Broadcast Journalism Intern

Broadcast writing is a distinct craft.

Television scripts are written to be heard once, not read twice, which changes sentence structure, vocabulary, and pacing entirely.

This task is written work and needs nothing beyond a word processor.

First, study the form.

Watch three television news packages carefully, preferably from different channels covering the same story.

Note how long the sentences are, how numbers are expressed, how the anchor introduction differs from the reporter voice over, and where sound bites are placed.

Now choose one current news story suitable for television and research it properly from published sources, building a fact file with full attribution.

Write a complete script in standard two column format, with video and visual direction in the left column and audio in the right.

The script must include an anchor introduction of roughly fifteen seconds, a reporter voice over of ninety seconds, placement for at least two sound bites with the words you would expect them to contain, and a closing anchor line.

Apply broadcast writing rules strictly.

Keep sentences under fifteen words.

Write numbers the way they are spoken, so write around two thousand rather than 2,000.

Use the present tense where accurate.

Never write a sentence a presenter would stumble over.

Then read your script aloud and time it.

Adjust until it fits the target duration, and note what you had to cut.

Reading aloud is not optional in broadcast, because sentences that look fine on a page frequently prove unsayable, and a presenter stumbling over a clause is a failure of writing rather than delivery.

Next, write the alternative versions a bulletin actually needs.

Produce a twenty second anchor read of the same story for use when time is short, and a ten second headline version.

Reducing a story this far forces you to identify what is genuinely essential.

Finally, mark the script for delivery.

Indicate where the presenter should pause, which words carry the emphasis, and how any unfamiliar name or place should be pronounced.

Submit the fact file, the final two column script with timings and delivery marks, the shortened versions, and a short note on what changed between your first draft and the timed version.

A piece to camera is a reporter speaking directly to the audience, and it exposes everything: preparation, clarity, pace, and confidence.

You will produce one at home using only a phone, with no crew, no studio, and no equipment beyond what you already own.

Choose a subject you can report on entirely from research, such as an explainer on a current issue, a summary of a recent development, or a data based story.

You are not required to go anywhere, so pick something that works when delivered to camera from a room.

Research the subject and write a script of about 150 words, which runs to roughly sixty seconds when spoken.

Apply broadcast writing rules: short sentences, spoken numbers, no clauses that trip the tongue.

Set up carefully.

Place the phone at eye level on any stable surface, face a window or lamp so the light falls on you rather than behind you, choose the quietest space available, and keep the background plain and uncluttered.

Record a short test and watch it before the real attempt.

Rehearse until you can deliver the script while looking at the lens rather than reading.

Then record.

Do as many takes as you need.

Record at least three distinct takes rather than repeating until one happens to work.

Make the first a straight read, the second slower with deliberate pauses, and the third with more energy.

Comparing them teaches you more about your own delivery than any amount of advice.

Then watch all three with the sound off, and again with the picture off.

Watching without sound exposes distracting movement and weak eye contact.

Listening without picture exposes pace, filler words, and sentences that lose their way.

Record what each pass revealed.

Finally, watch your chosen take critically and write a self assessment covering pace, clarity, eye contact, and body language, identifying three specific things to improve and how you would practise each.

Submit the script, all three takes with your chosen one clearly marked, the sound off and picture off observations, and the written self assessment.

A news package combines voice over, visuals, and sound bites into one finished piece.

Assembling it teaches sequencing and timing in a way that writing alone cannot.

This task uses only free editing software and material you can obtain or create at home.

Choose a story that can be told with visuals you can legitimately use.

Options include footage you shoot yourself around your home or neighbourhood, publicly released official footage, Creative Commons licensed material, or graphics and charts you build yourself.

Record the licence and source of every visual you use, as this is a professional requirement, not an optional step.

Write a voice over script of ninety seconds using broadcast writing rules, structured so the opening line makes the viewer want the next one.

Record the voice over on a phone or computer microphone.

Record in the quietest room available, keep a consistent distance from the microphone, and do several takes until the delivery is clean and evenly paced.

Now assemble the package in any free editing tool.

Lay the voice over first, then place visuals against it so the picture matches what is being said at that moment.

Add a sound bite or interview clip from a public source with proper attribution on screen.

Keep the total duration between ninety seconds and two minutes.

Pay attention to the relationship between words and pictures, which is where most packages fail.

The visual should show what the voice over is describing at that moment, and where it cannot, the script should change rather than the viewer being left confused.

Note every point where you altered the writing to suit the available footage.

Also handle the audio properly.

Keep the voice over level consistent throughout, lower any background music well beneath the speech, and check the whole piece on both headphones and a phone speaker, since most viewers will use the latter.

Finally, write a short note on the sequencing decisions you made, including where you placed the sound bite and why, and what you would shoot if you could film anything you wanted for this story.

Submit the edited video, the script, a shot list recording each visual with its source and licence, and the sequencing note.

A bulletin rundown is the document that controls a live news programme second by second.

Producing one requires news judgement, arithmetic, and an understanding of how an audience's attention moves across a programme.

It is planning work and done entirely at a desk.

Using one actual day's news, plan a fifteen minute bulletin.

Begin by gathering every story worth considering from that day, listing at least twenty candidates across politics, business, international affairs, sport, and human interest.

Now make your selections and build the running order.

Decide which story leads and be ready to defend it.

Group related stories so the bulletin flows logically.

Place lighter material deliberately rather than leaving it to fall at the end by accident.

Build the rundown as a spreadsheet.

For every item include the story slug, the format such as anchor read, package, or live, the duration in seconds, the anchor link into the item, the visuals required, and a cumulative running time.

The arithmetic must work.

Your cumulative total has to land within fifteen minutes including headlines at the top and a closing segment, so you will have to cut or shorten items to fit, which is exactly the real constraint.

Write the headline sequence for the top of the bulletin, covering the four stories you would promote in roughly thirty seconds total.

Then plan for the bulletin going wrong, which it routinely does.

Mark which items could be dropped at short notice if a story overruns, and which could be extended if something fails to arrive.

Identify one story you would hold in reserve to fill a gap.

A rundown without this flexibility built in cannot survive a live programme.

Next, write the anchor links between items.

These connecting lines carry the viewer from one subject to the next, and a clumsy link makes an otherwise solid bulletin feel disjointed.

Write them for at least six transitions.

Finally, write a one page editorial note defending your lead story choice and explaining two items you dropped and why.

Address honestly whether your running order reflects what matters most or what is most watchable, since these frequently differ.

Submit the candidate list, the complete rundown, the headline script, the anchor links, the contingency marks, and the editorial note.