ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the basic principles required to make the added value of sounds and images to a broadcast news or web story worth readers’ and viewers’ time. The addition of audio and video becomes a way to increase the potential for learning and understanding on the part of the audience, with the narration enhanced by an additional mode of conveying information. Radio journalism relies on three story forms based on the use of audio: the reader, the wrap-around and the package. Backlighting happens when a journalist positions a subject in front of a window or other bright, light-colored surface. Radio is the original form of broadcast journalism. Video shot during interviews that will later be used for soundbites should contain some visual interest as well. If the words don’t match the pictures, audience members must decipher the onscreen visuals at the cost of paying attention to the audio narration.
