BBC News

Page last updated at 17:28 GMT, Monday, 9 July 2007 18:28 UK

Lesson 5: Ordering news reports

This lesson has been updated and the new version can be found by following this link:

LESSON OVERVIEW

A student deciding on the top three stories of his running order
Students order several reports to make a news programme.

They examine the newsworthiness of reports, different types of news - e.g. sport, entertainment, local, international - and consider their appeal to different audiences.

LESSON 5 ACTIVITIES AND RESOURCES
Activity Preferable resources Low tech alternative
1 Intro video: Running orders and audiences Internet access or DVD Print out of a BBC running order (pdf from this page)
2 Online game: Running orders Internet access Print-outs from the BBC website
3 Your running order Worksheet 5.1 and internet access Worksheet 5.1 and a selection of today's newspapers
4 Plenary presentation None required None required
Ext Different audiences Lined paper Lined paper


CURRICULUM RELEVANCE

These documents outline the key curriculum areas covered in lessons 1-6 for 11 to 14-year-olds.

1. INTRODUCTION VIDEO: ORDERING NEWS REPORTS

Explain to students: Once the news stories have been assembled, they need to be put into an order to be broadcast on TV, radio or online. This is called a running order.

VIDEO: ORDERING THE NEWS
Huw Edwards

Students watch this clip in which Huw Edwards examines the running order of a news programme.

He explains the reason behind an editor's choice, touching on lead reports, round-ups and final stories.

He stresses the importance of journalists sticking to the editor's decision about how long a report should be and selecting stories to suit the audience.

While watching, students answer these questions:

  • What kind of story is often at the beginning of a news programme?
  • What kind of reports are often in the middle?
  • What kind of story is often at the end?

Students feedback their answers to the group.

1. LOW TECH ALTERNATIVE: ORDERING NEWS REPORTS

Print out and distribute copies of this BBC running order.

Ask students if they can identify some of the TV code in the running order.

RUNNING ORDER CODE
VT = video tape
GFX = graphics
OOV = Out Of Vision


Here are a few to begin with. There are more in the glossary.

Ask students:

  • Describe the audience at which this news programme is aimed. How can you tell?
  • What is the first story? Why has this been chosen as the top or lead story?
  • What is the last story? Why has this been chosen as the final story - sometimes known as the and finally?
  • How many different types of news are there in the running order. Name them.

2. ONLINE GAME: RUNNING ORDER
PRESS PACK GAME
Press Pack editor tutorial graphic

Then click on Top floor, Correspondent area, Editor tutorial, Start tutorial, Play the game.
In order to access the top floor of the Press Pack, where this game is situated, PressPackers must have earned 1,000 points. However a fast track ID for teachers is available.

Students play this game from the Press Pack website which teaches students how to compile a running order.

You can use individual computers or display it on an interactive whiteboard for use with the whole class.

Ask students:

  • Which stories did you use, in which order and why?
  • If you were making a running order for an adult audience would you choose different news stories? Why?

2. LOW TECH ALTERNATIVE: RUNNING ORDER

Group work

WEEK IN PICTURES
An Iraqi boy peers at the fish in an aquarium at a public market in central Baghdad
The week in pictures is denoted by a date. The ARCHIVE GALLERIES section provides previous weekly pictures.
Print out and distribute to each group a copy of a weekly picture gallery from the BBC News website.

Describe the BBC News website audience to students: mostly adults.

Students use a selection of stories from the gallery to compile a running order for a news programme/website which appeals to the same audience. They must discard two stories and order the rest, including a lead story and an "and finally" story.

Groups present their running order and explain their choices.

Ask students:

  • Which stories did you use, in which order and why?
  • If you were making a running order for a children's news programme would you chose different stories? Why?

3. YOUR RUNNING ORDER

Pair work

Using worksheet 5.1, students select and order five of today's news stories to suit THEIR audience for THEIR News Day.

Begin by asking students to define their audience and the type of news they will be interested in.

CEEFAX
National news headlines - pg 102
Newsround headlines - pg 570
In addition to the BBC News and CBBC Newsround websites, students may find the headline pages of Ceefax a useful source.

As a low tech alternative, students could look at the daily local, regional and national newspapers.

Tip: It may be easier to begin by choosing the lead & and finally stories of the running order.

Note: The stories students looked at in activity 2 were national stories. That is because the BBC's audience is UK-wide.

The left hand navigation of the BBC News and Newsround websites
Navigation of the CBBC Newsround and BBC News websites
However a local take on a national story might be more interesting to a school-based audience and something happening in the school itself might be the most important. Your local BBC news website will tell you about today's stories in your area. It's up to the students to decide on a suitable running order.

Students should also aim for a wide variety of types of news e.g. sport, entertainment, political. Have a look at the navigation on the left hand side of the BBC News or CBBC Newsround website for different types of news.

4. PLENARY PRESENTATION

A few students present their running orders to the rest of the class - their audience.

The whole class stand up to indicate that they are listening to the programme. They sit down as soon as they lose interest, indicating the point at which they would "switch" or "click" off.

The group which maintains the interest and attention of the majority of the audience for the longest time is the winner!

The rest of the class define why this running order was the most appealing to the audience.

EXTENSION ACTIVITY: DIFFERENT AUDIENCES

A scene from the fairy-tale drama, I Was A Rat
Students list the ingredients of a fairy tale.

The five Ws may help them, for example: who - princess, dragon; what - imprisoned, rescue, marriage; where - castle, cave.

Explain to students that the intended audience for a fairy tale is children. They must now imagine they are re-writing the tale for an adult audience.

Ask students:

  • If you think of the tale as a recipe, which ingredients would you add to make it appeal to adults?
  • Which ingredients would you leave out?

Additional resources on ordering the news can be accessed from the SEE ALSO and RELATED BBC LINKS at the top right of this page.

Approved rubber stamp graphic
This lesson has been approved by the BBC College of Journalism.


SEE ALSO
Different audiences
11 Aug 05 |  Word

RELATED BBC LINKS


PRODUCTS & SERVICES

AmericasAfricaEuropeMiddle EastSouth AsiaAsia Pacific