CFRU-FM PUBLIC AFFAIR MANUAL Zorka Rosales, Joan McGregor Table of Contents Chapter 1 CFRU-93.3 FM Community Radio in Guelph I. Introduction...............................3 II. Staff......................................3 III.Equipment, offices and studios.............3 Chapter 2 What is G.I.R.C ? I. Goals of G.I.R.C...........................5 II. Interconnections; G.I.R.C.'s radio show..5 Chapter 3 Radio I. As a media source..........................5 II. As a development education tool............6 Chapter 4 Program Guidelines I. Purpose....................................6 II. Format.....................................6 III.Creativity.................................7 IV. Content....................................7 V. Summary....................................8 Chapter 5 How to Start?! I. Listening to old public affairs shows......8 II. Idea for a topic...........................8 III.Researching................................8 IV. Interviewing...............................9 V. Dubbing clips and editing.................11 VI. Writing the script........................12 VII.Final mixing..............................18 VIII.Program process... a summary.............18 Chapter 6 Conclusion....................................18 Appendix 1 Glossary .....................................19 Appendix 2 CFRU subscriptions............................20 Preface This manual was originally written by Zorka Rosales of the Guelph International Resource Centre. It was edited and revised by Joan McGregor of CFRU-FM in 1989. It is intended to assist public affairs programmers at CFRU in producing shows. Hopefully all of the information needed to start and finish a show is contained within this manual. Before you start to work on your show go through the manual and highlight the sections that you think are important. Chapter 1. Introduction to CFRU 93.3 FM I. Introduction CFRU-FM or Radio Gryphon is a campus/community station broadcasting from the second floor of the University centre at the University of Guelph. It is different from commercial radio and different than the CBC (public radio). CFRU services the community of Guelph and the University with a variety of programming including news, public affairs, ethnic programming, and all genres of music. CFRU's mandate is to provide the Guelph community with coverage of events and issues that are not often given coverage on other radio stations. All of CFRU's programming is done by volunteers and coordinated by two full-time and three part-time staff. Sometimes there are additional staff who are funded through federal or provincial grants. Approximately 50% of CFRU's volunteers come from the University community. The other 50% come from the community at large. In the past, University of Guelph students have produced public affairs shows for a University of Guelph credit. If you are interested in this possibility talk to News Director. CFRU's funding comes mostly from the $3.50 received each semester from every full-time undergraduate at the University of Guelph. Since CFRU is a non-commercial station very little (approximately 10%) of our funding comes from advertising. You will receive a full orientation to the station before you begin your first show. The staff will teach you how the equipment is used and give you any help you require. II. The Staff Station Manager: S/He is in charge of everything that goes on at the station from volunteers to programming. (1989- Monique Lanoix). Full-time. News Director: S/He is in charge of all news and public affairs programming, as well as features within 12'Clock High (noon to 1pm weekdays) and the CFRU Report (5-5:30pm). S/He is the person who will explain to you how to put together a public affairs show.(1989-Doug Watt). Full-time. News Assistant: S/He helps News Director by writing and reading news casts at 7;30am, 8:30am and 5pm. Part-time. Music Director: S/he is in charge of all of the music at the station from play lists to ordering records. Part-time. Production Manager: S/he is responsible for making public service announcements, advertisments, and promotional announcements for CFRU sponsored events. (1989-Alex Prediger). Part-time. III. The Equipment, Offices, and Studios In total there are four studios; the production studio, studio A (for interviews), the training studio (for training music programmers), and the On-Air studio. There are three offices; the main office, where the three part-time employees work, the Station Manager's office, and the news room where the News Director works. And of course, CFRU has a record library. Here is a short description of some of the rooms/studios: a) The News Room - You will need to use this room if you want to do a phone interview. Talk to the News Director to set up a time for a phone interview. The portable tape recorders called remotes are kept in the filing cabinet in the news room. Remotes must be signed out and approved to avoid double booking. Cassettes can also be signed out in the news room. Cassettes at CFRU are used over and over again. Record the cassette onto a reel as soon as possible and return the cassette to the news room. If you need a place to edit or listen to tape and none of the other studios are available ask the News Director if you can use the equipment in the news room. b) The Production Room - This is the main room for people interested in public affairs programming. This is where all pre- taped material is produced and all public affairs shows are pre- taped. You will be shown how to use this room during 2 or 3, one hour training sessions. This room is in high demand. It must be booked about a week in advance. Only book this room when you're ready to use it. For example, don't book it and then use it to write script in. Only use this studio when necessary. If you can do your work in another room or studio then do so. This room should be used for recording from one reel machine to another, recording interviews, recording from cassette to reel or visa- versa, or mixing a final show. It should not be booked solely for editing or listening to recorded material. Equipment in the production room includes two turntables, a main mixing board, two 2-track reel machines, two cassette decks, one 4-track reel machine, one cartridge deck, and a de-magnetizer for erasing audio tape. Blank reels are kept in the production room on the table at the back. Never take a reel from anywhere else at CFRU unless you are given permission from a staff member. Only people on the production list can get into the Production Room after hours. You must also carry a valid CFRU volunteer card. c) The Record Library - Approximately 9,000 records available for your use. - Records are listed alphabetically in a binder and then shelved by number. - Only trained volunteers and staff are allowed in the library; NO GUESTS! - It is against the law to tape records, cassettes or CDs from CFRU's library. - It's against the law to take any record, cassette, or CD for any reason out of CFRU. - The library door is shut when CFRU staff are in the station, and locked when they are not. - Anyone using the record library must sign in. A sign-in book is kept in the on-air studio. - the key is kept in the on-air studio for when the library is locked. d) On-Air Studio - Transmits all programming, whether it is live or taped. The equipment in this studio includes two turntables, one cassette deck, one cartridge deck, two 2-track reel to reel machines, and a CD player. There is also a reel to reel machine that logs all programming for the CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission). e) Studio A - This is the interview room. It has three microphones. Use this room in conjunction with the production room to record interviews. This room has a cassette deck and a reel to reel machine so you can also use this room to edit and listen to material. This room must be booked approximately one week in advance. f) The Training Studio - This is the room where all CFRU music programmers train. There are two turntables and a reel to reel machine in this room. You can use this room for listening to material or writing script when it's not in use. Music programmers in training are given first priority for use of this room. g) General Stuff There are a couple of rules for all of the studios. There is no smoking, drinking or eating in any of the studios. You can drink, eat or smoke all you want in the lounge area. Smoking, eating and drinking can damage the equipment. Chapter 2. What is G.I.R.C? The Guelph International Resource Centre is a non-profit, non-governmental organization involved in development education. As a central information resource centre, it promotes and assists other local groups and individuals who share a concern for our worlds' future. I. The Goals of G.I.R.C. * To become aware of the interconnections between one's own life, one's society, and the world as a whole. * To develop the skills which allow for the critical analysis of these interconnections. * To acquire the ability to respond constructively and flexibly to local, national, and global events. II. Interconnections; G.I.R.C.'s Radio Show Interconnections is a half-hour public affairs show broadcast on CFRU 93.3FM. Public affairs programming at CFRU deal with issue-oriented spoken word programming. Interconnections is broadcast on CFRU every Tuesday from 5:30 to 6:00 pm. It concerns itself with development issues. It uses radio as a development education tool. It aims to make our listeners aware and hopefully bring them a personal connection to the issues of development. Guelph is one of three learner centres in Ontario to have a radio show on community radio. The other centres are in London and Toronto. The input of volunteers to the radio show is vital. The purpose of this manual is to provide volunteers with useful resources on how to approach programming and production of a radio show. Chapter 3. Radio I. Radio as a Media Source The three most popular ways people receive information are through television, newspapers, and radio. The challenge of radio is to catch and maintain your audience's attention. You are dealing strictly with the sense of hearing, and you must keep their attention through this sense. Radio is more accessible than television and requires less concentration than reading a newspaper. People tune in when driving, working in the office, or working around the house. Since it has no visual effects it may be lost as background noise if it isn't kept exciting. People rely on the media as a source of honest and accurate information. To be an honest and accurate source of information one must research the issue, and in most cases that will entail interviewing experts in the field. The dynamics of how to interview will be presented in Chapter 5 (IV) of this manual. II. Radio: A Development Education Tool First, what is development education? It is education about development. Development is a process encompassing change- economic, political, and social. As well as respecting the cultural values and ability of peoples and nations to master their own destiny. Second, how can we teach dev. ed? I will focus on using radio as a means of educating people about development. Otherwise there are a variety of non-governmental organizations that teach dev.ed through workshops, newsletters and introducing it into school curriculums. Interconnections, the radio show, has one main objective, and that is to educate the audience at their level. You are trying to reach the Guelph community, not just students attending university. Your style should remain constant and your script written in a conversational tone. When you broadcast you will be verbally expressing ideas, therefore, those ideas should cater to the simple everyday language. This way radio is used as a tool to let people know about events, news, ideas, music, etc. The development educator should not take for granted the amount of information a listener might have. For example , your listener is probably not aware of all the acronyms in your show so say them in full. You must also give reason for your potential listener to tune in. Do this by advertising your show and coming up with good topics. Development education makes links between the Third World and Canadians and how our lives interconnect. You are basically dealing with Third world issues and Canadian involvement. Working within the theme of international development you cover a wide range of issues, like politics, literature, economics, nutrition, etc. Chapter 4. Program Guidelines I. Purpose What is the reason for doing this topic? Be sure that the topic fits the GIRC mandate. It might be a topic that someone suggested, chosen from your personal interest, or a current news event. Interconnections informs the listener, and at times provides alternative ways of approaching issues. It encourages Canadian participation at community, provincial, national and, for those over-achievers at the international level. II. Format There are different types of shows you can do. For example: a) An Interview show: You seek out and interview a resource person that is knowledgable in a particular field. Example: Zorka Rosales produced a show on women in development for Interconnections. She asked people at G.I.R.C and the radio station if there was anyone on campus that knew about that topic. She was referred to Professor Nora Cebotarev, from the department of sociology and Zorka interviewed her. There are basically two types of interview shows. One is a feature interview. In this case one person makes up the bulk of your show. This person must be very well qualified. The other type of interview show is one that consists of segments of the interview with script inbetween these clips. Clips are isolated segments of an interview. b) Clips from a lecture: In this case segments of a lecture are isolated and used in the show. These can be interspersed with interview clips and your script. c) Music Show: Cultural, indigenous or political music about a particular continent or country might be the theme for this type of show if you were producing Interconnections. It might be wommin in the blues if you were producing Feminist Frequency. You research and gather songs that are somewhat relevant to each other. Prior to the song or after it, you introduce it and discuss the significance of this song. This kind of show is fun to do. For example a music show was done on South Africa for Interconnections. The producer chose an anti-apartheid theme and included songs from Peter Gabriel's Biko and other African groups that sing anti-apartheid protest music. d) Literature show: This kind of show requires a longer script than most other kinds of shows. You choose a particular author that has some outstanding quality in reference to the theme of the show. For example the author could be a novelist, essayist, or poet. Your job is to integrate some of his or her life (an autobiography or biography), along with readings/excerpts of his or her novels, essays, or poems. As a recommended option you may choose to decorate the show with music, especially underneath some readings. e) Drama show: Much along the same lines as a literature show, this kind of show calls for a number of readers/actors. Choose a play, with a relevant theme, where the calculated time will not exceed your show time. III. Creativity A public affairs show is a documentary show. This means the bulk of the show consists of you and your guest talking. This can be quite boring to the listener. Generally speaking your audience has an attention span under 10 minutes long, therefore you must have some creative approach to regain their attention as well as giving them a rest from all the information . Here are suggestions you may find useful when producing the show. a) Music Bridges: This is a piece of instrumental music that is on a cart (similar to an 8-track tape) at the radio station. They are approximately 20-30 seconds long. They are used to give the listener a rest, or fill time for your show if it is too short. Music bridges also help to change the topic or direction of the show. b) Background Noises: When interviewing you may have background noises that you would like to keep. If the background noise is relevant to your show then it will add authenticity. c) Music!! Music has a thousand uses. You may want to use a song relevant to your topic. Ask the Music Director for suggestions. Music playing under the speaker's voice may add emotion to the message. IV.Content Try and narrow down the idea for your show so you'll have a clear focus. Too many different angles or ideas on one theme can confuse your audience. Once you have narrowed down your idea to a workable theme, you now begin the arduous task of research. You must learn about the topic you are presenting. In case your guest speaker sounds too academic, it is your responsibility to explain in simple terms the ideas being presented. Never assume that your audience knows anything about the subject. Be sure to explain all technical terms and words that are not used in everyday language (ie acronyms). Objectivity is a myth. Bias can't be eliminated but you can present both sides of the issue. We all have are own ideas on issues, but, if you expose both sides of the story then the listener can make up her/his own mind. Otherwise you may sound preachy and not credible. Try to present information that is accurate and complete. V. Summary a) Keep to GIRC'S mandate. b) Educate - inform your audience in a positive way. c) Identify - an issue or concern, about Canadians and the Third World. You present this in an analytical format. d) Propose Alternatives - encourage audience participation in global concerns. e) Be as truthful as you can. You have a responsibility to your audience. There must be an accurate presentation of facts. f) With the production of each show there must be a written script. A copy of the script should be kept both at CFRU and at GIRC. g) Follow CRTC rules. Ask a CFRU person about this if you're in doubt. Basically the content of your show must not contain any biased, racist, or sexist remarks. h) Follow CFRU rules. There aren't many. Chapter 5 How to Start?! I. Listen to a couple of old public affairs shows. With a script in hand follow the show as you listen to it. Most of the scripts for the public affairs shows are in the filing cabinet in the middle office. Some shows are better than others. Think about what makes a good show and what makes a bad show. This will help you figure out the structure and method used in writing a script and organizing a show i.e., taping of clips or interviews plus music background. II. Idea for a Topic. a)Narrow this idea down to a workable theme. For example: Women > Women in development > Women in Cameroon > Women in Cameroon developing their own cooperative. b)Make sure this idea fits into G.I.R.C's mandate. c)Make sure you have accessible research sources. III. Researching. What do you want to know about your topic? Write down the first questions that pop into your head about your topic. These are immediate questions that will help you decide how you will research your topic. How do you answer your list of questions? There are basically two types of research processes: (a) Primary Source: This means going directly to the experts that can answer your questions. Professors, politicians, musicians - all these people are great targets for interviews and comments. Perhaps there is a special speaker giving a lecture, if so book the tape recorder from the station, and get permission to tape the lecture. (b) Secondary Source: This refers to magazines, books, articles, government documents, or any written material. Such sources are found in resource centres and libraries. It may seem difficult to know where to start. Here are some places you might want to check out. (As you are researching and collecting information keep thinking about what format your show will be taking. And once you've decided on the format, what order will ideas or speakers be presented?) 1. The Guelph International Resource Centre: In Guelph at 34 Essex Street. They have a small, but very good selection of books about the different faces of development (ie. women in development, environmental issues, and politics of developing countries). There is also valuable documents published by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). CIDA is the federal branch of government that finance non-governmental organizations like learner centres. The program directors at G.I.R.C. have contact with people from Guelph, Toronto, Kitchener and other cities where you might want to interview someone. They'll also know of up-coming events or lectures that are coming up. Lecturers often hold press conferences or may be available for a personal interview. 2. Centre for International Programs: Found on University Avenue at Fielding House, part of the University of Guelph. C.I.P. has a library upstairs. They have an extensive up to date periodical section of magazines not only from Canada, from the U.S. and Europe. C.I.P. is informed of all the development projects that are taking place at the university. 3. Ontario Public Interest Research Group: Again you will be able to find a large collection of books in their library, as well as videos and cassettes on guest speakers and events. O.P.I.R.G. has three special interest groups: i) The Guelph Environmental Council ii) The South African Interest Group iii) The Latin American Solidarity Group. All groups have dedicated members that will gladly help you. 4. CFRU has archives of interviews taken from past public affairs shows. Ask a CFRU staff member where the catelouge of these interviews is. 5. CFRU is a member of a computer information system called WEB. WEB has a great deal of information about issues of interest to public affairs programmers. Ask a CFRU computor whiz about how to access this information. They'll help you retrieve the information that you want. 6. The Women's Resource Centre : The WRC is located on level 2 of the University Centre. The WRC has a library of feminist literature, periodicals, and reference books. 7. CFRU also has it's own smaller library of magazines - see appendix 2 at the back of this manual for a list of subscriptions. A well researched topic involves using both primary and secondary sources. You learn about the topic through reading. This gives you general knowledge before doing an interview with an expert. The resource person will be part of your recorded show, whereas the reading will influence your script and your comments in the show. Chapter 5 (IV) covers how to do interviews in depth. Always remember that the more you learn about your topic, the better the quality of your show, and the easier it will be to write it. IV. Interviews There are some essential qualities of a good interview. We interview to gain knowledge and broadcast this knowledge straight from the experts to the audience. a) Types of Interviews There are different kinds of interviews. Keep in mind while you are conducting the interview what you are trying to achieve. Do you want to talk for 5 minutes or 5 hours? Do you want to talk about everything the person is associated with or just one small topic? Do you want this person to comment on one issue or do you want to talk excessively about their life? You may want your show to comprise of one long interview or many short interviews. You may want to cut the interview up into small segments (clips) or leave the interview in one piece. An interview that takes up the majority of the show is called a feature interview. b) Arranging an Interview Book Studio A and the Production Studio about one week in advance for an in studio interview. Book a remote about one week in advance for an out of studio interview, or the phone in the news room for a phone interview. To book a remote sign up on the list in the news room making sure that time and date you require the remote for is indicated. Ask the News Director when a good time to do a phone interview would be. Conduct interviews at CFRU in the studio whenever possible. Only use a portable tape recorder (a remote) when your guest cannot come to the station but you can go to your guest. Only do a phone interview when the guest can't come to the station and you can't go to the guest. c) Before You Begin - Pre-interview tips A pre-interview is a little information gathering session. You should find out what direction your interview will go in, what questions to ask, and what area to focus on. A pre-interview should only take about 2 to 10 minutes. It isn't taped. It can be done on the phone a couple of days before the interview, or in the studio just before the interview. Ask a lot of feeler questions but don't let the interviewee answer them. You are just trying to get an idea about the interview. You are not yet doing the interview. If the person answers the question they may not want to answer the question again when it comes time to do the real interview. They may be apathetic the second time around. They may say ...as I told you before... or ...just like I told you yesterday.... Usually guests want to know exactly what you're going to ask them. They like to see your question list. Don't let them see it. They may feel overwhelmed by the questions. They may start answering them and then you'll run into the same problems as above with apathy etc. Just give them a general idea of what things (very basically) you will be asking. d) Interview Tips 1.Interviews should have a beginning (brief introduction), middle (detailed- about 80 to 90% of an interview), and an end (contact numbers, future goals, time/place of up-coming events). 2.Know how long you want your interview to be before you start. 3.Ask simple questions and use simple language. Do not display your own expertise. If there are two experts talking it may get too involved for your audience. What would be the point of having an expert in for an interview if the interviewer knew just as much? The expert should be showing off his/her expertise, not you! 4.Address the interviewee by his/her full name once or twice at the beginning of the interview. After this formal introduction just say you, Mr/Ms/Dr/Professor......,or use their first name if they prefer this. This will give your interview a more relaxed feeling. 5.Always think of your audience. Who is your audience? Do they know a lot or just a little about the subject? Always assume that they don't know very much. 6.Have enough knowledge to sound intelligent. 7.You are the controller of your interview. Try to keep it focussed. Concentrate on the most relevant subject matter. (Relevant to your audience, the theme of your show, or the most current project.) 8.Have a list of key questions that you want addressed. Try to arrange them in what seems to be a logical order. Don't stick to this order if it doesn't seem logical by the way the interview is going. 9.Listen to the answers. Avoid big leaps from topic to topic. 10.Be firm and persistent; confident, but not agressive. Don't interupt. 11.Establish a medium between too structured and too conversational. Don't talk more than your interviewee. 12.You're questions should be short and to the point. Vague questions warrent vague answers. 13.Avoid double questions. One of your questions will likely not be answered. 14.Avoid yes/no answers. 15.Try not to leave dead arr between answers and questions. Be thinking of your next question before the answer is finished. 16.Avoid verbal listening. (...uh huh...ok...mmmmm...is that right?...oooh...) Don't interject with comments. Don't mumble in the background. Don't sigh..... 17.Taped interviews can be edited, but try to do an interview that doesn't require editing. e)More points about interviewing 1.Minimize background noise unless it will make the interview more authentic. 2.When using a remote (portable tape deck) avoid florescent lights. 3.Test the equipment first. Set proper recording levels, and when using a remote check the batteries. 4.Make sure that you know your interviewiis full name, title(s), affiliations. Get this on tape at the beginning of the interview. 5.Microphones should be 6 to 8 inches away from mouth. 6.Label reel and box with all the important information. 7.Don't conduct longggggg phone interviews. The quality isn't good enough for more than about 5 to 10 minutes. It's hard on your listeners' ears. 8.Relax - usually the interviewee is more nervous than you. 9.Always use batteries when recording with a remote deck. Electric current is picked up as a hummmm..... by the remote when it's recording. V. Dubbing Clips and Editing Once you've got an idea, and some recorded material (for example , an interview, a lecture, sound effects, music etc....) you should think about the order that you want this information to be heard on the show. Listen to the material and decide what parts are the best. (Listening to material can be done in the news room, studio A, or the training studio. Don't book the production studio just to listen to material.) If you have an interview or lecture that is 20 minutes long but some of it is irrelevant or boring then you can isolate the good parts of the material. When preparing clips (the isolated parts) write down the first few words of the piece to be isolated (this is called the in cue) and the last approximately 10 words (this is called the out cue). Time this piece that you want isolated. (There is a red stop watch in the production room that you can use to time clips with.) Do this for all of the pieces that you would like to have on your show. After you have all the best pieces timed and the in cues and out cues written, arrange them on paper in the order that you would like them to be heard on the show. Now you're ready to record or dub. a) Dubbing Record these clips in the order you would like them to be heard on your show onto one reel. (You will need the production studio for this). Leave approximately 1 second inbetween each clip. You may have clips from many different speakers on this reel, or, you may have just one or two long clips. When you are finished you should have every clip that you want on your show on one reel, in the order that you want it to be heard on your show. Time all of the clips together. Be sure that you still have time for script. (For a half hour show approximately 20 to 25 minutes of clips is a good rough time. Then script would be 5 to 10 minutes long.) b) Editing Editing is the act of removing or re-arranging segments of recorded tape by cutting and splicing the tape. You may want to remove unwanted sounds during a recorded segment. For example you may want to remove a sneeze, a cough, a mispronounced word, or laughter. You may also want to edit to remove an unwanted pause. You can also edit to remove large segments of speech to decrease the length of time. For example whole sentences can be removed. In a nutshell editing is a very powerful tool. You can remove any segment whether it be 1/2 a second long or 10 minutes long. Be careful. Poor editing can change the entire meaning of a sentence. You'll be editing a lot when producing a show. You should edit the clips you have isolated so that they'll sound just how you want them and be just the right length. You will also edit after you have done the final mixing of your show. Example: If you had the sentence I love be-bop music and you wanted to remove the word be-bop you'd end up with I love music. IV. Writing the Script a) The length and detail of a script depends on what type of show it is. For example with an interview show your script may be about 2 to 3 pages long. However, with a literature show your script may average 5 pages long not including your readings i.e., poems, essays etc. Writing for radio is a casual experience. The radio listener likes to feel the announcer is talking to him or her. Therefore, your tone and style of writing is conversational. The golden rule of script writing is to repeat everything three times. Because your audience cannot go back and reread, it is up to you to repeat the essential information.First introduce your topic, second discuss your topic and third summarize it. You are basically telling your listener what you are going to tell him/her about, you are then going to tell him/her about it, and finally tell him/her what you've just told him/her. When you are finished writing the script time the script as you are reading it aloud. Practise reading the script many times before final mixing. The script should be neatly written or typed. Make two copies- one for you and one for the technical operator. The final script should mimic the sample scripts on pages 14 through 17. b) Some do's and dont's about writing style. 1.Because you are writing to be heard and not read, use simple sentences rather than complex or compound sentences. POOR: The premiers discussed energy pricing and then they broke for lunch. BETTER: The premiers discussed energy pricing. Then they broke for lunch. 2. Make subordinate clauses into simple sentences. This way you relate one idea, rather than clustering a sentence with two or three ideas. POOR: The audience, which at first was indifferent, became more and more interested. BETTER: At first the audience was indifferent. Later they were more interested. 3. Always use the active voice instead of the passive voice. The passive voice makes the sentence more complex and mellows your tone of voice. The active voice is clearer and more precise. ACTIVE: The cat caught the rat. PASSIVE: The rat was caught by the cat. 4. Avoid the overuse of adjectives in succession. Too many adjectives before your idea will confuse the listener. POOR: The 6.5 million proposed City Hall redevelopment and expansion plan. BETTER: It's a proposal to expand and develop City Hall. It will cost 6.5 million dollars. 5. Lean towards using concrete specific language, instead of general language. ABSTRACT: We saw a bad accident on the highway yesterday. CONCRETE: We passed a four car pile up on the Trans Canada yesterday. 6. Big words only tie up your tongue when reading them. Stick to everyday words. 7. Adjectives add tone, setting and colour to what you are saying. Try to get away from using vague adjectives. VAGUE: Big house SPECIFIC: A huge house with 14 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, etc. 8. Do not overload your story with facts. Delete some facts that are not necessary for your audience to know. Too much information frustrates the listener. Do not over-use numbers. If you have to use numbers try to put them into perspective. i.e. The tallest tree in Canada is 95 meters tall. Think about that. How high is 95 meters? The peace tower of the parliament buildings in Ottawa is 90 meters- this tree is 5 meters higher! 9. If you have different speakers be sure to introduce each new speaker by their proper name, rather then relying on he or she pronouns. 10. Your story must have an overall structure that is wellªorganized with a beginning, middle and end. c) Introductions and extros Every public affairs shows at CFRU has it's own theme music which is played at the beginning and at the end of the show. The introduction catches the audiences' attention and informs them about what you are going to talk about. Two introductions are contained in the sample scripts on pages 14 and 15. Here a few things to think about when writing an intro: 1. Explain what the story will be about. 2. Set the tone for your show. 3. Make sure there is continuity between the intro and the main body. 4. Always give the speakers' credentials. ex: Proffesor Jorge Nef of the Political Science Department at the University of Guelph. If the speakers' title is too long and cumbersome, simply acknowledge what he does. The theme music comes on again at the end of the show. In the extro you summarize the main points of the show. The extro is a good spot to tell the audience about important phone numbers, addresses, and the time and place of up coming events. All public affairs show produced at CFRU should have ask for listener input in the extro. For example - (name of show) welcomes your comments and is always looking for dedicated volunteers to help with script writing, researching and production. If you would like to contact us please call CFRU at 824-4120 extension 6919...... For an example of an extro see the two samples contained on pages 15 and 17. d) The Body The bulk of your show should run smoothly along one train of thought. You may want to run one long interview or speaker for approximately 25 to 27 minutes of your show with just an intro and extro. Be careful though; if the interviewee or lecturer isn't a very good speaker this can get very boring. More commonly you will want to isolate good parts of an interview or a lecture. These isolated parts are called clips. When preparing clips write down the first few words of the clip you want and the last 10 words spoken. Time the clip in minutes and seconds. In total your clips should add up to approximately 20 minutes. The rest of the time is for script; for you to talk about the subject matter, conflicting opinions or whatever your research has led you to write. e) Sample shows - 1. Interconnections - Radio Farabundo Marti This is an example of a rather simple show. It just has one long interview. 2. In Your Interest - Part 2 Endangered Species. This is a more complicated show with many clips and sound effects. 1. Script for Interconnections - Radio Farabundo Marti THEME MUSIC START Good evening, This is Interconnections, I'm Zorka Rosales. Interconnections is sponsored by the Guelph International Resource Centre, a commmunity group whose mandate is to enourage dialogue and action around international development issues. Interconnections brings to you issues of global concern everyweek. This week I bring to you an interview with Raul Gutierrez, Canadian representative for Radio Farabundo Marti. THEME MUSIC FADE Guelph's campus station, CFRU has recently made a contract with Radio Farabundo Marti, from El Salvador to receive their news transmissions twice a month. Well, recently I had the chance to interview their Canadian representative to find out about what Radio Farabundo Marti is all about, and why it is positive action for CFRU to have joined Radio Farabundo Marti. Radio Farabundo Marti receives and transmits news from the war front in El Salvador. The radio broadcasts from inside the zones controlled by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN. The FMLN, a political/military organization comprised of peasants, workers, students and professionals has been fighting against the Salvadorean government since 1980. El Salvador is a country with a population of 5 million. 50% of the children die before the age of five. 75% of the children under the age of five are malnourished. There are only 3 doctors per 10,000 persons. Life expectancy is 40 years. It is a country where 2% of the population owns 60% of the land. To date the U.S. has given $3 billion in military and economic aid to the Salvadorean government, run by Jose Napolean Duarte. All means of mass communication are controlled by the government. Thus Radio Farabundo Marti was created to inform the civilian population of El Salvador's situation. The station however has reached stations from Canada to Europe. I interviewed Raul Gurierrez, representative for Radio Farabundo Marti in Toronto. He discusses how and why it all began. Run Interview 22:00 minutes Song Runs 3:58 minutes (*see note below) Because of difficult war conditions Radio Farabundo Marti needs constant mobility. However the station is aware of the military's strategy and thus they are capable of operating within the zones of opposition, reaching listeners inside the country, Central America, parts of the U.S. and Canada. Radio Farabundo Marti covers the war fronts and political/military activities of the people. If you wish to listen to Radio Farabundo Marti's transmissions tune into CFRU every second Monday after the news and Thursday at 8:15 a.m after the B.B.C broadcast. CFRU in cooperation with the Guelph International Recource Centre will be hosting a fund-raising event on August 12. All cover proceeds will go to help Radio Farabundo Marti. It will be held upstairs at the Albion Hotel. So keep and eye open for posters indicating time, price and the bands that will play. THEME MUSIC START Each week Interconnetions looks at issues of global concern and how Canadians can be involved. If you would like to volunteer with production call the Guelph International Resource Centre at 822-3110 or CFRU 824-4120 extension 6919. Technical operation for today's show was provided by Lori Guest. I'm your host and producer Zorka Rosales. Good-night. THEME MUSIC FADE (* When a full song is used in a show like in this show the song should be introduced, with credit given to the artist(s). ) 2. Script for In Your Interest - Endangered Species (Part 2 of 2) Clip 1 It's important to remember that humans... ....the natural system. 16s theme begin It is estimated that one wildlife species becomes extinct world wide everyday. That's the present rate of extinction- one species worldwide everyday. It's projected that by the year 2,000, which is only 11 year's away, we'll be losing a wildlife species every hour. Welcome to In Your Interest. I'm Joan McGregor. Today on In Your Interest the second of two programs on endangered species. Last week we learned that the single most significant threat to wild species is loss of their habitat, and humans are of course, responsible for this habitat loss. It is important to realize that we are only one of 500 million species that share the earth. We must quickly adjust our lives so that we are living more harmoniously with the species we share this planet with. If we don't we're in danger of losing them. theme fade In Canada endangered species are categorized by a committee called COSEWIC; the committee on the status of endangered wildlife in Canada. One year ago, 166 species were listed by COSEWIC. There are 6 categories of endangered species listed by COSEWIC. These include, in order of worst to best: extinct, extirpated, endangered, threatened, rare and delisted. wave sounds on turn table 1 - 5 seconds then fade under voice Canada is surrounded on 3 sides by ocean and thousands of miles of coastline. Marine habitat is one of the most threatened in Canada. Virtually all cetaceans (whales and dolphins), that inhabit Canadain costal waters are endangered. clip 2 The humpback whale... ...but about the only one that is. 54s Dr. Ian Kirkham is the executive director of the Federation of Ontario naturalists. Whales are still hunted in many countries; most notoriously by Japan, Iceland, Norway and the Soviet Union. In Canada and the United Stated whale hunting is restricted to hunting by natives. Because of decreased hunting, some whale species are slowly increasing in numbers. clip 3 Virtually all our whale... ...32 kills per year. 1:43 m Since the discovery of new oils and plastic, whale hunting has decreased. But ironically, the same industries that sved whales from exploitation are killing them through habitat loss and pollution. clip 4 The threat to our... ...right off shore; Hibernia. 3:4m Marine birds have historically been victums of exploitation resulting in extinction. One of the most dramatic extinctions occurred in 1844 with the extinction of the Great Auk. clip 5 It became extinct in... ...horrifying sound. 3:02m About 30 years after the Great Auk became extinct another marine bird became extinct because of human exploitation. clip 6 Another marine species... ...or any notice. 55s (wetland sounds on turn table 2 - 5 seconds then fade under voice) Another habitat in Canada that is being destroyed at an incredible rate is Wetlands. clip 7 Nearly 2/3 of endangered species... ...what little wetlands we have left. 1:48m Most of the species effected by wetlands destruction are birds. Victums include the rare Ross's gull, the endangered Hooping Crane , the rare Trumpeter Swan and the endangered Piping Plover which Ian Kirkham will now tell us about. clip 8 It's an endangered species... ...they're quickly chased away. 1:24m Natural prairie grasslands are another habitat type that is Ü becoming scarce in Canada. Species that inhabit natural prairie grassland include the burrowing owl, the swift fox (an extirpated species) and the black footed ferret - North America's most endangered terrestrial mammal. clip 9 over this century... ...captive breeding programs. 1:58m Dr. Ian Kirkham is the executive director of the federation of Ontario Naturalists. We've heard on the show so far today about 3 of Canada's most threatened habitats; the marine environment, the wetlands and the natural prairie grasslands. We'll now take a look at a species that isn't in danger of extinction in Canada, but is threatened world wide; extirpated in some countries and threatened or endangered in others. This is the wolf. In Canada wolves are found in 90% of their former range. However, if wolves are to remain in Canada as a species not endangered, we are going to have to make efforts to prevent the decline of their populations. Dr. John Thebarge is a professor at the University of Waterloo. He has been studying wolves for over 20 years. I spoke with him about the status of wolves worldwide and in Canada. clip 10 The wolf is... right up to the tundra. 1:35m Wolf Management as it's called, has been used in Canada, most notoriously in British Columbia, to supposedly control populations of game - like deer, moose and caribou. Dr. Thebarge commented on the practice of wolf management clip 11 I've worked with wolves... ...is very important. 5:50m Dr John Tebarge is professor at the University Of Waterloo. He's been working with wolves for over 20 years. A year ago there were 166 species listed by COSEWIC, the committee on the status of endangered wildlife in Canada. 1989 figures are not yet available but there will probably be more. If there are 166 species on the endangered list for Canada alone just imagine how many their must be worldwide. At a rate of species loss of 1 per day world wide the list would be gigantic if we could ever keep it up to date. And just wait until the year 2000 when current estimates predict that we'll be losing one species every hour. Maybe then we'll be able to comprehend the amount of damage we are causing. We must understand that we are only one of 500 million species that share this planet. It's time for all of us to take responsibility for our actions and quickly adjust our lives to live more harmoniously with the species we share this planet with. If we don't we're in danger of living here alone, and alone we wouldn't last very long. theme begin for extro In Your Interest is produced in the studios of cfru-fm at the University of Guelph. We welcome your comments and we're always looking for dedicated volunteers to help with production and reseaching. If you would like to contact us you can call cfru at 824-4120 ext. 6919. That's cfru at 824-4120 extension 6919. Or you can write to us at In YOur Interest, c/o cfru-fm, level 2 of the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G2W1. Technical operation for today's show was provided by Peter Meisenheimer. I'm your host and producer joan mcgregor. goodnight. theme fade VI. Final Mixing When all of your clips are timed and in order on one reel and you've practised reading the script you have written you are ready to mix the final show. During this session you combine all the sounds, music, and clips according to your script. Remember both the technical operator and yourself must have a copy of the script. The script informs the technical operator when you speak, where to fade the music and when to insert the pre- recorded clips. For final show production book studio A and the production room at a time when you, the technical operator, and any others involved can produce the show together. Book the studios approximately one week in advance. Book one hour for a 10 or 15 minute show and two hours for a 30 minute show. EXPECT ONLY TO BE THERE FOR THIS AMOUNT OF TIME. This means you must be prepared for final show production; ready to roll when it's your time. The time it takes to mix a show varies. In the case of literature shows it can take up to and hour since you will probably have other speakers in the studio besides yourself. However on average it takes from half an hour to 40 minutes. Procedure Remember the instant you hear a sound being reproduced by the tape machine-that sound is directly over the centre of the playback head. The playback head is the right most component of a tape recorder over which tape passes. To edit cue any sound to the playback head. 1. As the tape is rolling, when you hear the first sound or word you want to cut push stop. 2. Lower the cue button. It is labelled cue, the act if lowering it pushes the tape closer to the playback head. 3. Now you gently move the reels around till you hear the blankspot in front of the undesired noise or word. Note when on cue the sound is warped to a lower speed. 4. Mark this spot with the wax pencil. 5. Push up cue and now push the edit button along with play. When these are pushed you will hear the rest of the recording at normal speed. 6. Press step once you have heard the end sound of the unwanted recording. 7. Repeat 2. by pushing down cue. Move the reels till you find the blank spot after the unwanted recording. 8. Mark with the grease pencil. 9. By now you may have some varying quantity of tape on the ground. Fit the marked tape onto the splicing board. 10. Where there is a slit place the marked tape and using the razor blade cut along the marked tape and int the groove of the splicing board. Repeat this cutting for both marked spots. 11. Now, tape about 1.5 c.m. worth of splicing tape and tape both ends together. 12. Lift cue lever, gently pull beck the tape from the splicing board and fit into play position. 13. Rewind tape to listen back and see if it flows together nicely. 14. The cut tape is now garbage. Note: It is wise to keep the cut tape till you listen to the editied portion. You nay decide to putsome of it back after listening to it. **Things to remember****** * The dull side of the tape is the side it records, therefore all splicing tape goes on the shiny side. * When cutting cut along the diagnal groove. If cut at 90 degrees there will be a small noise when playing it back. When you have finished mixing the show, time the show to make sure the time is approxiamately the length it should be. Then go through and listen to the show and do a final editing for length and mistakes. Once you've done the final editing time the show again. The time cannot be more than half a minute over or less than 2 minutes under. All done? Label the reel and box with the name of the show, length, topic, date and the in cue and out cue (the first and last sounds or words in the show). Then put the show in the on- air studio on the correct shelf. VIII. Program Process.....a Summary This chart will hopefully give you some summarized idea on the procedure and length required. This is an average on the amount of time that will be required for each step. Time is completely relative to the amount of effort you put on the show. Interview shows can be quite quick, whereas the research for a literature show can take you a couple of weeks. PROCESS TIME a. Getting an Idea A continous process b. Structuring 2-3 hours c. Equipment booking 20 minutes d. Interviewing 1 hour e. Scriptwriting 4-5 hours f. Tape Dubbing 1 hour g. Production Mixing 40 min. to 1 hour h. Editing 4 hours Chapter 7. Conclusion Hopefully all the information you need to start and finish a show is in this manual. Learning to use the radio stations' equipment, along with editing and scriptwriting comes easier with practice. Always keep in mind that there are many people that are willing to help you if you need assistance. Do not feel foolish if you forget how to record after your orientation, or anything to that effect. The staff at CFRU are more than patient because they have a large number of volunteers working there. Also, make the best use of your supervisor at G.I.R.C. Do not hesitate on any questions. Once your show is sitting in its appropriate airing slot, and you hear it on the air.... you will feel a sense of great satisfaction, and it will give you further ideas. Appendix 1: GLOSSARY 1. Ambience: All of the natural sounds of any environment. The ambience of a tavern, for example, might consist of conversation, laughter, clinking of glasses, music, the hum of coolers etc. 2. Bed: Program material (usually music, sound effects, or actualities, used as background for narration or otherforeground sounds. 3. Board: A device designed to mix land process the signals from the outputs of other audio devices (mikes, tape machines, turntables, etc,) for recording or broadcast purpose; also called mixing board, audio console, or mixing console. 4. Bridge A sound element used to provide a gradual transition from one program segment to another, often denoting a change in time, space, or mood. 5. Bulk Eraser: An electromagnet used to randomize existing magnetic fields or patterns: a bulk eraser erases all the magnetic signals on a reel. 6. Cart: A continuous loop of 1/4 recording tape on a single spindle inside a plastic case; short for cartridge. 7. Channel: A path that an audio signal follows such as the audition channel of a board. 8. Clips: Parts of interviews or sounds dubbed onto a reel to reel in the order they will be heard on the show. 9. Cue: A. To listen to something on a tape with the channel on the board in the cue position. B. To signal someone to begin speaking in a broadcast. 10. Dub: A copy of a recording. (Dubbing- making a copy of a recording). 11. Edit: Removing or rearranging segments of a recorded tape. 12. Feedback: The result of an output signal from an audio device being fed back into its own input; when audible this potentially damaging situation is characterized by a loud howling sound. 13. Getting a Level: Sending a representative sample of a program material to a device to adjust the appropriate volume controls or the intensity levels, or to obtain proper mike placement, prior to recording or broadcast. 14. Grease Pencil: A pencil with a soft waxy tip used to mark the back of recording tape during splice editing; also called a wax pencil or a china marker. 15. Head: Heads are found on audio equipment. There are different kinds; playback, erase, and record heads. The tape passes over these heads and depending on which one is activated the machine will be in a position to playback, record, or erase material. 16. Head Out: A tape wound so the begining (head) of a recorded program is outermost on the reel, thus elimination the necessity of rewinding it before playing. This is the opposite of tail out, where the tape has to be rewound before playing back. 17. Intro: Introduction ( begining of a program: theme music, title, etc.,). 18. Level: The volume or intensity of a sound or signal. 19. Peak: The loudest part of a sound sequence. (Peaking- to reach the highest volume. 20. VU Meter: A meter used for audio work which indicates change in the audio signal. Appendix 2: CFRU MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION LIST Alliance for non-violent action news -Activist, Toronto Almanac - News Letter, Canadian Nature Federation At Guelph - University of Guelph News Boozhoo - Native Circle, Toronto CODA - Jazz, Toronto Connexions Digest - Alternative Press Dismantler - Peace issues, Toronto Ecomedia - Activist, Toronto Edmonton Bullet - Entertainment Film Threat - Alternative Film, NYC Globe and Mail Greenpeace - Environment/Peace Leonard Peltier Defence Committee News (Native, Toronto) Mother Jones - News Briefs (not the magazine) New Internationalist - International Development New Musical Express - Music, U.K. NOW - Toronto News and Entertainment On Balance - Media Surveys in Canada Option - Alternative Music U.S. Probe Post - Canadian Environmental Issues, Toronto Sound Choice - Alternative Music, U.S. Sources - Source book - Dictionary of contacts Toronto Star University Affairs - Canadian University News World Wildlife Fund - News Letter Action Report - 30 -