Comm 3520 – Radio Journalism Fall 2012
Section 1 T-Th 12:25 p.m – 1:45 p.m. LNCO 2950
Instructor: Dan Bammes, KUER
801-581-6624
dbammes@utah.edu
Texts:
Kruger, Franz Radio Journalism Toolkit
The Salt Lake Tribune
Recording kit:
Marantz PMD660 Digital Audio Recorder
(provided by Comm Dept. - TeleComm Lab at the south
end of the building.... LNCO 275)
Required Radio Listening:
On the Media WNYC
KUER 2:00 p.m. Saturday, 10:00 a.m. Sunday
Listen online at www.onthemedia.org
Software:
 Adobe Audition v. 3.0 (installed on computers in OSH 112, the LNCO
Desktop Media Editing Lab and in the Marriott Library)
 Audacity v. 1.26 (free download from http://audacity.sourceforge.net)
 FileZilla FTP client (free download from http://filezilla-project.org)
Learning Objectives:
1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the principles of
communicating in aural media, including:
a.
b.
Using appropriate writing styles
Interpreting quantitative data and other complex information for
audio presentation.
c.
Listening and selecting the parts of conversation that best represent
the story
d.
Using natural and ambient sound to add context to stories.
2. Students will demonstrate skill in recording and editing audio and
presenting stories in aural media.
3. Students will demonstrate clear understanding of specific ethical issues in
broadcast journalism, including avoiding conflicts of interest, avoiding
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advocacy and bias and the legal and ethical issues unique to the use of
sound recordings.
Assignments:







10 90-second scripts
10 quizzes
2 actuality stories (45 seconds)
2 wrap stories (60 seconds)
1 audio postcard with natural sound (90 seconds)
Long-form story pitch
1 long-form, sound-rich feature (3 - 41/2 minutes)
Total points possible:
100 points
100 points
60 points
70 points
100 points
20 points
250 points
700 points
Grading: 60% = D 70% = C 80% = B 90% = A
KUER Visits
Students are invited to join the instructor in the KUER studio for a Morning Edition
broadcast with Dan Bammes from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. during the term.
Alternatively, students may volunteer to answer phones during KUER’s fall fund
drive. (You can do one or the other, but not both.) This is the only extra-credit
opportunity for this class. It’s worth 25 points.
Assignment due dates:
Actuality Assignment #1
Actuality Assignment #2
Wrap Assignment #1
Wrap Assignment #2
Long-Form Proposal
Audio Postcard Assignment
Long-Form Assignment DUE
13 September
20 September
4 October
18 October
27 September
8 November
6 December
Each audio story assignment includes a hustle score, based on the difficulty of
the assignment. More difficult work will get a higher score. Each student is
encouraged to reach beyond his or her comfort zone and into the community to
bring back stories of significant news value.
You can improve your hustle score by contacting multiple sources to balance the
story (even if you use only one sound bite). Going off-campus for the story also
helps. Persistent effort in reaching the right source to interview can also improve
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your score.
Stories turned in late will receive a lower (or no) hustle score. The long-form
story may not be turned in late, period. See detailed descriptions of the
assignments below.
The long-form story must include multiple interviews (at least 3), quantitative
data to help illustrate the story and natural sound recorded by the student
herself/himself.
Some of the 90-second scripts will be done in class. The rest must be printed
out and turned in at the beginning of class.
Quizzes are meant to encourage attendance, reading and listening. They will not
be announced in advance. The quizzes are multiple choice and typically take only
a few minutes of our class period.
E-mail: Your U-Mail address is the ONLY e-mail I will use to communicate with
you. University policy now requires each student to have an address in the U-Mail
system for official communication. Assignments must be submitted from your UMail address and updates will be sent to that address. Students are responsible
for receiving e-mail from the instructor. E-mail to the instructor should be sent to
dbammes@utah.edu.
Audio assignments will be uploaded to an FTP site.
hum.utah.edu port 22
Course materials will also be available at this
site.
User ID: 3520
Audio assignments include both the sound recording
and the script (except for the Audio Postcard). The
Password: b3r1ght
long-form story must include verbatim
transcriptions of the audio bites. Audio assignments must be submitted as .wav or
.mp3 files.
Unacceptable: Any story with a substantial error of fact, distorted audio or audio
not presented at nominal levels will have to be done over and will be counted late.
Plagiarism, faking a story, misrepresenting a source or dishonesty of any
kind will result in a failing grade.
University Policies: Information on University of Utah policies regarding
accommodations for disabilities, course content, attendance, academic honesty,
withdrawals, incompletes, grade disputes and other issues is available in a
document entitled University Policies on the FTP site. They are incorporated in
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this syllabus by reference.
Planning for the Long-Form Assignment
You should begin planning for the long-form assignment from the first day
of class. One good way to get an idea of the kind of story you're doing is to listen
to National Public Radio's Morning Edition and All Things Considered on KUER 90.1.
The magazine stories for these programs typically contain:
 Interviews with multiple sources (at least 3) representing different viewpoints
 Natural or ambient sound recorded in the environment where the story is
taking place
 Careful and descriptive writing demonstrating an in-depth understanding of
the subject and of the techniques of audio storytelling.
 Visual material to be included on a web page with the audio assignment. This
could be either still photographs or video.
Your stories must include all of these items in addition to quantitative data. Plan
now to find an appropriate and newsworthy subject and to have your interviews
lined up far enough in advance that you can spend enough time editing the story.
You'll have to write a proposal for the long-form story early in the semester and
get it approved, and you'll have to go through editing sessions with the instructor
before it's finished. It's a lot of work, and it's one-third of your grade for this
course. Don't wait! Get started now!
90-second scripts
The 90-second scripts represent the way many commercial radio stations
present their newscasts. You need to pick five stories from the Salt Lake
Tribune (in an industry setting you’d be using a wire service such as AP) and
rewrite them in a tight radio news style. Use the “ABC format” we’ll discuss in
class. These are some of the common issues students experience with these
assignments.
 Write the way you talk. Use simple, declarative sentences – subject –verb
– object.
 Don’t use subordinate clauses. (Any sentence that uses the phrase,
“According to . . . “ is using a subordinate clause.)
 Remember you’re writing to be heard. Read your stories out loud to be
sure they make sense.
 Keep sentences short. 15 words is as much as most people can get
through in a single breath.
 Write out abbreviations and don’t use dollar signs. Use the word,
“dollars” instead. This keeps your script timing accurate.
 Attribute everything unless you personally witnessed it or it’s a matter of
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common knowledge (“The earth revolves around the sun.”)
 Don’t use words that nobody uses in informal conversation. “States”
(when you mean says), “despite” (when you mean ‘even though’) are a
couple of examples.
 “Officials” is a lazy word used by lazy reporters too lazy to find out who’s
really responsible. Don’t use it.
 Don’t use direct quotes in these short radio stories. Paraphrase
statements attributed to individual sources.
 Make sure anyone accused of a crime is given the benefit of the
doubt. Attribute accusations to their source (police, prosecutors) or use the
word “alleged.”
 Leave out the subject’s age unless it’s critical to the story.
 Don’t use place names as adjectives: “A Murray man . . . “ That’s a
convention from print journalism that sounds stupid on the air.
 Use simple past tense in a story that has a time reference. (Governor
Herbert signed an agreement today . . . “ Use past participle (“The governor
of Utah has signed an agreement . . .” when there’s no specific time
reference in the sentence.
Actuality Assignments
An actuality is a radio quote. Sound bite is another term for the same thing. An
actuality story is also called a cut-and-copy story in the broadcast industry. It
consists of news copy written around the actuality, which is typically of a
newsmaker with firsthand knowledge of the facts -- an eyewitness, a politician or
citizen involved in an issue or someone else whose relevant view of the situation
justifies including the sound in the story.
You do not need to record this story in your own voice. Submit your script and
your audio in .wav format by uploading it to the FTP site.
Grading Criteria for Actuality Assignments
Writing
Audio
Hustle
Total:
10 points
10 points
5 points
25
points
Wrap Story Assignments
A wrap story is an actuality story delivered in the reporter's voice. Your
voice is wrapped around the actuality. Wrap stories should also include an anchor
lead (also spelled 'lede' in radio jargon), which is an introduction to be delivered
by the newscast anchor. The lede can (and should) contain significant facts as part
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of the story. You also need to add your name ("This is Dan Bammes reporting.") at
the end. Please submit a script with the lede and an audio file that includes your
narration with the actuality in the middle. Don't send the narration and the audio
separately. They should be together in a single .wav audio file ready to play on the
air. Upload this assignment to the FTP site.
Grading Criteria for Wrap Assignments
Writing
Audio
Performance
Hustle
Total:
10
10
5
5
points
points
points
points
30
points
Audio Postcard Assignment
An Audio Postcard is an opportunity to let sound tell the story. Our environment
is full of interesting sounds, from traffic noise to overheard conversations to music,
animals, nature and so many other wonderful things. Find something interesting
to listen to and record it. Then edit the story with minimal narration – just enough
to let us know what we’re hearing. The audio postcard assignment should be
about 90 seconds long. No script is required for this assignment. Upload the
audio file to the FTP site.
Grading Criteria for Audio Postcard Assignment
Writing/Concept
10 points
Audio
40 points
Quality of natural sound and narration
Audio Editing
30 points
Mixing, transitions, consistency of audio levels
Performance
10 points
Hustle
10 points
Total:
100 points
In-Class Listening Assignments
During most class periods we will be listening to radio stories and applying them to
discussions. Some stories will be available on the FTP site to listen to, but others
will not, so it’s important to be in class to listen and participate in the discussion.
Questions about our in-class listening will also be on the quizzes.
Long-Form Assignment
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This is where it all comes together. The long-form or "magazine" story uses all
the skills we've been working on in this class -- broadcast writing, interviewing,
recording, vocal performance and audio editing. The assignment is to produce a
story ready for broadcast that meets these requirements:

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
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3.5 to 5 minutes long.
Multiple interviews - at least 3
Natural sound that you record yourself -- the more the better.
Quantitative data -- numbers -- that help to illustrate the story.
A script that includes
o
An anchor lede (you don't need to record the lede) and
o
The sound bites transcribed verbatim.
Please do not submit a session (.ses) file from Adobe Audition or a project (.aup)
file from Audacity. They do not contain any audio -- only editing instructions to
the computer. Be sure to mix down the session file into a separate audio file and
submit that. If you're not sure how to do this, e-mail me and I'll explain it -again. Your script and a single audio file should be uploaded to the FTP site.
Grading criteria for the long-form story:
Writing
100 points
Includes news value, concept, organization, presentation and originality
Audio
50 points
Includes quantity and quality of interviews, narration and natural sound
Audio Editing
40 points
Mixing, transitions, consistency of audio levels
Performance
20 points
Visual elements
20 points
Pictures or video
Hustle
20 points
Total:
250 points