You have recently been hired as the news director for a local news station. It’s time to prep for your first newscast. Your newscast will have five blocks and will be 60 minutes long. You need to cover the following in your newscast:
Scores from last night’s high school football games
A big storm that is approaching
The daily and weekly weather forecast
Information on a 15-car pileup on the main freeway in town
Your 10 on the 10, a brief overview of the 10 most important local stories at 10 past the hour
Viewer submitted photos
A reminder about an exposé on local water sources coming the next day
You must also include at least three teasers and a transition from block to block. And don’t forget about the four commercial breaks. They’re three minutes long each!
Write out a plan for your first newscast, including both what is contained in each block and how long each block will last. Identify where your teasers, transitions, and commercials will go. Remember, some blocks can be shorter than others, if necessary. Type up this plan in one sitting. It should be at least three pages long.
Newscast Plan
Block 1: (12 minutes)
- Opening Theme and introduction by Anchors (1 minute)
- Meteorologist presents last night’s high school football scores (2 minutes)
- Transition to Weather Segment (10 seconds)
- Meteorologist presents the big storm approaching (3 minutes)
- Transition to Commercial Break 1 (10 seconds)
- Commercial Break 1 (3 minutes)
Block 2: (10 minutes)
- Introduction from Anchors (15 seconds)
- Meteorologist presents the daily weather forecast (2 minutes)
- Transition to 10 on the 10 Segment (10 seconds)
- 10 on the 10: Brief overview of the 10 most important local stories (3 minutes)
- Transition to Commercial Break 2 (10 seconds)
- Commercial Break 2 (3 minutes)
Block 3: (12 minutes)
- Introduction from Anchors (15 seconds)
- Traffic Reporter presents information on the 15-car pileup on the main freeway (3 minutes)
- Transition to Viewer Submitted Photos (10 seconds)
- Viewer Submitted Photos segment (3 minutes)
- Transition to Commercial Break 3 (10 seconds)
- Commercial Break 3 (3 minutes)
Block 4: (12 minutes)
- Introduction from Anchors (15 seconds)
- Reminder about exposé on local water sources (2 minutes)
- Transition to Anchors on set (10 seconds)
- Anchors discuss upcoming stories and teasers (3 minutes)
- Transition to Commercial Break 4 (10 seconds)
- Commercial Break 4 (3 minutes)
Block 5: (12 minutes)
- Introduction from Anchors (15 seconds)
- Recap of top stories and final thoughts (3 minutes)
- Transition to End of Newscast (10 seconds)
- Closing segment with Anchors (2 minutes)
- Transition to Commercial Break 5 (10 seconds)
- Commercial Break 5 (3 minutes)
Total Airtime: 60 minutes
Teasers:
1. Teaser 1: "Coming up, scores from last night’s high school football games, will your favorite team make it to the playoffs? Stay tuned!"
2. Teaser 2: "A big storm is approaching, find out how it will impact your plans for the weekend in just a few minutes."
3. Teaser 3: "Viewer submitted photos capturing the beauty and spirit of our community. Don't miss this heartwarming segment!"
Transitions:
1. Transition 1: "Now, let's take a look at yesterday's high school football games and how your favorite teams fared."
2. Transition 2: "Speaking of weather, let's check in with our meteorologist for the daily forecast."
3. Transition 3: "That's all for this segment, now let's take a moment to appreciate the incredible photos our viewers have shared with us."
Commercial Breaks: (3 minutes each)
- Commercial Break 1: After the high school football scores segment.
- Commercial Break 2: After the 10 on the 10 segment.
- Commercial Break 3: After the viewer submitted photos segment.
- Commercial Break 4: After the anchors' discussion segment.
- Commercial Break 5: After the closing segment with anchors.
Overall, this newscast plan aims to provide a diverse range of information, engaging segments, and relevant updates to keep the audience informed and entertained. The structure allows for smooth transitions, important commercial breaks, and teasers to keep viewers engaged and eager to continue watching.