The news bulletin is a major part of any radio station’s daily output. It is where the station’s journalists must use their knowledge and skills to present a coherent, interesting, accurate and relevant news service to listeners. It is also a test of the ability of the journalist to deal with a large quantity of information and rank it in order of importance.
A news bulletin lasts about three minutes. That gives a lot of space for stories, but it is not enough to simply run every story which might interest the audience. Every story has to have a good reason for being included. A well-written lead story is the key to attracting and holding listeners’ attention. This is particularly important if the rest of the bulletin is rather dull or even boring.
It is essential to keep the bulletin as up-to-date as possible. This will give the impression that the news is fresh, current and relevant to today’s world. Listeners are interested in news about events which are happening at the moment they hear it on the air. They do not want to hear about events which have happened in the past.
It is helpful to use actuality grabs (recorded sound of people speaking) to add variety and a sense of reality. They should be short and clearly introduced, stating who is speaking and the subject matter. If the grabbes are in languages other than English they should be overdubbed with a translation.