A news bulletin is a service to listeners; they tune in to receive up-to-date information about the world around them. This will include serious news, stories about ordinary people and amusing ephemera.
It is a very important task to get the balance and pace of your bulletin right. Too many long complicated stories will slow the bulletin down and cause listeners to lose interest. Too many short sharp stories will result in the bulletin sounding unstructured and disjointed. Aim for a steady pace throughout the bulletin, with varying speed at certain points to hold the attention of the listeners.
When building up a bulletin it is essential to have a variety of stories, with different tones and levels of importance. This will give the audience a balanced and interesting bulletin, with the major story at the beginning to grab their attention. It is also a good idea to have one or two dramatic stories, which will attract listeners to the bulletin and encourage them to stay tuned.
It is also important to use different types of reported sound in the bulletin, for example, a news report can be supported by a piece of actuality, a recorded speech or interview with someone who has a direct connection to the story. The use of actuality increases the realism of the bulletin and gives it credibility. It is important to get the tone of the actuality right; it should match the mood of the story and be interesting to the listeners.
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