Producing a Radio News Show - Job Descriptions
This Guide is intended as a detailed supplement to
explanation in class of the production tasks you will carry out in producing a
radio news show, to be webcast live.
Executive Producer
Organize production; supervise and
assign tasks to producers; decide order and grouping of pieces; prepare written
rundown (with times for each piece); get theme and break music (optional); decide
with hosts whether you want to do on-air interviews (can be prerecorded). MAKE
DEADLINE.
Task list | Detailed job description
Show Format: Each show is 30-45 minutes, starting at 4 pm. Elements include: 1 minute billboard; 3 minute newscast after billboard; 2 host interviews (approx 4 minutes each), second newscast (2 minutes) at half hour; two day-reporter pieces (2-2 1/2 minutes each); 5-8 preproduced pieces from reporters3-4 minutes each; 1 ½ minute of misc material, such as music,
continuity copy, goodbyes and credits.
Name: The news organization is "Columbia Radio
News." The class will name the show.
Senior Producer:
Works with EP on all planning and pre-broadcast production; supervises production team. Responsible for flow of all taped (recorded) sound elements from work stations to studio. This includes checking final mixes, checking time of pieces, bouncing, copying to studio using minidisk or other portable medium such as Firewire drives.
Senior Editor
You are responsible for all written elements that are not already recorded:
intros, billboards, copy beginning and ending show, newscasts, etc. Assist EP in organizing show; coordinate writing of newscasts with other elements in show; with EP decide order and
grouping of pieces; collect all intros
from CMS files; PREPARE FINAL CLEAN
COPY OF INTROS FOR HOSTS (Script Pack); make sure incues and outcues of
reporters are consistent in style; Write or supervise writing of all continuity
script: intro to show, billboards, intro to news cast, break copy; rejoin intro
second half, credits. Make sure hosts have correct scripts at every point
during the show.
Task list | Detailed job description
Hosts
Read intros and all on-air copy, conduct
interviews with newsmakers. Interviews may be taped in advance on Thursday. Assist editor is writing billboards, editing
intros, other continuity copy. Before the show, go into studio and practice
using the mike. Practice reading intro copy. Read the right intro for each
piece.
Task list | Detailed job description
Producers
There are at least three producers, working under the supervision of the Executive producer and Senior Producer. You have the job of
preparing all audio elements for broadcast (pieces, cuts for
billboards.) Other duties: Help reporters in final stages of their mixes; make
sure they make deadline; enforce time limits for pieces -- any piece exceeding
the limit by more than 10 seconds must be approved by a professor); listen to
pieces for sound quality and levels, "bounce" the finished pieces;
copy bounces to studio computer (Mac). Line them up finished pieces in studio on the computer or Minidisk player for broadcast.
Producer/Director
Principle task is to run the broadcast from the control room, under supervision of Executive Producer. Coordinate with board operator and Mac producer on control room operations; get DAT tape for master copy of show; conduct rehearsal and pre-taping of billboard. In addition to these duties, the director will carry out production duties as needed, such as pulling actuality for the newscast and bouncing pieces.
Producer/Board Operator
Board producer (B) will prepare the
studio for broadcast, run the audio board, and record the broadcast. Get 1 DAT
tape from Equipment Room and set it up to record the program (do this well in
advance). Make sure there are chairs in the studio and that the mikes are
working. Test to make sure everything is working. During the broadcast, you will
run the board under the direction of the EP.
Task list | Detailed job description
Producer/Mac operator
"Mac" producer is in charge of
operating Pro Tools/Minidisk in the studio during the broadcast and cueing
individual pieces.
Task list | Detailed job description
Newscaster
write 3 minute newscast from wires. Pull
actualities from radio newscasts (CBS, WNYC, WINS).
Task list
Webcast Editor
Principle task is editorial in coordination with Senior Editor. You get the intros (from CMS and from finished Script Pack). Write the headlines and "teases" for the Webcast, according to the rundown prepared by the EP and Senior Editor. Your technical duties include running CMS during the broadcast day and running Real Producer to webcast the show live. After the show is finished you are responsible for saving the archived webcast audio file to the server, activating the archive webcast, putting in the time cues and editing any corrections necessary in the post-broadcast web page.
Task list | Detailed job description
A timeline with deadlines is below:
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Jobs Checklist and Timeline
for broadcast: 4 pm start-time
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Task
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Deadline
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Done (check)
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Executive Producer
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Plan show with editor, divide tasks
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Get one-paragraph description of all available pieces
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1-2 days before
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Plan show, do rundown (selection and order of pieces)
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night before
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Assign, approve host interview
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night before
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Prepare theme music and music buttons
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noon
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Plan billboard, approve selection of cuts, write if
necessary
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1:00 pm
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Final rundown (only
emergency changes)
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1:30 pm
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Direct rehearsal in studio
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2 pm
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Monitor that all the below has been done on deadline
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Senior Editor
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Show rundown, with EP
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night before
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Write Credits
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11:30 am
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Give list with two-line description to web editor (Remember, this is a headline for
each piece.)
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12 noon
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Collect intros on disk, edit
Intros contain: Slug, intro copy, tape time, incue,
outcue.
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12:30 pm
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Write other copy: open, billboard, returns, all copy must
be submitted to a professor for editing and be finished by …..
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1:30
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ready for rehearsal
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2:00
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Producers
(Two producers: L (Line producer) and B (Board operator)
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L: Collect tape
for billboard (1-2 cuts)
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noon
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L,B: Listen to pieces for sound quality, Bounce pieces
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1:45
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Find billboard
tape and bounce
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noon
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L: Set up Pro Tools session: Line up bounced pieces on Mac
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1:45
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B: Make “patch” connections Cons/Pgm L à
Web Cons/Pgm R à
Seminar room
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1:30
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L, B: Ready for Rehearsal
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2 pm
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B: Get DAT tape to
record broadcast
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11 am
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Rehearsal (run board)
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2 pm
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Run board during broadcast; Begin to run music at 4 pm sharp
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4:00
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Webcast Producer
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Copy previous weeks folder, use as “template”
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noon
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Create page from template, edit with new rundown, Credits
and other changes
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noon
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Set up audio encoder: (naming
style: yyyymmdd.rm) (example: 20010216.rm)
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12:30
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Copy and prepare .ram files (insert new audio filename)
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1:00
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Set up mike icon for live broadcast
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1:00
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Final list of pieces and reporters, include email link to
reporters
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1:30
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Go to studio and verify “patch”
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1:30
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Test “patch” connection to studio (During rehearsal)
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2:00
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Test sound feed to seminar room (During rehearsal)
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2:00
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Start encoding live (w archive file) at 4 pm sharp
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4:00
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Monitor encoding (cue, start-stop)
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4:00
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During show, note times and put in time codes in .ram
files.
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Host
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Select, Do interview
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morning, or prev. day
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Write intro, cut interview to time. Don’t forget to backannounce:
e.g.“Judith Smartexpert is a social security specialist at the Manhattan
Institute.”
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1:00
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Look over copy with editor, tweak copy
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1-2:00 pm
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Rehearse
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2:00
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Read over intros to be comfortable
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3:00-4:00
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Relax, voice exercises
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3:50
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Newscaster
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Gather tape cuts from radio, phoners
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11-12
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Write 3 minute newscast from wires (1st draft)
edit with professor
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1:30 pm
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Rehearse (read newscast top)
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2:00
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Update news for 4 pm
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3:30
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Jobs
(descriptions from Workshop class)
Executive Producer: Indicate
you want this job. 4 positions.
- Organize
broadcast
- Consult
with previous EPs, editors
- Develop
show identity, music theme, style
- Prepare
billboard, with tape.
- Music bridges,
other sound elements,
- Work
with Editor to develop rundown (order of pieces)
- Supervise
other producers and production tasks
- Prepare
printed rundown, 18 copies of final.
- Reporter,
Slug, time
- Direct show on air
Associate Producer
- Backs up EP
on production tasks
- Responsible
for final production flow of pieces from reporter to studio. Helps on mixes, bounces to disk, loads pieces
in studio computer.
- Bouncing
instructions
Editor
- With EP,
supervises execution of broadcast
- Responsible
for copy flow and continuity
- Opens,
intros, configuring segments. Making related pieces flow in and out of one
another.
- Help
hosts in planning interviews: make sure questions complement pieces and do not
contradict or overtrack.
- Collects
intros between 9 am- 11 am, ON DISK.
- Compiles
and reorders intros.
- Intros
style: All Caps, skip lines between elements
SLUG
INTRO
COPY (rewritten)
IN-CUE
TAPE
TIME
OUT-CUE
(ANY
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS)
- Supervises
rewrite with hosts.
- Prints out
intros (avoid xeroxing)
Board Operator
- Runs board
- Ensures all
tape/Pro Tools elements are ready to play
- Double checks
play list against rundown
- Responsible
for taping broadcast
- setting up monitoring station in 511A
- setting up copying on Pro Tools (delegate this)
Hosts
Web Producers
- Create html
page with rundown, links
- Record broadcast
on Jaz drive, encode in RA
- Link to Web
site
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