UNDERSTANDING AUDIO
PROCEDURES, BROADCAST
ETHICS, AND BASIC RADIO
NEWS PRODUCTIONS:
REVIEW OF AUDIO OPERATIONS
AND PRINCIPLES OF PRODUCING
RADIO NEWS FORMATS
Prof. Jeff P. Deatras
BABC, MPSDC, PH.D.(CANDIDATE)
Pressures and Philippine Radio
Production Ethics and Practices
• Mass media in the Philippines, with its oligarchic and
liberal nature has evolved along the fusion of principles
and theories of Western (American and European)
traditions of liberal ethics and practices.
• The task of effectively delivering messages
(information and entertainment) is over and above
practitioners and individual personalities.
• Everybody in the media industry is a slave to such
ethics and practices indeed.
Ethics and Practices on Time
• Filipino radio broadcasters schooled in the western
tradition but faced with unique local context have
institutionalized ethical principles and discipline on time
observed through the years
• Late submissions of scripts, materials, execution,
preparation, among many others, are met with
stringent sanctions----------suspension or job loss!
• Power holders in the radio industry put primary
emphasis on urgency through live on the spot
coverage or intermittent flash reports of day’s
news.
Ethics and Practices on Time
• Academic institutions teaching radio production must therefore
reflect such realities in the industry.
• No student should pass courses on media production
without strictly understanding the value of time.
• In media, “TIME IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN GOLD”
• Newsworthy events neglected by undisciplined broadcasters
are profits lost for an enterprising broadcasting company.
• Death is the only reason a broadcaster can explain his/her
tardiness or absence. NO REASON IS REASONABLE FOR
ABSENCE OR TARDINESS IN MEDIA PRODUCTION
• In class, mentors must subject tardiness and absence as
misbehavior getting conditioned or failed mark!
Guides to Accurate Production Time
• Cue needed soundtracks 3-5 seconds before the
target sound
• Based on its sequence in the script, record
soundtracks alternately in two disks (e.g. MSC 1
in CD1 and MSC 2 in CD 2). Back-up these in at
least another pair/s of disks.
• Rehearse, record, and wisely revise script, at
least five times before actual prod with all
needed materials, complete cast and crew.
Guides to Accurate Production Time
• Manual SFX and soundtracks must be placed
and sequenced as they appear in the script.
Prepare them without inviting accidents such as
choking and electric shocks.
• Always remind everyone of their major roles and
additional tasks.
• Begin and end rehearsals on time using hand
signals and cue cards rather than loud shouts
and nonsense laughs.
Guides to Accurate Production Time
• Wise revisions of the script means minor touches during
rehearsals and major modifications after group
brainstorming sessions.
• Retain the 5W’s and 1H of news and information scripts.
Retain the creative elements of narrative scripts (normal
conditions, problem-conflict, heightening of the problem
until the climax, resolution and reversals). All creative
revisions should retain such elements whether it goes for
compression or expansion.
• Directions should be well-thought and planned as one
re/writes the script. Poor timing are partly due to nonsense arrangements and transitions of soundtracks.
Sanctions to Misbehaviors
in Radio Productions
• Violation of punctuality or attendance in production
activities-------EXPULSION FROM TEAM OR FAILED
MARK.
• Uncalled and unrecognized speaking, passing of nonverbal messages, whispers, distractive gestures------EXPULSION FROM ACTIVITY OR FAILED MARK
• All forms of cheating------FAILED TERM OR FINAL
GRADE (according to the extent and manner).
PRINCIPLES OF RADIO PROD
• In a group of more or less 8-10 members, 5 will do the
role of the production crew and cast, the remaining 3-5
will be AD’s to maintain the IDEAL LEARNING AND
COMMUNICATION FLOW in class.
• As the production crew does the exercise, the AD’s will
prepare the critique of the performance. Other class
members uninvolved may prepare their critique as well.
• Other than the instruction from the professor, all
communication once the activity begins should be done
in hand or cue-card signals.
• SANCTIONS WILL BE STRICTLY OBSERVED.
PRINCIPLES OF RADIO PROD
• All AD’s will receive sanctions if they themselves
misbehave or unable to determine other violators in
class.
• Using the PRINCIPLE: COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY,
the professor will assume the role of the EP or SM.
• All members of the production crew must be
accountable to the mentor and are graded according to
how each assigned roles are performed
• Critiques from class members will be taken as
individual quizzes, grades determined by the professor.
PRINCIPLES OF RADIO PROD
• Other than major examination productions,
regular production exercises will constitute as
quizzes for members of the crew
• Major production examinations will be divided
into two parts: ORAL AND PRODUCTION
EXAMINATION.
• Point system between two-part examinations will
constantly vary according to what is ideal and
reflective of broadcast industry standards.
PRINCIPLES OF RADIO PROD
• During production examinations, reflecting the actual radioairing of a produced material, the professor will determine
the group grade------EVERYONE GETS THE SAME
GRADE. Reasonably, the group deserves the freedom to
assign roles to capable and excellent members.
• The logic for group grade comes from the fact that in real
radio programming, actual airing or productions are done
only once. Success or failure, it happens only once.
• The group/team is likewise rightful to sanction misbehaving
members.
PRINCIPLES OF THE ORAL EXAM
• Oral examinations will be graded individually.
• Questions will be based on the experiences learned,
principles applied, and theories understood by students
from lectures, discussions, and production exercises.
• Moreover, a special emphasis will be given to student’s
awareness of the actual production conditions reflected by
realistic radio programs in major station------DZMM, DZBB,
DZRH, AND OTHER REIGNING FM RADIO STATIONS.
• Students are thus advised to voluntarily research or fulfill
assigned interviews of the reigning production practices in
the industry.
Questions for Reflection
• Why are the positions of production crew vary according
to: a) academic training against realistic practice in the
industry; b) production type and nature; c) involvement of
budget, manpower skills, and ICT use?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of learning
production standards from academic training ad/or from
early training in realistic contexts of the industry.
• What are the loopholes of academic principles against the
real challenges of production in the industry or the
problems of realistic practices unguided by academic
principles and theories?
• What is the future of radio production with ICTS?
The Nature of Radio News Prod
• Radio news is technically less complicated but
demands accurate content and requires the in-depth
practice of broadcast journalism
• BGM as signature or theme and the creative use of
SFX and stingers are its only technical requirements.
• Radio news greatest challenges are in the gathering of
the news content, writing it into an effective script and
airing it on time.
• Poor stingers and wrong choices of theme/signature
MSC/SFX may prove news program ineffective
though.
Nature of Live vs Recorded Prod
• Live radio prod requires spontaneity while recorded
ones requires further creativity
• Radio news and musical programming are mostly
done live while narrative programs are usually
recorded.
• Production crew and talents for live prod are required
to be flexible and spontaneous while the wellrehearsed nature of recorded narrative are well-written
and performed following brevity and well chosen wordcontent that warrants replaying.
• In the radio, all productions aired are recorded anyway
Producing Stingers and Theme Sound
• Stingers should be produced from the combined
music, SFX and voice that mentions the slogan,
program title, or the popular name of a radio news
anchor
• Stingers must sound striking, provoking, and
stimulating.
• Theme or signature music/SFX are supposed to reflect
the urgency and compelling nature of radio news and
public affairs program. As BG, it must be lively and
worth one’s attention and memory.
EXERCISE
• In a group of 8-10 members, formulate a proposal plan
of a radio news program with complete parts as
rationale, objective, conceptual strategy/method,
airtime, budget, etc.
• Submit a recorded stinger (3-5 seconder) and a theme
music/SFX (30-seconder or 1-minuter)
• Proposal should be defended and critiqued in class
• Stinger and theme music/SFX will be evaluated as to
its relevance to the proposal and its technical and
creative aspects.
Prod Plan and Proposal
Speech Performance in News and
Musical Radio Productions
EXERCISE
• In a group of 8-10 members, conceptualize A) a 30seconder ad-commercial about an existing product
exclusively assigned by the mentor and; B) a oneminuter flash-report/newsbreak which details will
be given a few minutes before the production.
• Group members must have different concept,
strategies, format, and genre for the ad.
• Both ad and flash-report/newsbreak must use distinct
and different BGM and SFX.
• Entire production ends at exactly one minute and thirty
seconds.
EXERCISE
• PD will have a day to audition talent/s of his/her choice.
• Talent/s should be capable to perform both the adcommercial and at the same time adjust to the urgent
script of the NEWSBREAK.
• News details for the flash-report/newsbreak will be given
by a member of the class not involved in the production,
whom should be chosen and instructed by the professor.
• Such chosen news-informant must assume roles as
“reliable source” or “subject of the news” himself/herself.
He/she may be interviewed live via phone.
EXERCISE
• News-informant should write information for both the PD and
professor in a piece of paper to be submitted as his/her quiz in
100-150 words before the prod.
• Either as source or subject, informant must relate his/her fictitious
story into current events and news of the day.
• PD must write an urgent script for the newsbreak as accurate,
concise and, complete as possible.
• PD can be a talent for his/her production but must remember to
take note of the errors of his/her crew which will be the basis of
grading.
• PD’s notes of the errors will be announced loudly as he/she gives
individual grades. Professor replies with objections, affirmations,
elaborations, and asks further critique from class members.
EXERCISE
• PD is responsible for the crew’s grade. Irresponsible and
irrational grading will be deducted from the PD though.
• PDs will be picked by random. Hence, the entire day’s class is
given to a group but not all PDs may be picked.
• With all the post-prod and critiquing that follows after every PDs’
prod, the entire period will be utilized to pick as many PDs as
possible, at least three preferably.
• It is wise for PDs to get talents from classmates if doing it
himself/herself hinders the task of tracking down the errors of the
prod crew.
• Quiz scores will be taken from the a) two lowest scores, b) the
total average and; c) critique as added point.
EXERCISE
• Professor will announce role assignments from the
group table of production role.
• All groups are required to submit a matrix or table of
production role assignments and crew-names on the
first day of production of the first group
• Every second under-time or overtime will receive
5points minus from 100.
• Every error of crew/talent performance or unperformed
directions in the script will get 5points minus from 100.
• All sanctions from house-rules and protocols still apply.
Required Table of Crew Roles
PD
NAME
NAME
AD
(1-5)
TD
FD
SPNR
CRIT
TOTAL