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Different voices; same message
Sourcing audio for news bulletins brings authenticity to the story - what kind of people can you use and how can you use them.
Actuality is all the audio used in a news bulletin which isn't the bulletin reader or another reporter, and can come in various forms:
- Eye-Witnesses Interviews: someone describing what happened
- Experts Interviews: Police officers, authors of reports etc
- Indirect Audio: Material that wasn't primarily intended for broadcast, such as speeches.
- Vox-Pops: What the man in the street says.
Auctuality in a bulletin is vital, it gives your story credibility and it breaks up the bulletin. But use it wisely, and don't fall into the following trap:
READER: President of the Union John Smith said he was unhappy with the University's decision
JOHN SMITH: I'm unhappy with the University's decision.
Taking the example of the mugging story on campus, you can get audio for all the above. You could have the victim, or a friend of the victim giving an eye-witness account; you could interview the police about what they are doing to catch the attacker; your Welfare Officer might be giving advice to first year students about the dangers of walking alone which you can record; and finally find out what other students think of whats happened. Again these are all valid news stories.
If you are really struggling with actuality, then you can use another member of your station to do a voice-piece. This helps to keep the listener interested by using a different voice, but as with all audio, make sure the voice-piece doesn't simply repeat what the news reader has said.