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“The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason. “ Hunter S. Thompson

Television Storytelling Styles -Narrative Style -Diamond Style

Narrative Style: Lead: a sentence (or two) previewing and selling the essence of the story Body: the bulk of the story, usually told in chronological order through use of narrative storytelling. Conclusion: a final thought bringing the story to a logical conclusion. Narrative style example

Diamond Style: The story starts with a singular individual affected by an issue. It then broadens to discuss the wider issue and its effects and then returns to the individual first introduced at the start of the story. Diamond style example

Television Story Forms Almost all copy in local television news revolves around three basic story forms: - the v/o (voice-over) - bite v/o (or variations with clips) - the SOT (sound-on-tape) or package (PKG)

The v/o v/o is short for voice-over. The anchor “voices over” the video and typically appears on camera only for the first line of the copy. In addition, the anchor may appear on camera for the final line. The typical v/o runs 25 to 35 seconds.

The bite v/o A bite v/o is a v/o that contains a short video interview (a sound bite or clip). The sound bite generally runs 7 to 13 seconds. Typically, a bite v/o runs about 45 seconds.

The SOT/PKG The SOT or PKG is a self-contained story on tape that includes both reporter narration and interviews. The typical package runs about 1:30, but length varies depending on the importance and news worthiness of the item. These are usually introduced by an anchor or the reporter who created it. The anchor or reporter may also wrap up the story after it finishes.

The anchor copy introducing the SOT is referred to as the “lead” or “throw.” The anchor copy following the SOT is referred to as the “tag.” A lead and tag might add an additional 20 seconds to a SOT. The SOT/PKG

Anatomy of a SOT - Intro (the lead) - Clips (from interviewees) - Voice-overs - Covering viz/ cutaways - Sound bites (natural sound from the scene) - Bridge (or stand-up) - reporter is on-camera furthering the story by setting-up the next clip - Extro (final thoughts) - Sign-off (station, name and location) - SOT example SOT example