Glossary of News Terms

• Anchor Person - The person who reads the news during the news program. Often there are two persons who share the responsibilities of presenting the news.
• Documentary - A specially produced program that explains and depicts events in history, geography, science, animal life or politics. Documentaries try to present all sides of an issue.
• Edit - To electronically cut out unwanted parts of a videotape recording, or to put together pieces of different tapes to make a program.
• Editorial - A news story which gives the views of those who decide policy, or a personal opinion about the news.
• Fiction - A pretend or made-up story.
• Hard News - Timely news items that are very important to people on more than a local level. They may affect all of us and are important to know for our political, economic or environment security.
• Interview - A question and answer session or show, usually between a celebrity or important person and a reporter, dealing with an issue.
• Media - All of the different sources of information including TV, radio, the Internet, newspapers, and magazines.
• News Program - Usually a half-hour program of television coverage of the latest news. Local news, sports and weather are usually included in the news program.
• Nonfiction - A true story about something that has really happened.
• Soft News - News that features people or events in a lively, entertaining manner.
• Special Events Coverage - A live broadcast of news in the making, such as the launch of a space shuttle.

Creating Your Own News Show

Ask your students to view and become familiar with news shows on television. Who are the key people that are seen? What are their specific roles? What kind of information does each report? You will need to select seven students for these positions:

• Anchor Person
• Local news reporter
• State news reporter
• National news reporter
• World news reporter
• Weather reporter
• Sports reporter

Before the broadcast, each student should read the newspaper, listen to the news on the radio or watch it on TV, and become familiar with the news of the day they will report on. Have students write a brief summary of the news they will report and practice the written copy before presenting to the class.

Be a Great Reporter

Follow these steps to gather facts for a great news story:

1. Choose a newsworthy topic.
2. Decide who to interview or where to find facts for the topic.
3. List five questions to ask about the topic.
4. Write the answers to the five questions.
5. Write an opening statement to introduce your listeners to the topic, and a good closing statement to sum it all up.

News Production Team

More people work on a news program than the people you see on the TV screen. Many people can work hundreds of hours to produce a short commercial, news program, or other television show. Here are a few of the most important jobs on a television production:

• Producer - Manages the entire production, guides the newscast, controls the budget.
• Writer - Writes the script, or words, that are spoken by the actors, or the news presenters.
• Director - Takes the final script from the producer and writer, and tells the actors, camera operators and other members of the production team what to do and when.
• Lighting Director - Lights the scene in the studio or on location.
• Camera Operator - Shoots the pieces of the program according to the instructions from the director.
• Audio Engineer - Takes care of the microphones used in a production, and all other aspects of sound recording.
• Editor - Puts together the final pieces of the production for programs that are not broadcast live, adding graphics, music and other effects to make an interesting finished piece.

There are many other jobs that go into a television production. Ask your class for ideas of other work that has to be done for a television show. Watch the credits at the end of a show to see a listing of many other jobs.