ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the principles of radio editing, guidelines for television (TV) editing and the ethics of editing. Editing is the process of selecting information for broadcast. There are dozens of digital editing software programs for both radio and television. Editing is much more straightforward than in the days when you had to spin the spools of an analogue machine by hand, running quarter-inch tape across the playback head and listening for the beginnings and ends of words. TV editing on modern software is extremely versatile, and elaborate effects can be achieved relatively quickly. The programme information on digital editing systems is presented on a timeline. A jump cut can be a cut between two parts of the same shot – such as sections of an interview – or a problem with the continuity of the action on screen. The natural sound from dramatic news pictures should always be highlighted: the explosion; the collapsing building; people cheering or screaming.
