an individual in estimation of right thinking members of the
public
And / or
Causes them to be avoided or shunned
And / or
Disparages them in their office, trade of profession
And / or
For example, a Scientology documentary has been axed from Sky
broadcasting due to The Libel and Defamation Act. However, this act does
not apply in Northern Ireland, therefore Scientologists can accuse Sky of
defamatory if shown. Sky accused the Scientologiists of practicing abusive
experiments and rituals meaning if this was to be shown, the people
within the documentary could potentially receive a serious amount of hate
crime. Moreover, Sky could be prosecuted for Defamatory as they would
be the causers of the hate crime.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/sky-pulls-scientology-show-becauseof-ulster-libel-laws-31154776.html

Coverage of elections - Impartiality is a law that states all broadcasters must

show an equal amount of coverage of all major parties during the period of
election. They must also consider giving coverage to other parties or minor
parties as well as independent candidates appropriately. Some broadcasters may
be appear to be slightly biased, however if they do not follow the the impartiality
law they could be fined/ prosecuted. The BBC must completely impartial due to
them being the main and most well-known public service broadcaster.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/nov/10/russia-today-ofcom-sanctionsimpartiality-ukraine-coverage
Russia Today was accused by Ofcom for not being impartial due to the way in
which they broadcasted the coverage of the Ukraine crisis. Russia Today
although not a British broadcaster, was threatened by Ofcom for featuring bias
reports that didn't protect audiences.

Official Secrets Act The Official Secrets Act makes sure that people who
are dealing with information that is sensitive must make sure that any of
that information is completely classified and cannot be revealed to
anyone. Broadcasters whether TV or radio must make sure they especially
do not release any of the sensitive information to public audiences.

Ofcom - Ofcom is the main organization that regularly regulates most media
communication, mainly television and radio. Ofcom does this in order to maintain
protection and security whether audiences are listening to the radio or watching
TV. Ofcom has to make sure that anything shown or heard is not deemed as
offensive, misleading or inappropriate. It serves as the official regulator within
the UK and its guidelines are derived from a number of acts from the British
parliament, especially the Communications Act 2003. When it comes to the
news, Ofcom must make sure that broadcasters cannot break certain guidelines.
Whether a news presenter has said something offensive or inappropriate, its up
to Ofcom to regulate and protect audiences. If an audience member doesnt
agree with something thats been said on the radio, that person can complain to
Ofcom either through their official website, email or telephone.
http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/complain/tv-and-radio-complaints/

Ofcom has dealt with many complaints and has even complained themselves to
other media organizations even internationally. For example, Ofcom fined the
commercial radio station: Talksport due to them breaking the coverage of
elections guidelines when presenter James Whale encouraged audiences to vote
for Boris Johnson during 2008.
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/dec/08/james-whale-talksport-ofcom

BBC editorial guidelines

The BBC is a public service broadcaster through all

of the media it delivers including radio and TV news. Therefore, the BBC must be

completely honest with the reports they feature and cannot be biased. This
means whomever is delivering the reports to the public must not speak of their
own views or belief on the matter of subject. The BBCs official editorial
guidelines state that the broadcasters main focus involves Trust, truth and
accuracy, impartiality, editorial integrity and independence, harm and offence,
serving the public interest, fairness, privacy, children, transparency and
accountability. Their guidelines are very similar to the way in which Ofcom
works. Any news featured must o be the highest of accuracy, it cannot be
offensive, misleading or inappropriate. The BBCs guidelines were actually
derived from The Royal Charter and Agreement meaning its values are derived
from having a sustainable society and civilisation, valuing education as the key
to most success, gaining creativity through cultural attributes, representing a
variety of culture and ethnicity around the UK, bringing direct news to the UK and
being the main leader in the big switchover to digital television.

http://thcvibeproductions.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/3/4/12349552/editorial_guideli
nes_in_full.pdf

Ethics
Focus group:
http://youtu.be/v0ZiTQ7lrxs

http://youtu.be/eI3eB3xN7Yk

http://youtu.be/CP_7HKxEDOU

http://youtu.be/czgnD6xsx-s

News values:

Story priority This is the order of each report being placed in. News
programmes usually place the most important story or the one that will
attract the most attention first. This is either to gain a mass audience or to
make audiences more aware of current situations. Most TV news and radio
broadcasters do this in their programmes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNYha4bYhnI
In this example, Skys first story is one involving the Queen whilst the
second is about a young teenager. The Queens story was prioritised due
to it being a more national news story. This is because more people know
who the Queen is and everyone knows who The Royal Family are. Reports
involving them nearly always take priority.

Immediacy This is how quickly the news travels to radio or TV stations to

be broadcasted. If the news is very recent and has just happened,
broadcasters compete against one another in order to break the news.
Broadcasters normally update their news regularly usually daily or weekly.
Breaking news can be international or national. If it usually involves
more than one person e.g. a catastrophic natural disaster is usually seen
as extremely important news.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0l6z0HaUAM
Using breaking news usually attracts a mass audience as its not only
very recent but its also seen as urgent and serious and people need to
know what is currently going on immediately.

Follow up angle: This is where an existing news story is updated or has a

follow up to it. This could be where the story has new information, facts
or even a conclusion to what it originally had.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-32381025

Availability of audio: This is where sound clips are added to news reports.
They can enforce emphasis and honesty to a report whether it is an
interview or sound clips. Radio news do this for most stories as they can
therefore prove to audiences what theyre listening to is the truth.
For example, within this bulletin, interview audio clips are used.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF2EhYLuz8g

News room policy: How each station delivers their news to audiences. This
could be through the guidelines they set. For example, the BBC has their

own set of guidelines that may differ to the ones set by other radio or TV
broadcasting stations.
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/public_editor/2011/12/07/toronto_star_new
sroom_policy_and_journalistic_standards_guide.html

Human interest: This is the way in which news stories are presented to
bring about an emotional response from the audience. These types of
stories are normally about serious matters that have effected people. The
stories tend to normally be about one person or a group of people. Radio
stations normally do this to gain mass audiences where they can
sympathise with the people within the report.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32425666
This example is based around the youngest organ donor who only lived
for 100 minutes before he tragically passed away. This story was seen as
emotionally heart-breaking and many audiences felt sorry for the parents
and the son.

Public interest agenda: This would be seen as the opposite to human

interest. This is where the story would involve more than one person and
would appeal to a variety of audiences. The reactions from audiences can
also vary as they may not just be sad and sympathise with the people
within the story they may even be angry.
In this example, the hospital scandal effected many people of various
ages, cultures and genders. The NHS is national and is used by everyone
at some point within their lives. Therefore, if such a scandal like the one
listed is revealed to the public, many people will have different reactions
towards it. Whether they are angry with the NHS or feel the need to
sympathise with the patients and their families.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/feb/06/mid-staffs-hospitalscandal-guide

Bibliography
http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume
%202/volume2_49.htm
: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus-category/british/types-oftelevision-or-radio-programme
: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX20-sO9pmo
http://www.newscript.com/glossary.html
http://hsbj.org/uploads/Lesson%20Plans/C1L7_News
%20Wrap.pdf
: https://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/261637210?access_key=keyNkeiTxZS4EEpTuNgsrzd&allow_share=false&escape=false&show_recomm
endations=false&view_mode=scroll
http://www.audiencedialogue.net/pmlr2-3.html
http://ask.ofcom.org.uk/help/television/what_is_psb
http://www.radioacademy.org/knowledge-bank/uk-radio/commercial-radio/
http://www.radioacademy.org/knowledge-bank/getting-in/voluntaryradio/community-radio/
http://www.radioacademy.org/knowledge-bank/getting-in/voluntary-radio/
: http://www.icradio.com/
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/
http://www.uksuperweb.co.uk/radio/college-student.html
http://www.radio-now.co.uk/north.htm
http://www.radioacademy.org/knowledge-bank/uk-radio/bbc-radio/
http://resonancefm.com/faq
: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10409420/The-bestinternet-radio-stations.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_radio_stations
http://www.listenlive.eu/uk.html
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/html/radiostations/satellite/satellite-main.htm
http://www.radioacademy.org/
https://www.youtube.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio