A news bulletin is a short piece of recorded sound, usually a spoken news story with the presenter reading from an original script. A typical bulletin is about five, 10 or 15 minutes long and contains a mix of stories about important events and less serious, local matters which affect people’s lives. There are several practical techniques which make it possible to put together a good news bulletin.
The key is to treat each story as it deserves, deciding how much time you want to spend on it, how important it is and whether it’s likely to interest listeners. The order of the stories is also important. For example, if you start your bulletin with three economic stories listeners may lose interest. You might find that placing the story about a street fight higher up in the bulletin adds pace, whereas placing a party argument story at the very beginning can drudge it along, boring listeners.
In the case of a long bulletin you may want to include a few headlines which will be repeated at the end, known as tail-enders. These provide a link between different parts of the bulletin and can help to keep listeners listening. They should be light or funny, a relief from the heavy topics which have been covered elsewhere in the bulletin.
A special theme, often a dramatic or rousing music piece, should be used to introduce the bulletin and sometimes as a link between different stories within it. It is best to use a simple music theme for the opening grab and not to overdub it, as this can confuse listeners by changing the rhythm of the bulletin. A short piece of actuality such as a quote or an excerpt from a speech is known as a grab and may be used without overdubbing, if you are sure listeners will understand it.
About the Author
