Page 73 - Convergent Journalism an Introduction Writing and Producing Across Media

Story Formats

includes a picture of the mayor, then the lead must include the mayor’s
name. As with radio, TV readers usually don’t run longer than 15 to
20 seconds.
The next level of TV complexity is the voiceover or VO. With VOs,
the anchor usually starts reading on camera and then continues to read
as the audience sees video that relates to the content of the story. Most
voiceovers don’t run beyond 30 to 40 seconds, but the story and interest
of the pictures will ultimately determine length.
The next level of complexity is the VO/SOT and includes variants
such as VO/SOT/VO or SOT/VO or just SOT. This type of TV story is
a mixture of voiceover with sound on tape. As with a VO, it typically
starts with the anchor on camera, then the anchor continues to talk
while the audience sees video, then the story goes to someone talking
on tape. That’s usually a bite or sound bite—the TV equivalent of the
radio actuality.
The package or pack is a prerecorded blend of video, bites, nat-
ural sound, reporter track, and reporter standup. Commonly, these
reporter packages start with either a brief nat sound full or a short bite.
They then go to the reporter talking over the video that we’re seeing. 63
Bites and additional material spoken by the reporter are also woven
into the package. Somewhere within that package, we usually have a
reporter standup, where we see and hear the reporter talking. These
days, reporter packages tend to run a minute and a quarter to a minute
and a half, but some stations still run packages that are up to two and
a half minutes long.
The last TV category is the live report. Sometimes, this simply
involves a reporter on location talking about something that is hap-
pening or just happened. More commonly, it involves a reporter live
on location introducing and then wrapping up a prerecorded package.
Typically, these reports start with the anchor introducing the story.
We then see what’s called a double box with the anchor in one box on
the screen and a reporter in the other box. As the reporter starts to
speak, we switch to the reporter full screen who continues live. On
a set roll cue, the station runs the video of the reporter package that
has been put together earlier. When the package is over, instead of the
standard, prerecorded package outcue (something like, “Alyssa Jones,
Channel 8 News, downtown”), we go back to the reporter live on loca-
tion who wraps up the story. In many cases, we go back to a double box
with the reporter and anchor and may go back and forth with Q&A.