1. Entrepreneurial Journalism
Writing for Radio, TV, and Internet Audio and Video
Entrepreneurial Journalism

2. Using Actualities and Soundbites
In broadcast, we don’t have any use for “quotation marks”
It’s too awkward to keep saying, “quote,” “unquote”
In addition, because audio and video are available, it’s much more compelling to show the person speaking
So we use audio and video of the speakers whenever possible and whenever they say it better than a simple paraphrase – for instance, when they are expressing strong emotion

3. Actualities
In radio, we usually call a clip from a newsmaker an actuality
In TV, such a clip is usually called a soundbite.
An actuality is simply a recorded piece from the newsmaker inserted into report
You usually write an introduction to the actuality, introducing the speaker, and then play the clip from the speaker, and then continue the story with a natural close

4. An Example of an Actuality
News announcer: More headaches for downtown motorists…Public works commissioner Frank Link says Main Street will be torn up later this month to fix a water main. He hates to snarl traffic, but says we’ve got no choice. Recorded Voice of Commissioner (the actuality): The pipe is leaking thousands of gallons a day and the buildup has compromised water flow to the extent that we’re trying to push the flow of a main feed through a pipe that has the diameter of a garden hose. News announcer: Commissioner Link says Main Street will be narrowed to two lanes from June 15th through July first.

5. Sound Bites A sound bite is like an actuality with a video picture
A simple way to illustrate a sound bite is to repeat the previous example with video instead of sound
Shot of news announcer standing on street talking to the camera: More headaches for downtown motorists…Public works commissioner Frank Link says Main Street will be torn up later this month to fix a water main. He hates to snarl traffic, but says we’ve got no choice.
Video of the commissioner answering the question: The pipe is leaking thousands of gallons a day and the buildup has compromised water flow to the extent that we’re trying to push the flow of a main feed through a pipe that has the diameter of a garden hose.
Close-up of the news announcer: Commissioner Link says Main Street will be narrowed to two lanes from June 15th through July first.

6. Other Ways Video is Used
The previous structure – announcer on camera, shot of the person being interviewed, the announcer back on camera to close – is a simple “package,” in TV terms
If we wanted to make the story more visually interesting, we could start with the announcer reading while some shots of the project are shown instead of showing the announcer on camera
Reading while other shots (other than the person doing the reading) are being shown is called “voice-over,” abbreviated VO
A segment of TV where the reporter reads over video and then the newsmaker’s sound bite runs is called a voice over sound on tape and abbreviated VOSOT or VO/SOT

7. Writing a Video Script
In a complex video news package, you can use a variety of different shots, graphics, and editing techniques
If you are writing a video script, you can indicate how close the shot is…
LS=Long shot
MS=Medium Shot
CU=Close up

8. Writing a Video Script, Continued…
You can also use an abbreviation to indicate that an announcer is on camera: OC
To indicate movement, you can write…
Pan – move sideways
Tilt- move up or down
Zoom – make the image bigger or smaller, depending on if you zoom in or zoom out
You can superimpose a graphic, indicated by Super

9. What a Video Script Usually Looks Like
The video is on the left, with shots indicated with abbreviations such as those in the previous slide
The audio is on the right, with the speaker indicated
If the speaker is talking over video other than the speaker, the abbreviation VO goes before his or her name

10. A Sample Video Script, First Page

11. A Sample Video Script, Second Page#