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Journalism 

Activity 1: Have you heard?

(10 minutes)

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Do you ever listen to a local radio station, maybe while riding in the car? What do you hear between songs? In addition to advertisements and public service announcements, most radio stations play local news pieces. What would you expect to hear in a local news story? How do you think it is different from national or world news? Write down your ideas and/or share them with someone else.

Activity 2: What's happening in your community?

(15 minutes)


Think about something newsworthy that is happening, or has recently happened, in your school, club, or community. Be careful that you don’t confuse newsworthy with negative. A lot of stories in the media are focused on negative events because it seems more sensational, but this doesn’t have to be the case, especially with local news stories. Use the chart below to help figure out if something is newsworthy.

Activity 3: What are the facts?

(20 minutes)

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Gather details about the story. Who is involved in the story? Who should you talk to? Answer the who, what, where, when, why, and how questions as you take notes. Learn as much information as you can and speak to a variety of people. Maybe you want to record an interview so you can add a small clip of it to your news story. Learn more about recording interviews by watching this video by the Radio Rookies program.

Activity 4: Craft the Story

(25 minutes)

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Write the story as it you will read it, in other words as a local news radio piece. What are some ways you imagine it is different to write something that is meant to be heard rather than read? What are elements of writing that would be more or less important? Remember to keep it short. Most local news pieces on the radio are less than a minute long. You will only have time to report on the most important details. If you’d like, look at this radio station’s local news page. You can read a couple example paragraphs of pieces that are broadcast on the radio. And here is a page with tips for writing radio news scripts.

Activity 6: Share and Submit

(10 minutes)

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Play your local news story for someone else or a group of people. Ask for feedback. Does your audience have any major questions about the story? What do they think about the use, or not, of sound effects?


Reflect on your project. Are there things you would do differently or things you would like to try? If you already did the Create a Podcast project, how was this project similar? Different? If you haven’t done that project yet, it would be a great one to try next. If you liked recording local news stories, do some more! You could even submit them to a school, college, or local radio station.

 

Want to earn a few digital badges in audio production? Email the digital media you created to BGCAmediamaking@gmail.com 

Still Interested? Take a look at these resources: 

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Guide: Script-writing tips and real examples

Video: How to Become a Radio Announcer : Local Angle for Radio News Report

Data: Radio Facts and Figures

Article: 91% of Americans still listen to AM/FM radio. Slacker wants to bring these listening hours online

Guide: Audacity Manual

What You'll Need: 

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Report on a Local News Story

Activity 5: Record and Edit

(25 minutes)

 

Use Audacity to record your news story. Play back what you recorded and note any edits you’d like to to make. After you make the edits, consider if you’d like to add any features like intro  music or sound effects. You can download rights-free background music from the Creative Commons audio library at dig.ccMixter.org. You can download other noises at FreeSoundEffects.com, for example, the sound of an ambulance siren. Adding other forms of audio will bring another dimension to your local news piece. If you have added sound effect tracks, follow these instructions on merging the tracks into one exportable audio file.

If you want some inspiration about positive news stories check out the Good News Network. What would you like to report on from your community?

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