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News Instructions
A Definition of Core Skills in Television News
To work effectively in television news you must be able to demonstrate competence in the following areas.
Accuracy: It is essential that you check and double-check facts and sources. Check all your spellings and punctuation, and ensure that you illustrate your scripts with the correct pictures.
Writing:your scripts must be clear and concise, and they need to be conversational. You should have a sound grasp of the concept of writing to both still and moving pictures, and a clear understanding of the nuances of language.
Pictures: you must think in terms of the pictures you will need, and how to use them most effectively on their own, or with your script.
Research: you need to be a self-starter, with the imagination and initiative to find stories and to work out the best way to tell them on television.
News judgement: you should be able to evaluate stories and their news value.
Technology: you should know how to operate a broadcast camera, and edit the pictures you have shot. You also need to have an appreciation of the logistics involved in television newsgathering and broadcasting.
Attribution: you must ensure that the pictures and information sources you use are clearly labelled when necessary i.e. use picture credits such as ëPictures from BBC Sportí, dates for footage which is not current, and clearly labelled sources for statistics and opinion polls.
Balance and impartiality:you need to produce work, which sets out all sides of the story and indicate that you have attempted to speak to all the parties concerned even if they have refused to be interviewed.
Speed: you need to be able to do all these things quickly.