NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS

WHAT IS NEWS?
An expert said: “What comes first is news!”

News programme is a regularly scheduled radio or television program that reports current events. It is usually reported in a series of individual stories that are presented by one or more anchors. A news programme can include live or recorded interviews by field reporters, expert opinions, opinion poll results, and occasional editorial content.
News programs hit about 10 - 20 different stories, giving each one less than two minutes.

WHAT IS CURRENT AFFAIRS?
Someone told me: “Discussing today is Current Affairs!”

Current Affairs Programme is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast. This differs from regular news broadcasts where the emphasis is on news reports presented for simple presentation as soon as possible, often with a minimum of analysis. It is also different for the newsmagazine show format in that the events are discussed immediately. In current affairs discussion programmes, government officials, intellectuals, educationists, research scholars, economists, politicians, scientists and sociologists express their views. Current Affairs shows usually feature one or two guests in an interview format going in depth on one or two issues.
PURPOSE: The purpose of radio current affairs programme is to inform the public about issued and event. Rather than concentrating on the basic facts of a news story, they are aimed at helping listeners understand the meaning and the issues behind the news.

TYPES OF CURRENT AFFAIRS PROGRAMMES - TV
1. STUDIO PROGRAMMES:
a. Discussion / Talk Shows:
b. Interview:
c. Documentary
d. News Commentary: 
2. FIELD PRODUCTION:
3. SPORTS COVERAGE:
- Live Coverage of the Sports Events
- Recorded Programme
- Informative Programme

STRUCTURE CURRENT AFFAIRS PROGRAMMES - RADIO
Radio current affairs programs may focus on a single issue, such as an election, or may sum up the various events of a week. If they cover various stories they will usually have a unifying thread to tie the stories together.
The radio programme is structured as a series of ‘lead-ins’ followed by inserted support material (that is, live or recorded interviews, comments from experts, music and special effects). The lead-in is the introduction, or set-up of the story, given by the programme’s presenter. It does not tell the story but provides background information. Lead-ins are also designed to grab the listener’s attention and focus the story. They might provide a link between recorded material or they might be a series of questions asked of a guest.
An introduction with the name of the programme and its presenter
A summary of the issue
Formal language to introduce an issue
Background information on the subject
Various opinions presented
Quotes by or interviews with experts, politicians, or people directly involved
Linking sentences and phrases between various stories and between announcer’s comments and inserted support material.