Broadcast and Digital Media: Radio, Television and Online Journalism
Radio
- All India Radio dates from 1936, when the Indian State Broadcasting Service was renamed; Vividh Bharati began in 1957; FM and community radio came later.
- Write for the ear: short sentences, one idea each, conversational tone, no unreadable figures, no parentheses, no homophones that confuse.
- Elements: actuality, sound bite, voice-over, ambient sound, music bed, cue, fade, cross-fade, sign-off.
- Formats: news bulletin, phone-in, talk show, feature, documentary, jingle, podcast.
Television
- Doordarshan began in 1959, went national in 1982, and private satellite channels arrived in 1991-92.
- Elements: anchoring, piece to camera, voice-over, bytes, graphics, electronic news gathering, outside broadcast, headlines, ticker.
- TRP is an estimate of viewership compiled by ratings agencies; it guides advertising rates, not editorial quality.
Online journalism
- Qualities: immediacy, interactivity, hypertext, multimedia, archive and personalisation.
- Structure: the inverted pyramid still works, but the first forty characters of the headline must carry the story because of search and social sharing.
- SEO basics: one clear keyword, descriptive headline, sub-heads, alt text, links, short paragraphs.
- Verification: check the account's age, reverse-image search, geolocation, cross-check with agencies, and label user-generated content.
- Risks: clickbait, fake news, plagiarism, unchallenged viral content, undisclosed sponsored content.
Worked example
A television byte says: we have been waiting for this bridge for ten years and now the water will not cut us off. For the web version, lead with the fact: the Rs 42-crore bridge across the Pampa opened on Monday, ending a ten-year wait for 6,000 residents. Then embed the byte, a map and a photograph. Reasoning: the web reader needs the news first; the byte supplies colour, not the lead.
Traps
Writing broadcast copy in dense print style. Quoting a TRP as an exact audience figure. Treating a viral video as verified. Using a headline that only works in print.