Lesson 10 – News Report: Narrative

Lesson 10

Starter

The worksheet provided asks you to choose ONE sentence from each of the boxes to make a news report.

Example– A local school teacher– Was interviewed– In Aldi– Last Saturday– For not using the red dog poo bins

Make five news stories!

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Todorov’s narrative theory

Tsyvetan Todorov claims that there are five stages to every narrative.

This could be applied to TV news reports, as they do follow a similar structure, although quite often a story may not have closure, i.e. hard news such as a conflict in a different country, which has continuity news value.

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Todorov’s narrative theoryLinking this to the 5 Ws, we come up with something like this:

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COPY THIS INTO YOUR BOOKS – you will need it later!

Stage 1

• The Equilibrium – Life is just as usual – NO NEWS

Stage 2

• The Disruption – A problem happens – NEWS – WHO and WHAT

Stage 3

• The Recognition – Think about how to resolve the problem – NEWS – WHERE and WHEN and WHY

Stage 4

• The Repair – Go ahead and resolve the problem – NEWS – WHAT

Stage 5

• The Restoration – Life returns to normal – NEWS – END

Writing a news report using the 5 Ws

Paired activity

Student 1 – find a news story in a newspaperStudent 2 – will be the interviewer and ask the 5 Ws questions

Complete the worksheet.

Then turn the answers into a concise (to the point) TV news report.

Can you write a hook?How will you end the report?

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Swap your TV news report with another pair!

Can you point out the 5Ws?

Can you apply the Todorov narrative theory to your news report?

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TV news report script terminology

Match the terminology with the definitions

• In groups of four:

• Cut up the sheets

• Quick tip – share out the terminology words between your group

• Glue your matched definitions on the sheet of paper

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Applying the terminologyUsing a TV news catch-up service – pick a TV news programme to view.

You will need to watch a 10-minute section.

• Can you apply the terminology from the starter?

Tick off the ones you find on the worksheet provided.

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Scriptwriting

Presenters read the news at 3 words per second.

This means a 10-second news report will contain 30 words.

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Plenary

QUICK QUIZ

In the back of your exercise bookswrite the numbers 1–4.

Are you ready?10

Plenary

Question 1

How many words per second does a TV news presenter read at?

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Plenary

Question 2

How many words does a 10-second report contain?

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Plenary

Question 3

What is an aston?

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Plenary

Question 4

What is a slug?

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Plenary

ANSWERS

1. 32. 303. An on-screen caption4. The title of a story

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Homework

Watch a TV news programme on a catch-up service. Pick one story and count how many words the presenter says. How long did the story take to present? Did it meet the 3 words per second rubric?

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