A news bulletin is a short piece of radio broadcast news, giving the bare facts of stories and allowing listeners to understand what has happened before more depth is added in a full programme. A good news bulletin needs to meet a number of criteria. It should include a range of stories, with a balance of politics, world events and those that affect ordinary people such as health, education, jobs and homes etc. It should also be entertaining and engaging. Listeners want to hear a variety of voices and styles, from the serious to the light-hearted.
Creating a news bulletin requires a number of journalistic skills – clarity, brevity, vivid language and a sense of time. In addition to these, it is important to understand the audience. What will they want to hear and what will be of interest? A good news bulletin must be able to hold the attention of listeners, who are often busy and multi-tasking. It is important to avoid using jargon, technical descriptions or complex words which could confuse the audience. It is worth remembering that a radio audience may be a very broad one and that there are many people who know more about a particular subject than the broadcaster does.
A good news bulletin is a well written and presented story in an appropriate time frame. It must be refreshed and reworked for each broadcast. This is particularly true of the lead story, which should be given special attention to ensure that listeners will be able to comprehend what has happened.
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