The problem of what topic you can make an event report on is not as simple as it seems. The modern world is overflowing with information. Every minute there are a lot of events that can be covered in a reportage. How to determine which event is newsworthy and which is not. The problem of selecting the most important and the most interesting events, the ones that will be covered in the TV news, is the problem of news coverage. Otherwise known as the problem of news selection. David Randall defines news as: “It is fresh and unusual information on a topic of general interest, previously unknown. Therefore, the material for an event report must be fresh, unusual and of interest to the viewer. The most important thing is to choose such information for the future reportage out of hundreds and thousands of others. Everett Dennis’s book Media Talks has a list of the most interesting news stories for television viewers:
- 1. Conflict and clash of interests of people, countries and organizations (including terrorist attacks, demonstrations and military actions)
- Catastrophe, accident, natural disaster, other emergencies
- Consequences of some significant event, new facts of some high-profile incident
- Political and economic news (about the adoption of new laws, meetings at the highest level, conclusion of political agreements, election results)
- Cultural and sports news (the opening of an exhibition, a film festival, or a championship)
- Significant events in the life of famous people (anniversary of an artist)
On all of these topics are often created event reports, because all of them, regardless of their importance are tied to a particular event, information occasions of another nature more often serve to create a thematic report. Therefore, a journalist who chooses a topic for an event report should only pay attention to specific events that have occurred recently. Of course, this list is not exhaustive of all possible newsworthy topics. Event reports can also be on other topics, the main thing is that they should be directly about the event of great interest to the viewer.
This is another important principle of news coverage: the news must be of general interest. In other words, news is not only what people need to know, but also what they are interested in knowing.
Therefore, when choosing a newsbreak for a report, we must first of all take these criteria into account. For example, a news item such as the strike of the plumbers, dissatisfied with the wages. Yes, it meets the first criterion: the news is tied to the event. But is it interesting to the viewer? Do viewers need to know about it? Do they need to know it, do they need it? Many of them have never seen a plumber in their house anyway. Do people want to know about it? Most viewers (if they’re not plumbers) are just interested in the subject. And some stories, on the contrary, can fall into several categories at once: they are both interesting and necessary. For example, a report on the adoption of a new law raising the salaries of state employees will attract many more viewers.
Depending on the subject of information, an event report may be:
Situational (unplanned). Usually such reports are prepared about unexpected events. For example, a bank robbery, an act of terrorism or the resignation of the president on New Year’s Eve.
Hard (planned). The fact that such a report will be prepared is known in advance because the event itself is known in advance, it has already been planned. This event could be, for example, an exhibition, a court session, or a press conference of the President.
Background. Such reports contain a story not only about the event itself, but also about its causes and the events that preceded it. The report should contain several points of view, so as not to lose objectivity. If, however, the reportage is devoted only to the analysis of the causes of an event, already known to everyone and not new, then the event reportage will turn into a thematic reportage.
Kit Reporting. Such reports in some way supplement the material that comes before them. This type of reporting allows the viewer to better understand and assess the whole set of circumstances surrounding the conflict, to look at it from different angles. For example, while a situational report on the military action against Yasser Arafat in Ramallah will reveal some of its details, the background report that follows will also point to the causes (confrontation between Palestine and Israel, etc.).
Irrespective of the news, the work of the voice-over reporter is complex and demanding. His task is first and foremost to inform about the event accurately and in sufficient detail. In this case the preparation for the report comes down to the preliminary collection of data about the upcoming event and writing some blanks, and to get all the information already on the spot. This is when the event is planned. But more often a reporter has to report on random, urgent events. Sometimes they have to do it live, and then the reporter has no opportunity like a newspaperman to think over every word and every phrase and then reread his material, edit it, correct it. The reporter is often confronted with unexpected situations and is often in the same position as the viewer who sees the material for the first time. Such reporting is one of the most difficult genres of news and is called breaking news. They usually come first in the newscasts.