A news bulletin (or newscast) is a short radio or television program that covers current events. They can range in length from seconds to hours and cover a wide variety of topics, including international and domestic politics, current affairs, sports, and weather. The goal of a news bulletin is to inform and stimulate discussion about the issues that affect people’s daily lives.
A good news bulletin will mix stories from different sources, allowing for different perspectives and covering a broad spectrum of interests. It will also provide a mixture of story types, using both long and short grabs and varying the pace of the stories in order to keep the audience engaged. A news bulletin must be reworked frequently to ensure that it is up to date and relevant. It is not acceptable to air stale news, and listeners are unlikely to stick around if they feel that the bulletin is not interesting or relevant to their lives.
If a particular story is of major importance, it should be the lead story in the bulletin, giving listeners a reason to tune in. The lead story is crucial, and it is essential to give it special attention, particularly in terms of its length and the tone used.
It is important to know the pace of each story and how it will sound on air. For example, a fire report will usually be written in short sentences using snappy words to express simple ideas. In contrast, a longer political controversy will require slightly longer sentences and words to explain complicated ideas.