Saturday, November 17, 2007

Radio on-air studio

A dynamic radio on-air studio

On air studio does not only mean the mic's, headphones, hybrids, mixtures and sound boxes. On air stuio is a collective architectural design of those equipments and there settings according to the sound quality and the on air quality you require.
Posted by Roopess at 10:56:41 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Improving On-Air Delivery

Whatever you prepare is for the delivery on-air. After you prepare everything on the news scripts and the airing materials like sound bites, reports, voxpops, etc. you ought to get prepared for on-air delivery of these materials along with scripts and the major role of the presenter becomes to deliver them in the best way conquering the hearings of listeners. So, on-air delivery becomes the challenge for both the producers and the presenters.

Follow the pattern

The reading of news on the radio is expected to conform to a pattern of musical pitches or notes. If you were to speak to your friends using this exaggerated pitch pattern, your conversation would seem a bit too much like "sing-song." The pitch pattern -- which is present in all speech -- does not need to be as noticeable in direct conversation because the listener can pick up visual cues (such as facial expressions or hand gestures) that aid in interpreting the words spoken.
 Radio -- unlike television -- must rely solely on vocal quality to convey this additional information, information that may include the length of a story, the story's seriousness and the credibility of sources. The pitch pattern is especially helpful in informing listeners when stories begin and when they end.
 Pitch should be considered in relative terms as "high" or "low" based on the range used in normal conversation. Listeners hear the modulation between "high" and "low" pitch and interpret those changes, even though most listeners are unaware of the pattern. They become aware only when the pattern is not properly followed, at which point they become confused or bored by the story.

 Change pitches

Stories begin on a "high" pitch and end on a "low" pitch. In between the pitch modulates from one clause or sentence to the next. Within a clause or sentence, the pitch falls slightly from beginning to end, except in questions, where the pitch rises at the end.
 For example, in a standard, four-sentence script, the pitch begins "high," falling slightly at the end of the first sentence. The second sentence begins at a lower pitch than the end of the first sentence. The third sentence begins at a higher pitch than the beginning of the second sentence. The final sentence, like the second sentence, begins at a "low" pitch and gently falls towards the end of the script.
 When news directors, program directors or general managers complain about monotonous delivery, they are referring to readers who remain on the same pitch throughout the script. The easiest way to gain an understanding of pitch is to listen to the pitch patterns of other anchors and reporters, and to practice, practice, practice. With time, the pattern will become automatic when you're on the air.

 Speed it up

The other common fault in newsreading concerns speed. Most beginning radio journalists read and speak too slowly. Perhaps we remember all too well when, in speech and debate class in junior high school, the teacher chastised us for being nervous and speaking too quickly. Radio, however, cannot provide the additional, visual information that exists when speaking in public or on television. With only one mode of information-retrieval available, the radio listener prefers to process speech at a faster rate. Normal conversational speed is generally too slow for reading radio news.
 Some reporters and anchors -- notably those on public radio -- seem to want to make an art form out of speaking VERY SLOWLY.
Colleagues in public radio claim that their listeners prefer the news to be read slowly. I suspect this preference has more to do with aesthetics than with cognition, but in any case, choosing to read slowly because of the wishes of a public-radio news director may limit a reporter's subsequent career.
 Many young journalists find their first jobs with public radio stations. Higher pay and greater opportunities may be found at commercial stations, but commercial-radio news directors often balk at hiring a reporter whose demo tape reveals slow reading. Even if your news director demands slow reading, use examples from the commercial network hourlies (e.g., ABC, AP, CBS, CNN) to set the speed for reading the news on your demo tape.
 Monotonous delivery and slow reading are very common among beginning radio journalists. Understanding the causes of these faults can lead to their correction.
Posted by Roopess at 09:57:58 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

News Presenter/ Newscaster/ Newsreader

A news presenter is, broadly speaking, a person that presents a  News Show on Television, Radio or the Internet. The term is not commonly used by people in the industry as they tend to use more descriptive, and sometimes country-specific, terms. Examples include "newsreader", "newscaster", and "news anchor" or "news presenter".

Newscaster

A newscaster is a presenter of a news bulletin who is himself or herself a working journalist and news gatherer, and a participant in compiling the script to be delivered in a news bulletin.

News anchor

A news anchor is a television/radio personality who presents material prepared for a news program and at times must improvise commentary for live presentation. The term is primarily used in the United States and Canada. Many news anchors are also involved in writing and/or editing the news for their programs. Sometimes news anchors interview guests and moderate panels or discussions. Some provide commentary for the audience during parades and other events.
A News Anchor is the most prominent figure on any newscast. At most stations the Anchor has a myriad of duties along with presenting the news. Evening Anchors generally take part in the afternoon story meeting and can often act as managers in the absence of the News Producer (Producer means the producer of the current bulletin of the news chief himself in case of the smaller unit of news as radios in Nepal ). Before each newscast the anchor will not only write stories but proofread copy and edit it to his or her own reading style. The Anchor also works with Producers & Reporters during the construction of the newscast. While the News Anchor must be a skilled reader, the person must also be adept at adlibbing during breaking news. Weekend, Morning and Noon Anchors may have a more hands-on role in producing and writing their newscasts.

A News Anchor generally has a background as a reporter but many anchors have started on the desk. The job demands excellent writing skills, solid news judgment, an outgoing personality, a quick wit, and a willingness to get involved in the community. The station will often send an anchor as a representative to various affairs.
Posted by Roopess at 09:52:39 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Television Studio

What is Broadcasting?

Broadcasting

Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video signals (programs) to a number of recipients ("listeners" or "viewers") that belong to a large group. This group may be the public in general, or a relatively large audience within the public. Thus, an Internet channel may distribute text or music world-wide, while a public address system in (for example) a workplace may broadcast very limited ad hoc soundbites to a small population within its range.
The sequencing of content in a broadcast is called a schedule.
Television and radio programs are distributed through radio broadcasting or cable, often both simultaneously. By coding signals and having decoding equipment in homes, the latter also enables subscription-based channels and pay-per-view services.
When broadcasting is done via the Internet the term webcasting is often used.
Broadcasting forms a very large segment of the mass media.
Broadcasting to a very narrow range of audience is called narrowcasting.

News broadcasting

News broadcasting refers to the practice of disseminating current events via the medium of television or radio. News Bulletins are programmes lasting from seconds to hours that provide updates on world, national, regional or local news events. News channels may provide news bulletins as part of a regular program that is aired daily or more often at standard times. Less often, television shows may be interrupted or replaced by "news flashes" to provide news updates on current events of great importance or sudden events of great importance.
A newscast typically consists of the coverage of various news events and other information, either produced locally by a radio or television station newsroom, or by a broadcast network. It may also include such additional material as sports coverage, weather forecasts, traffic reports, commentary and other material that the broadcaster feels is relevant to their audience.
In some parts of the world there are 'rolling news' channels that broadcast news 24 hours a day.
News bulletins or the shows consist of several different elements, introduced by a news presenter or presenters. The presenters read 'links' and do interviews.
Most news stories come in the form of short 'packages'. These are pre-recorded reports usually lasting from one to five minutes. News reporters gather and edit together interview clips, pictures and their own 'pieces to camera' to tell a story. They script and record a 'voice-over' to explain the pictures and link the elements together.
Some stories are done as live reports. This can be a reporter on the scene of a story either being interviewed by a studio presenter (sometimes known as a 'two-way'), a reporter interviewing one or more other people, or simply live pictures and sound of an event. The sound and pictures are sent back to the TV/radio station via fixed cable links, bounced off a satellite from a vehicle carrying a satellite dish (a 'sat truck'), or sent through microwave radio transmissions from a vehicle carrying a microwave transmitter. With the growth of "rolling news" channels the use of live material has increased enormously and reporters are now often judged as much on their ability to perform live in front of a camera as on their package-making or writing skills.
News programs are put together by producers, who decide what goes in and what gets left out, and how long and in what form each story is presented. They put together 'running orders' - a list of the stories in what they decide is the right order.
A separate news editor is often responsible for co-ordinating the gathering of material.

Posted by Roopess at 10:12:57 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Let's talk about radio format

A radio format or programming format describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve. Music radio; All-news radio; Sports radio; Talk radio and Weather radio describe the operation of different genres of radio format and each format can often be sub-divided into many speciality formats.
The following is a sub-list of broadcasting station categories which employ singular or combination radio formats and are further defined in application by the market which they serve:

- College radio
- Commercial radio
- Community radio 
- Pirate radio 
- Public radio
- Internet radio

Radio broadcasting

is an audio (sound) broadcasting service, traditionally broadcast through the air as radio waves (a form of electromagnetic radiation) from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast common programming, either in syndication or simulcast or both. Audio broadcasting also can be done via cable FM, local wire networks, satellite and the Internet.
The earliest radio stations were simply radio and audio telegraph systems and did not carry audio. The first claimed audio transmission that could be termed a broadcast occurred on Christmas Eve in 1906, and was made by Reginald Fessenden. While many early experimenters attempted to create systems similar to radiotelephone devices where only two parties were meant to communicate, there were others who intended to transmit to larger audiences. Charles Herrold started broadcasting in California in 1909 and was carrying audio by the next year.
For the next decade, radio tinkerers had to build their own radio receivers. KDKA AM of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (owned by Westinghouse) started broadcasting as the first licensed "commercial" radio station on November 2, 1920[citation needed]. The commercial designation came from the type of license—they didn't start airing advertisements until a few years later. The first broadcast was the results of the U.S. presidential election, 1920. The Montreal station that became CFCF-AM began program broadcasts on May 20, 1920, and the Detroit station that became WWJ began program broadcasts beginning on August 20, 1920, although neither held a license at the time.
Radio Argentina began regularly scheduled transmissions from the Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires on August 27, 1920, making its own priority claim. The station got its license on November 19, 1923. The delay was due to the lack of official Argentine licensing procedures before that date. This station continued regular broadcasting of entertainment and cultural fare for several decades.
 When internet based radio became feasible in the mid '90s, the new medium required no licensing and the stations could broadcast from anywhere in the world without the need for "over the air" transmitters. This greatly reduced the overhead for establishing a station, and in 1996, 'A' Net Station (A.N.E.T.) began broadcasting commercial free from Antarctica.
M.I.T. developed the "Radio Locator" List of Radio Stations. After stations started streaming audio on the internet, Radio-Locator added this to their search engine so anyone could locate a station's website and listen to a station offering a worldwide stream. This list also tracks "terrestrial" radio stations who may not have live audio on the net, or even a website, but are able to find station information by various other search queries.

Types

Radio stations are of several types. The best known are the AM and FM stations; these include both commercial, public and nonprofit varieties as well as student-run campus radio stations and hospital radio stations can be found throughout the developed world.
Although now being eclipsed by internet-distributed radio, there are many stations that broadcast on shortwave bands using AM technology that can be received over thousands of miles (especially at night). For example, the BBC has a full schedule transmitted via shortwave. These broadcasts are very sensitive to atmospheric conditions and sunspots.

AM
AM stations were the earliest broadcasting stations to be developed. AM refers to amplitude modulation, a mode of broadcasting radio waves by varying the amplitude of the carrier signal in response to the amplitude of the signal to be transmitted.
One of the advantages of AM is that its unsophisticated signal can be detected (turned into sound) with simple equipment. If a signal is strong enough, not even a power source is needed; building an unpowered crystal radio receiver was a common childhood project in the early years of radio.
AM broadcasts occur on North American airwaves in the mediumwave frequency range of 530 to 1700 kHz (known as the "standard broadcast band"). The band was expanded in the 1990s by adding nine channels from 1620 to 1700 kHz. Channels are spaced every 10 kHz in the Americas, and generally every 9 kHz everywhere else.
Many countries outside of the U.S. use a similar frequency band for AM transmissions. Europe also uses the longwave band. In response to the growing popularity of FM radio stations in the late 1980s and early 1990s, some North American stations began broadcasting in AM stereo, though this never really gained acceptance. AM radio has some serious shortcomings.The signal is subject to interference from electrical storms (lightning) and other EMI.
 ·               Fading of the signal can be severe at night.
AM signals exhibit diurnal variation, travelling much longer distances at night. In a crowded channel environment this means that the power of regional channels which share a frequency must be reduced at night or directionally beamed in order to avoid interference, which reduces the potential nighttime audience. Some stations have frequencies unshared with other stations in the U.S.; these are called clear channel stations. Many of them can be heard across much of the country at night. (This is not to be confused with Clear Channel Communications, which currently owns many U.S. radio stations.)
·               AM radio transmitters can transmit audio frequencies up to 20 kHz (now limited to 10 kHz in the US due to FCC rules designed to reduce interference), but most receivers are only capable of reproducing frequencies up to 5 kHz or less. At the time that AM broadcasting began in the 1920s, this provided adequate fidelity for existing microphones, 78 rpm recordings, and loudspeakers. The fidelity of sound equipment subsequently improved considerably but the receivers did not. Reducing the bandwidth of the receivers reduces the cost of manufacturing and makes them less prone to interference. In the United States, AM stations are never assigned adjacent channels in the same service area. This prevents the sideband energy generated by two stations from interfering with each other. Bob Carver created an AM stereo tuner employing notch filtering that demonstrated an AM broadcast can meet or exceed the 15 kHz bandwidth of FM stations without objectionable interference. After a few years the tuner was discontinued; Bob Carver had left the company and Carver Corporation later cut the number of models produced before discontinuing production completely. AM stereo broadcasts declined with the advent of HD Radio.

 FM
FM refers to frequency modulation, and occurs on VHF airwaves in the frequency range of 88 to 108 MHz everywhere (except Japan and Russia). Japan uses the 76 to 90 MHz band. FM stations are much more popular in economically developed regions, such as Europe and the United States, especially since higher sound fidelity and stereo broadcasting became common in this format.
FM radio was invented by Edwin H. Armstrong in the 1930s for the specific purpose of overcoming the interference (static) problem of AM radio, to which it is immune. At the same time, greater fidelity was made possible by spacing stations further apart. Instead of 10 kHz apart, they are 200 kHz apart—the difference between the lowest current FM frequency in the U.S., 88.1 MHz and the next lowest, 88.3 MHz. This was far in advance of the audio equipment of the 1940s, but wide interchannel spacing was chosen to reduce interference problems that existed with AM.
In fact 200 kHz is not needed to accommodate an audio signal — 20 kHz to 30 kHz is all that is necessary for a narrowband FM signal. The 200 kHz bandwidth allowed room for ±75 kHz signal deviation from the assigned frequency plus a 50 kHz guardband to eliminate adjacent channel interference. The larger bandwidth allows for broadcasting a 15 kHz bandwidth audio signal plus a 38 kHz stereo "subcarrier" — a piggyback signal that rides on the main signal. Additional unused capacity is used by some broadcasters to transmit utility functions such as background music for public areas, GPS auxiliary signals, or financial market data.
The AM radio problem of interference at night was addressed in a different way. At the time FM was set up, the only available frequencies were far higher in the spectrum than those used for AM radio. Using these frequencies meant that even at far higher power, the range of a given FM signal was much lower, thus its market was more local than for AM radio. Reception range at night was the same as daytime, and while the problem of interference between stations has not disappeared, it is far less.
The original FM radio service in the U.S. was the Yankee Network, located in New England. Broadcasting began in the early 1940s but did not pose a significant threat to the AM broadcasting industry. It required purchase of a special receiver. The frequencies used were not those used today: 42 to 50 megahertz. The change to the current frequencies, 88 to 108 megahertz, began at the end of World War II and was to some extent imposed by AM radio owners so as to cripple what was by now realized to be a potentially serious threat.
FM radio on the new band had to begin from step one. As a commercial venture it remained a little used audio enthusiast's medium until the 1960s. The more prosperous AM stations, or their owners, acquired FM licenses and often broadcast the same programming on the FM station as on the AM station (simulcasting). The FCC limited this practice in the 1970s. By the 1980s, since almost all new radios included both AM and FM tuners (without any government mandate), FM became the dominant medium, especially in cities. Because of its greater range, AM remained more common in rural environments.

Digital
Digital radio broadcasting has emerged, first in Europe (the UK in 1995 and Germany in 1999), and later in the United States. The European system is named DAB, for Digital Audio Broadcasting, and uses the public domain EUREKA 147 system. In the United States, the IBOC system is named HD Radio and owned by a consortium of private companies called iBiquity. An international non-profit consortium Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), has introduced the public domain DRM system.
It is expected that for the next 10 to 20 years, all these systems will co-exist, while by 2015 to 2020 digital radio may predominate, at least in the developed countries.

Satellite
Satellite radiobroadcasters are slowly emerging, but the enormous entry costs of space-based satellite transmitters, and restrictions on available radio spectrum licenses has restricted growth of this market. In the USA and Canada, just two services, XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio exist.

Other
 Many other non-broadcast types of radio stations exist. These include:

·               base stations for police, fire and ambulance networks 
·        military base stations
 ·               dispatch base stations for taxis, trucks, and couriers
·               emergency broadcast systems 
·        amateur radio stations

Posted by Roopess at 10:00:35 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |