MCOM 101 A
Winter 2015
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
Intra-Communication: Communication occurs in mind, like thoughts, involves
only one subject
Inter-personal communication: One-to-one Communication, involves two subjects
Group Communication: Involves group of individuals for example meeting,
seminar, conference
Mass Communication: Communication of message to mass audience through
media (TV, Newspaper, Radio..)
SCHOOLS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Semiotic School:
Study of signs
How signs generate meaning and their significance in different
cultures
The semiotic tradition explores the study of signs and symbols as
a significant part of communications.
2. Process School
 Focuses on the process of communication
 How message travels reaches audience through a certain channel
 S-M-C-R (Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver)
BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
Physical Barriers of Communication:
 Technology/Device related barriers
 Noise
 Distortion
 Weak Signals/Reception
Non-Physical Barriers of Communication:
 Difference of Language
 Difference in Lexical Preferences
 Difference in Communication Context
 Difference in Feelings and Emotions
 Interpretation of Body Language
 Negative Biases, Prejudices and Stereotypes about other Cultures
 Xenophobia: Dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries
EMERGENCE OF MASS COMMUNICATION
14th Century- Printing Press: China established first ever printing machine
16th Century- Production, Printing and Circulation of magazines, periodicals
and publications
17th Century-Germany published first ever newspaper “Starsbourgh
Relation”
19th Century-Advent of motion picture and Cinema
20th Century-Invention of Radio
 1910- First ever public broadcast
 1934-Invention of FM technology
EVOLUTION OF TELEVISION
Late 19th and 20th Century
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Mechanical Television: Mechanical Scanning of Images
Electronic Television: Using Video signals to form a picture
Invention of Color/Monochrome TV
Digital Television: Digitally processes and Multiplexed Images
Smart Television: TV with set-top box integrated with Web 2.0 features
EMERGENCE OF INTERNET
Emergence of Internet
Age of Convergence
Breakthrough in content distributions
Impact on audience
Key Features
 Online Newspapers & Interactive News Blogs
 Social Media
 Web TV & Online Streaming
 Audio-Visual gateway: Vimeo, YouTube, Daily Motion, Sound Cloud
 Netflix Model: Movie Distribution and Production
NEWSPAPER TERMINOLOGY
Major Section of Newspaper
 Advertising Section: Contains Classified ads/ Other paid announcements
 Editorial Section/Op-Ed: Contains Editorial, Letters to the Editor, Editorial Cartoon, Columns and
articles
 News Section: News information about latest developments, national and international news..
Beat: A group of news sources assigned to a reporter for regular coverage for
example Health, Court, Crime, Politics, Culture..
Byline: Name of the writer mentioned in a news story
EXAMPLE BYLINE
Caption: Description of the image/text accompanied the picture in a newspaper
Circulation: Number of publication of newspaper or magazine
News Correspondent: Representative of a newspaper at zone or district level
Editor: Editor is the head of newspaper’s editorial section
Editorial: Appears on editorial page, opinion of the editor about different issues
Editorial Note & Sub Editorial: Appears under lead editorial, opinion of the editor
regarding other important issue.
Masthead: Title of the Newspaper appears at the top of the page
EXAMPLE MASTHEAD
Jump line: If a new story is to be continued on another page, Jump line gives the
information about the location of the news story on the other page for example,
continued on page 11
Lead Story: Main news story on the front page, It can consist of six to eight columns
Layout: An outline of the arrangement of news information and pictures on the pages
of newspapers.
Resident Editor: The person in-charge of regional publication of a newspaper or a
magazine.
Source: Source of obtaining news information for example correspondent,
representative, staff reporter or a news agency.
Sub-Editor: Responsible for editing the news items, checks for language, length and
overall structure.
Syndicate: The agency, which provides news, features, articles.
News Agency: Agency that provides news information
NEWS SOURCES
Newspaper Internal Sources:
News Correspondents
News Reporters
News Representatives
News Bureaus
Beat: Group of sources concerning certain category for
example Health, Crime, Education, Human Rights etc
Newspaper External Sources:
National News Agencies
APP: Associated Press of Pakistan
PPI: Pakistan Press International
International News Agencies
AFP: Agence France-Presse
Reuters: British News Agency
UPI: United Press International, USA
AP: Associated Press, USA
PTI: Press Trust India
AAP: Australian Associated Press
NEWS PRODUCTION PROCESS
News Production
Step 1: News gathering from different sources
Step 2: Filing News Stories/News Writing
Step 3: Sub Editing: Checking structure and language of news
story by
Step 4: Policy Check and approval for copy
Step 5: Layout and Designing
News Circulation/Distribution: Printed copies are distributed to
the designated distributors for further circulation to the audience
News Reception: Readership of Newspapers
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF A
NEWSPAPER
Editorial Section
 News & Reporting Section
 Chief Reporter
 News Reporters
 Chief News Editor
 Senior Sub Editors and Sub Editors
 News Desks: Deals with different sections of Newspaper for example
Foreign Desk, Local Desk, Sports Desk, Commerce Desk, Main Desk,
Sports Desk
 Op-Ed Section
 Deals with editorial page content including editorial, columns, articles,
letters to the editors
Administration Section: Deals with the overall
management of the newspaper, all matters concerning
administration of newspaper. Usually managed by
General Manager and Managing Editor.
Marketing Section: Deals with marketing and advertising
affairs of newspaper.
Printing Section: Deals with designing, layout and printing
of the newspapers.
Circulation Section: Deals with the circulation and
distribution of the newspaper.
NEWS VALUES
Consequence Driven
Closeness to home (Proximity)
Bad news - involving death, tragedy,
bankruptcy, violence, damage, natural disasters,
political upheaval or simply extreme weather
conditions - is always rated above 'positive'
stories (royal weddings, celebrations etc)
Audiences supposedly relate more to stories that
are close to them geographically, or involve
people from their country
Recency
Newspapers are very competitive about breaking
news - about revealing stories as they happen.
Currency
This is almost opposite to recency, in that stories
that have been in the public eye for some time
already are deemed valuable.
NEWS VALUES
Uniqueness
'Dog Bites Man' is not a story. 'Man Bites Dog' is.
Any story which covers a unique or unusual event.
Personality
Stories that center around a particular person, because
they can be presented from a 'human interest' angle, are
beloved of newspapers, particularly if they involve a
well-known person.
Exclusivity
Also a major factor when setting the news agenda. If a
newspaper or news programme is the first and only news
organisation breaking a story, then they will rate that
very highly. The UK Sunday papers are very fond of
exclusives, and will often break a story of national or
international importance that no one else has.
NEWS VALUES-QUIZ 1
Determine the value of news story “Schoolboy dies
after trying to take 'extreme selfie' on ninth-floor
rooftop” (Daily Mirror)
a) Proximity b) Personality c) Uniqueness d) Timeliness
e) Exclusivity
NEWS VALUES-QUIZ 2
Determine the value of news story “Brave Icon Malala
Yousafzai Shows She's Still Just a Teenage Girl with
Sibling Rivalries and Too Much Homework” (People’s
Magazine).
a) Proximity b) Consequence c) Personality d) Timeliness
NEWS VALUES-QUIZ 3
Determine the value of news story “Syrian refugees
eager to build new lives in metro Detroit”
a) Proximity b) Currency c) Uniqueness d) Timeliness
NEWS VALUES-QUIZ 4
Powerful earthquake leaves at least 8 dead, 100 injured
in India
a) Proximity b) Currency c) Consequence d) Timeliness
NEWS VALUES-QUIZ 5
Day-care centre opened at FC College
a) Proximity b) Currency c) Consequence d) Timeliness
NEWS VALUES-QUIZ 6
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Joint Secretary Alamgir
Khan who launched a campaign against the ‘Sleeping Beauties‘
in Karachi; his idea of solving the problems of the people
through art worked to a great extent.
a) Proximity b) Currency c) Consequence d) Uniqueness
NEWS VALUES-QUIZ 7
Low gas pressure is forcing us to buy bread from bakeries'
Citizens take to Rawalpindi streets amidst low gas pressure
at home
NEWS VALUES-QUIZ 8
Look away Amber Heard! Johnny Depp plants kiss on
Marlon Brando's daughter Rebecca during screening for
movie about late Hollywood legend
NEWS WRITING &
EDITING
MCOM 101 A
Winter 2016
INTRODUCTION TO NEWS
WRITING
Components of a print story:
1. Headline (s)
2. Byline or Source
3. Location
4. Introduction
5. Body Copy
6. Conclusion
7. Supporting Image (s) and Caption
WRITING NEWS
INTRODUCTION
5 Ws & 1 H
What
When
Why
Who
Where
How
BODY COPY & CONCLUSION
Body Copy: Additional Details, Statements & Counter
Statements, Supporting Facts/Arguments
Conclusion:
LANGUAGE RULES OF
HEADLINES
1. Use of Present Tense
Examples:
-Army stresses `zero tolerance` for terrorist groups
-Fears of more strife as Iraq in middle of regional row
-US foresees Assad staying till March `17
2. LEAVE OUT AUXILIARY
VERBS
Cut down on Helping Verbs
-New policy decided by Parliament (Correct Format)
(New policy has been decided by Parliament)
-Lion escapes zoo – ten killed (Correct Format)
(ten people have been killed / were killed)
-Four stranded in sudden flood (Correct Format)
(four people have been stranded / were stranded)
3. USE INFINITIVES FOR FUTURE
EVENTS
-Parliament to decide new policy tomorrow (correct)
(Parliament will decide new policy tomorrow)
-President to visit France for further talks
(President will visit France for further talks)
4. LEAVE OUT ARTICLES (A, AN,
THE)
Prime Minister hikes Alps for charity (correct)
(The Prime Minister hiked the Alps)
Man releases rabid dog in park (correct)
(A man released a rabid dog in a park)
5.REPORTED SPEECH
-Minister: Law Maker should review policy (Correct)
(Federal Minister argued that law makers should review the policy)
6. REPLACE CONJUNCTIONS
WITH PUNCTUATION
-Commas, colons, semi-colons, hyphens and so on can
replace all conjunctions, or some joining verbs, to join
clauses.
-Police arrest serial killer – close case on abductions
Police arrested serial killer and close the case on
abductions
-Fire in bakery: hundreds dead
Fire in bakery and hundreds are dead
7. USE DIGITS FOR FIGURES
Nine Dead
9 Dead (correct)
QUIZ 1:
Government did stress the polio free Pakistan
QUIZ 2
Private School has been revising the fee polices
QUIZ 3
Pakistan students will visit far eastern
countries next month
QUIZ 4
A company has promised to launch initiatives for social
justice
QUIZ 5
Skipper said he will prepare the best for world cup
QUIZ 6
25 have been killed in attack in Peshawar and 65 are
found injured
EDITING (COPY EDITING/SUB EDITING)
- A Sub Editor proofreads and edits the content
-Improves the overall language and structure of news
story
-Looks for language, grammar and punctuation errors
-Suggest and finalizes the headlines.
PHOTOJOURNALISM
OVERVIEW OF PHOTOJOURNALISM
The introduction of the halftone process in 1881 made possible the accurate reproduction
of photographs in books and newspapers.
George Eastman's introduction in 1888 of roll film and the simple Kodak box camera
provided everyone with the means of making photographs for themselves.
By the end of the 20th century digital imaging and processing; computer-based techniques
had made it possible to manipulate images in many ways, creating revolutionary changes
in photography.
Instead of light passing through a lens and striking emulsion on film, digital photography
uses sensors and color filters.
LONE JEWISH WOMAN
ODED BALILTY, 1 FEBRUARY 2006
THE VULTURE AND THE BABY,
KEVIN KART
INTRODUCTION TO RADIO
1890-Marconi’s Transmission through wireless telegraphy
1903-Radio’s first ever news broadcast
1906-Lee De Forest-Vacuum Tubes
1910-First Ever Public Broadcast
1917-1919 World War I-by executive order private radio stations are either shut
down or taken over by the government
1922-Growth of Radio Broadcasting
Three big companies Westinghouse, General Electric and AT & T (American
Telephone & Telegraph) got together to form RCA (Radio Cooperation America)
Three Major networks emerged-CBS, ABC and NBC
1934: Edwin Amstrong invented FM
1939-1945: Radio broadcast journalism establishes itself as a
significant national media force as it covers the daily events of World
War II.
1960: Sony introduced first transistorized radio
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
AMPLITUDE MODULATION AND
FREQUENCY MODULATION
Different sources have different spectrum
AM ranges 535 to 1705 kHz
FM ranges 88-108 mHz
AM is subject to static interference, low music fidelity
FM is not subject to static interference, high music fidelity
BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO
PAKISTAN BROADCASTING
CORPORATION
1947 Pakistan Broadcasting Service initiated as Radio Pakistan
Radio stations being set up in Rawalpindi, Quetta, Karachi
Radio Pakistan Turned into a Corporate body in 1972 and renamed as Pakistan
Broadcasting Corporation
Inauguration Headquarter in 1972
1997 computerized news process sing system
Presently Radio Pakistan is broadcasting programs in 23 languages.
GROWTH OF FM IN PAKISTAN
FM Gold-1994: PBC used its own studios and staff for FM Gold. In Lahore,
Karachi and Islamabad from 7:00 AM till 1:00 PM. as experimental transmissions.
FM 100 was the first private FM channel
On this basis of its popularity FM 100 competed with alien culture successfully
and promoted a qualitative national music in masses. In its popularity, some other
characteristics were also involved like easy tuning system, listeners oriented
programs, access to all classes of society, listeners participation during programs,
24 hours transmissions, multi types of musical programs, modern and innovative
styles of anchor persons etc. According to majority listener's opinion, FM 100 is a
trendsetter radio channel in FM revolution in Pakistan.
5.CONTEMPORARY TRENDS OF FM GROWTH
Major types of FM Licenses
 Commercial: Issued to private investors, Commercial Radio Stations are owned by private investors. Generate
revenue through advertising (for example FM 103)
 Public: Issued to Universities, primarily for education and training purposes (for example 104.6)
 Specialized Radio Channels for City Traffic Police, Chamber of Commerce
Internet/Online Radio Channels in Pakistan
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FUNDA FM
MAGIC FM-International-High definition Radio
Radio Azad
Aaj FM 24/7
FM Projects of Media Companies e.g. Dawn, TV 1, Sama
 FM 1 Radio 91-TV 1
 FM city 89-Dawn
 FM 107.4-SAMMA FM
HOW TO ANALYZE RADIO PROGRAM
Program Profile
Channel
Program Title
Concept/Idea
Purpose
Key talking points of discussion
Language
Broadcaster’s Profile
TECHNICAL ASPECT
Dialogue
Music
Sound effects
Diegetic and Non-diegetic sound
Diegetic (Dialogue, sound from a program source)
Non Diegetic (Background Sound and Voice Over)
Voice and Sound Editing
LISTENER’S ACCOUNT
How Listeners are engaged in discussion
How well the anchor is responding to the listeners
How encouraging or discouraging the anchor is?
Listener profile
Listeners share what they learn from the radio
How impactful radio is in Listener’s life
Diversity of point of view
OVERALL ANALYSIS
How contributing the program is?
Validity of the idea and discussion
Critical analysis of discussion and key talking points
Strengths and weakness
Ethical guidelines
How ideas about different organizations and people are quoted.
7- ESSENTIALS FOR WRITING RADIO NEWS
Using Clear/Simple Language/ Consideration for the listeners
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Use short sentences
avoid subordinate clauses
Simple facts and figures instead of saying “1.999.998” it’s better to say nearly “2 million”
Spell out numerical facts for readers’ convenience
Avoid unfamiliar abbreviations and acronyms
Repeat important titles and ideas
Keep a difference between academic and journalistic language
Be careful with the selection of the words
acknowledge the source
WRITING FOR RADIO CONT…..
Choosing Logical Structure
 Treat one idea at one time
 arrange all newsworthy elements in a logical sequence
News items should not have structural discrepancies
8- FORMATS AND GENRES OF RADIO PROGRAMS
Morning/Breakfast Shows: The Breakfast Show with Khalid (FM 89)
Coffee Shows: Coffee Republic with Ayesha Raja (FM 89)
Back to Back Music Shows: Boltiband (FM 91), Back to Back (FM 89)
Lunch Time Shows: Munch on Lunch (FM 91), Live @ Lunch
Theme Based shows: Electro Therapy, All that Jazz
Night Shows: Angootha Chalao, It’s my show Sahir Lodhi), Voodoo Nights
Drive Time Shows: Drive on with Sophie
Weekend Shows: Weekend Connection, Samaa Weekend Mix, Samaa Weekend
Party
TELEVISION NEWS PACKAGE
1. OC: On Camera
16-17 sec
Also known as intro. of news package,
Narrated by anchor/ news caster
2. VO: Voice Over
1: 50 min.
Narrated by reporter
Tips for Voice Over:
Short Sentences to maintain continuation
VO has to be subject to the script
Repeat entire sentence if fumble
Have a tape recorder with you and practice as must as possible
Self-criticism and self-reflection
Proper pace of voice
Narrate not read
CONTENTS OF NEWS PACKAGE…
3. SOT(Sound On Tape)/ SOUND BITE:
1 SOT should be of 10-15 sec.
1 package should have 2-4 SOTs
POV(point of view) or expert opinion of stakeholders in an issue
Not scripted
4. VOX-POP: No script, general public opinion
5.PTC: Piece To Camera
Direct closing remarks from reporter. Reporter usually reports from venue. C42 has a different
style
Avoid using English words in Urdu News, No repetition of ideas.