MAC 328 TELEVISION PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

The Nature of Television Broadcasting

Television is a medium used for transmitting and receiving moving images and sound. The introduction
of television brought a new way not only to inform society but also to entertain it in a way. From the few
who subscribed to it in its early days, to what some called “television of abundance”, television is now
accessible even in the remotest part of the country. The world of television is interesting as well as
amazing- it is a medium with audio visual impact. It is also a medium that can be used to educate and
enlighten viewers as well as to advertise goods and services. The medium can also be used to bring
information on the environment, political, economic and cultural development to its audience.
Characteristics of Television Broadcasting
Television is an audio-visual medium: The combination of audio and visual signals make television
virtually a magical medium which captures live events and at the same time allows viewers to watch
these events in their living rooms. The powerful audio visual nature of television helps to create vivid
impressions in the minds of viewers and the fact that people are seeing the picture as well as hearing
the sound gives them a sense of emotional involvement. This quality also creates a long lasting image in
the minds of viewers. The contents viewers watch now stay with them thereby making television images
more memorable.
A mass medium: Television can reach several viewers at the same time. .This characteristic makes it a
typical mass medium. As a mass medium, television can be used to design messages of mass
mobilization for those who cannot read or write but have access to it..
Expensive medium: Television is also a medium of communication that needs large amount of money to
run because of the technology and expertise needed to run a television station. Beyond the machinery
and expertise, filling the air time with world standard programmes requires a huge amount of money to
produce. Network programmes like prime-time series are even more expensive to produce and
maintain. Unlike most stations in America and Britain, most Nigerian televisions no longer have station-
produced soap operas or dramas but prefer out-sourced programmes by independent producers, who in
most cases do not fare better for lack of sponsorship.
Audience Segmentation: Another feature of television according to Dominick (2002) is audience
fragmentation. He explains that audience fragmentation is most apparent in the cable television
industry where new cable channels are increasingly geared towards small, welldefined audience niche.In
addition to the above, television is also a live medium. Usually, the technology of television transmission
of an on-going event is usually hours after radio had relayed the information. Gone were the days where
television transmission started at 4p.m or 5p.m and ended at 12 midnight. Today, events are beamed
live as they occur and where there is no picture, on-air programmes are terminated to bring information
to viewers. This nature of television allows it to transmit visuals and information almost instantly.

The Nature of Television Audience

The broadcast audience is a group of people who listen to or watch a radio or television programme. It
could be a group of people who gather in a common place to listen to a programme or scattered across
different geographical location. But usually, a broadcast audience is heterogeneous in nature. Audience
diversity exists in terms of culture, beliefs, values, taste, and profession.

Humans have a variety of needs which they try to fill on a daily basis. The media on the other hand
projects what each individual needs and tries to fill the projected needs through the variety of
programmes offered. In other words, the audience is vital to the existence of a station because every
televisiob programme is designed with a particular audience in mind.One other important factor about
the audience of broadcast media is that it plays a significant role in how broadcast content are shaped.
This is done in three ways namely: interactive capacity, voting capacity and audience as producer .The
interactive role of audience in programme often comes in form of phone-in programmes where
audience members contribute or give suggestions about how to meet audience

Station Format, Philosophy and implication

A station’s programmes or philosophy refer to certain kinds of approach to fulfilling its role in the
society or toward its audience. A station’s programmes reflect the philosophy of the station.
In other words, that is the programme is designed to achieve the goals of the station. For instance,
African Independent Television (AIT)’s philosophy is to bring the African experience to its viewers. By
implication all the programmes that the station disseminates are meant to promote African culture,
value system and politics. Writing on the essence of broadcast formats, Hasling (1980) insist that every
station must have a programming structure. On the other hand Dominick (2002) writes that “perhaps
the most meaningful way we can organize a radio or television station is according to their format, a
type of consistent programming designed to appeal to certain segments of the audience.” He further
explains: A format gives a station a distinctive personality and attracts a certain kind of audience that
advertisers find desirable. In fact, the development of radio after 1960 is marked by the fine-tuning of
existing formats and creation of new ones that appeal to people in distinct demographic and lifestyle
categories.
A radio or television format or programming format refers to the overall contents of a broadcast station.
In other words, the way a radio or television classifies its programme genres from country to country.
Sometimes, it is a mixture of different culture of other countries along with the host station local
culture. The reason is to cater for those minority audiences that form part of the listening or viewing
audience.To come up with a scheme that would help in deciding the right format radio and television
stations have been advised to adopt both the trained markers and radio programmers approach.
According to the audience dialogue website (2008) well-trained marketers will advise broadcast stations
to set the target audience first, and then find out what type of programmes they like, while an
experienced radio programmer will know the format they want, and try to find a target audience for it.
But in practice, a broadcast station needs to work from both ends at once, juggling formats and target
audiences till it has both a viable-sized potential audience, and a format that it thinks it can deliver
better than any competing station.Hasling (1980) classifies station format by loose or rigid format,
adding that a highly structured station will have a very rigid format giving little or no room for flexibility
in what it says or doeson air, while a loose format allows on air personalities to exercise some creative
expressions in terms of its music and ad lib (of script) remarks. Another way to classify a station is to
look at it from the perspective of commercial and noncommercial station. According to Hausman,
Messere, O’Donnell and Benoit (2010), commercial stations make their money by targeting audiences
for advertisers who buy air time on the stations’ airwaves, a non-commercial station or public service
stations design programmes that will meet the needs of their audiences.Another method is to look at it
from the philosophy of the station. While some are purely entertainment stations, others are all-news or
information stations. Some adopt the generalist programme approach. For instance, Naija FM is a radio
station that prides itself as a news and talk station while Cable News Network (CNN) is an all-news
television station. Regardless of the approach a station adopts, the essence of choosing a format that
best suits the station’s goals will help the station position itself in the market, match programme with
audience as well as audience with marketers.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1
Compile a list of radio or television station in any state of Nigeria, and state their mission statement as
well as their philosophy.

How the Audience Affects A Broadcast Station’s Format

Before a station determines the type of programmes it will beam to its audience, a lot has gone into it. It
must have researched into the market, the viewers and their needs. These efforts culminate into
designing programmes that will appeal to the audience and advertisers. Hausman,Messere, O’Donnell
and Benoit (2010) are of the opinion that a well arranged programme will attract a number of
listeners/viewers to the station. According to them, a format is the arrangement of programme
elements into sequence that will attract and hold the audience segment a station is seeking. Hasling
(1980:85) on the other hand has this to say on radio programming format: Programming is the most
important aspect of radio station operation. The message that is communicated is, after all, the central
reason for all of the technological talents and energies that go into sound transmission..The implication
of Hasling statement is that if the meaning of the message is lost on the audience, the station has failed
to achieve its purpose. In other words, if a programme does not match the needs and aspirations of the
audience, getting money to stay in business may be difficult. The research that a station conducts on its
audience will reveal the categories of people who make up the audience, their profession, age, gender,
location and economic status. Station programme tend to tilt towards what the research outcome is. If
the audience has more teenagers or young adulst, the type of programme a station will transmit will
appeal more to this category of audience than it will to the older audience.Both Schroeder (1992) and
Hasling (1980) agree that the broadcasting industry is a competitive business where all are trying to
attract and hold a particular audience segment as well as win adverts that will bring in revenue. In trying
to entertain the audience and win advertisers over, broadcast media managers must strike a balance
and make sure that the two are kept happy.
According to Schroeder (1992) the only way to do that is for stations to work hard to provide
programming that listeners want and enjoy. The assumption is that if the programmes are what the
audience wants and enjoy, advertisers will bring in their commercials to support the station
Concept of Broadcast Programme
A broadcast programme can take the form of information, education and entertainment created to
meet certain specific needs of the viewing or listening audience. According to Wikipedia (2015)television
programme or television show [and by extension radio programme] “is a segment of content intended
for broadcast on television, other than a commercial, channel indent, trailer, or any other segment of
content not serving as attraction for viewership. It may be a single production, or more commonly, a
series of related productions (also called a television series)”.Broadcast programmes can be classified
into two broad categories; spoken word and music.
Spoken word according to Duyile (2005) are talks, discussions, educational broadcasting, interviews,
drama, documentary, magazines, news and current affairs programmes and religious broadcasting;
while music programmes include pre-recorded programme, live musical performance of all kinds and
variety of entertainment.On the other hand, James and Ward (1998) classified broadcast programmes
into four major categories namely;
1. Public affairs or programmes which are made up of news, interview, sports, documentary among
others..
2. Entertainment programmes which are drama, musicals and talk shows.
3. Children’s programmes which are moonlight tales,drama,educational programmes and
cartoons.
4. Enlightenment programmes, mostly sponsored by government and its agencies.One major criterion
that guides broadcast programme content is regulation (This will be discussed in details in module 5).
Regardless of the type, idea or cast, Eastman and Ferguson (2006) explain that a broadcast station must
consider several other factors specific to children’s programming like Federal Government rules,
interest, and packaging that will attract children.

Broadcast programmes can be organized either on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or seasonlong
schedule. According to Wikipedia, (2015) modern broadcasters use broadcast automation otherwise
called TV Listing, to regularly change the scheduling of their programmes to build an audience for a new
show, retain that audience, or compete with other broadcasters' programmes.
The following are the purpose of organizing broadcast programmes:
1. To give programmes the best possible chance of attracting and retaining an audience;
2. They are used to deliver programmes to audiences when they are most likely to want to watch them;
3. Deliver audiences to advertisers in the composition that makes their advertising most likely to be
effective (Ellis 2000 :136); and
4. Retain audience, and also stay ahead of competitors.
A broadcast station has certain objectives it has set out to achieve. Broadcast stations must work hard to
provide programming that audiences want and enjoy (Schroeder, 1992: 68). Onabajo (2002:22) adds
that before thinking of how to achieve its objectives in programming, stations must consider the
following factors:
1. Identify who the target audience members are;
2. Identify the programmes that could be used to address the audience; and
3. Identify the ideal time for the programmes to be transmitted.

Sources of Radio and Television Programmes

A television station generates its programmes either internally or externally. Internally generated
programmes are those programmes that are developed and produced by the local staff of a station or
network while externally generated programmes are those developed in collaboration with other
producers.

Internally Produced Programmes

Internally produced programmes refer to those programmes put together by the local staff of a
broadcast station as well as those produced by the staff of a network. In this regard, programmes
produced by Metro FM in Lagos as well as those produced by Radio Nigeria Network are regarded as
internally produced programmes.The Nigerian Broadcasting Code (2011) defines a network s acontent
provider with a premier station serving as a nucleus for the production, acquisition and transmission of
indigeneous content of national appeal and having the nation as coverage and through diverse
affiliates/associates. Currently, there are two prime radio networks in Nigeria. These are Radio Nigeria
and RayPower. The relevance of network programmes are often in the areas of news, public affairs,
documentaries and entertainment programmes. like drama and talk shows. For instance, in the case of
Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Radio Nigeria their affiliate stations across the 36 states of
Nigeria rely on the network studios for news, sports, live programmes among others on a daily basis.
Similarly, African Independent television (AIT) and its sister radio snetwork RayPower also broadcast
network programmes on their affiliate stations spread across the country. The problem with station
under the network is that sometimes they are compelled to air the commercials of the network stations.

According to Hasling (1980), when a station becomes affiliated with a network, it agrees to make a
certain amount of its air time available for the broadcasting of network programmes. Stations can also
develop a variety of programmes from talk to drama to fill the air time. A station could also develop
musical programmes that suits the audience that tune to the station.

Externally Produced Programmes

Independent producers: These are independent producers who come up with programmes like drama,
soap opera, discussion and talk shows as a means of livelihood. These producers may syndicate their
programmes to interested stations. They buy air time from stations but source funds from sponsors of
the programme.
Religious programmes: Some stations are accepting religious programmes from sermons, live crusades
and magazine programmes.
Reality shows: the trend world over is reality TV, and Nigeria is not left out. Today programmes like
Maltina dance hall, Nigeria idol, MTN Project Fame among others command good number of audience
across the nation.

Live shows/coverage: stations like Lagos Television (LTV 8) organizes Ileya festival, Christmas carnival,
musical shows et cetera to fill the air and also source for funds. Although these programmes are
seasonal, they are planned (depending on when the event occur) to fall into the station’s quarterly
scheduling of programmes.

SELF ASSESSMENT 1
Examine a station schedule and see if you can identify programmes sourced internally and those
sourced externally.

PROGRAMME SCHEDULING STRATEGIES

In view of the above, every station attempts to arrange their programmes in such a way that will suit the
audience they cater for. Broadcast Programming or scheduling is the defined as the practice of arranging
television or radio programmes on a daily, weekly, or season-long schedule. The practice is use to
schedule programmes to build an audience for a new show, retain audience, or compete with other
stations’ programmes.
Station schedule programme in a particular time for the following reasons:

 To maximize the size of an audience targeted by advertisers

 To attract audience for the programme;
 To give the programmes the best chance to survive or be accepted by its target audience;
 To match programmes with target audience available at the time; and
Deliver audiences to advertisers in the composition that makes their advertisements most likely to be
effective (Ellis, 2000).

TYPES OF PROGRAMME STRATEGIES

Flow/Stacking: according to Vane and Gross (1994:175), is a technique used to develop audience flow by
grouping together programmes with similar appeals to “sweep” the viewer along from one programme
to the next. This strategy revolves round audience of broadcast programmes; the idea is for audience of
a particular programme to flow from one programme to another. For audience to flow into another
programme, the station must be ready to schedule its programmes with similar appeal together.

Block programming: station schedules programmes back-to back for a period of time to retain
viewership. According to Onabajo (2002:39), scheduling programmes in blocks to make audience flow
forward to later programmes `is not necessarily because of the first programme appeal but because the
audience wants to see the following programme from the beginning. `
Hammock: in this strategy, a weaker or new programme is sandwiched between two popular
programmes. The intention is to make the audience watch the new or weak one after the first popular
programme while he awaits the next popular programme. This strategy is good for two reasons:
 Firstly, the strategy is good for introducing new programmes to the viewing/listening audience. Once it
has gained acceptance, it can stand on its own.
 Secondly, a weak programme can eventually pick up and gain more viewership/listenership and even
attract sponsorship.

Cross programming: cross programming involves the interconnection of two shows. This is achieved by
extending a storyline over two episodes of two different programmes.

Bridging: according to Ellis (2000) is used when a station tries to prevent the audience from changing
channels during a junction point- the main evening breaks where all channels stop programmes and shift
gear. This is achieved in a number of ways including: having a programme already underway and
something compelling happening at a junction point, running a programme late so that people `hang
around` and miss the start of other programmes, or the next programme during the credit of the
previous.

Counter programming: involves offering an alternative programme to the audience from the one the
competitor is offering. Onabajo (2002) adds that the strategy involves targeting a secondary
demographic group that is not being served by competing stations in a particular time period. The
implication of this is that the station must know what the other station is offering so as to know the part
of the audience that is neglected.

Stunting: is a programming strategy a station adopts in which it offers the audience a special programme
in order to draw audiences away from what other competitors are offering them. This is what Onabajo
(2002) has to say:Since so much of a programme rating success depend on habitual viewing, breaking
viewers` habit can weaken the power of that juggernaut. Thus, a network will gain the rights to air a
chartbuster movie or popular rock concert and place it opposite a highly successful programme.

Day parting: most talk shows are scheduled for day time this is because they are gearedtowards a
particular demographic group. Most day time talk shows target women, youth and singles, the reason
for this is that it is the period of time they are available. Thus, day parting involves dividing the day into
several parts, and different radio/television programmes appropriate for each day part are aired.

Stripping: this strategy involves running the same show in the same slot every day of the week so as to
retain viewership. NTA 2 channel 5 at a time had the 7:30 belt from Monday through Friday in which for
about 90 minutes air comedies. For that slot, NTA 2 is assured that its viewers are there and waiting
Monday to Friday. Again, this works in favour of both the station and advertisers. The station can use
this to attract sponsorship, and in any case advertisers are ready to air their messages on a station they
know people are viewing.

Hot switching: In hot switching the station eliminates any sort of commercial break. When one
programme ends and another begins; this immediately hooks the audience into watching the next
programme without a chance to change the television channel between programmes.

Tent pole programming: This strategy is similar to hammock programming in that a programme is
sandwich in between two. However in the case of tent pole programming, a very strong programme
with high followership is sandwich between two weak programmes and each end. The essence of this
strategy is to make people watch the first weak programme while they await the popular programme,
and of course most people will stay with the first weak one so as not to miss the interesting programme.
Also, programmers hope that by the time the interesting programme ends, some may stay around to
watch the second weak programme. In other words, programmers bank on the strength of the central
programme to draw viewers to the two other weak shows.
SELF ASSESSMENT 2
Compare two broadcast stations programme schedule and see if you can pinpoint the strategy the both
adopted.

THE 4P’S OF PROGRAMMING

The components of the broadcast programming are classified into four headings, namely: planning,
production, placement and promotion the components are discussed below.
PLANNING
Planning, according to Onabajo (2002:19) is an attempt to force future situation and plan towards it. It
refers to how programmes re generated and transmitted on air waves. A broadcast station cannot plan
without first putting the audience, the marketing potential, advertisers and sponsorship into
consideration. According to Onabajo (2002), programme planning involves several steps and these
include:
Concept: According to him Onabajo is when idea comes up to produce any programme. The idea is
nurture and developed; thereafter the programme objectives are set bearing in mind the type of
audience the programme is made for and how it will benefit them as a member of the public.
Programme funding: This usually involves the management. This is because once a programme is
developed, the management is informed which will then provide fund for the hire of equipment and
production expenses.
Scripting: This is the stage when the storyline is actualized into shooting script, director’s or producer’s
script as well as for the artistes.
Cast: This includes those who will take part in the production. Their function is to interpret the script
meaningfully into action or voice that will be recorded for either live or recorded programmes.
Production: This involves the technical crew, cast, director, and the producer. They all must play their
part in the production so as to achieve the set objectives.
SELF ASSESSMENT 3 Visit any broadcast station in your area to witness programme planning session

PRODUCTION
Operation or production in broadcast involves the way programmes are produced and projected to the
audience in a favourable manner in the overall public interest (Onabajo, 2002:21). There are a variety of
programme that makes air on a daily basis on television. Some make it to prime time, some are a
product of syndication and some died even after the first episode. The reason programmes succeed or
fail lie in the production process. These processes are pre-production, product and post-production.
These are discussed below.

The pre-production stage: The pre-production stage is generally the conceptualization stage - a stage
where everything that will ensure a successful production is identified and put in place. This stage
according to Burrow and Woods (1978:261) is further divided in five areas, namely: script familiarization,
facilities and equipment, cast and crew, production requirements and script preparation. The script
preparation will be well treated in module 2.The first stage is to develop the idea into script, however
Burrows and Woods (1978) advised that it is at this stage that the director or producer must determine
the purpose of the script in other words the objectives of the programme. Unless the objective is clearly
reflected in the script, the overall desired goal of the programme will not be achieved. Also important at
this stage is to identify the cast and crew that will assist in the delivery of the script. Generally speaking,
the scriptwriter often has the idea of who should read the script from the moment he/she start turning
the idea into script. In addition to that, the script would give the director an idea of the suitable location
and equipment that would be needed. Kristain (2014) sum up the stage like this:Pre-production is the
first stage of television production. This is when scripts are written, story lines are crafted and a
storyboard is developed. Producers will do research, location scouting, casting and budgeting. Actors will
rehearse and the director will plan his approach. This is more or less a planning stage, making sure that
all the elements are in place for production and post-production. A timeline will be established and
producers will coordinate different elements of both production and post-production to ensure the
most efficient workflow.
The Production Stage: The production stage actually meant you are ready to start rolling the tapes. The
script guides both the cast and crew with the strong monitoring from the director. Production could be
shot in the studio and it may be a remote area production. When it is an outside location, the site
selected must be in consonance with what the script says. But beyond that, it means also making sure
that all the equipment needed is available.
The Post Production Stage: Post-production or the evaluation stage includes ensuring that the recorded
programme falls within the allotted time adding inserts arranging the visuals in a proper sequence,
credits at both the beginning and at the end of the programme as well as taking stock of the budget.
According to Kristain (2014), the post production level can occur after production or simultaneously
during production, depending on the planned approach for workflow.

SELF ASSESSMENT 3 Visit a radio or television station and monitor the production of any programme.

PLACEMENT

In scheduling programmes the director of programmes must, along with is supporting staff make the
decision on how to arrange programmes in such a way that each will have available audience and
potential sponsors. In arranging programmes, the unit must ask the following question as well as
provide answers to the:
1. Which programme should be placed first and why?
2. Which programme should come next and why?
3. Which programme should come after and why?
4. What time of the day should the programme be aired and why?
5. Who are the audience of the programme and when are they likely to be around?
An honest answer to these question will help the programmed department take the decision on which
programmes comes first, which should come in the middle and which should come last for every
programme throughout the day and the days of the week. Again, knowing which audience view or listen
to what will aid the smooth placement of programmes however knowing the demographics of the
audience will assist the department of the time scheduling.
SELF ASSESSMENT 4

Speak to manager of programmes, asking them about the criteria their stations use in the placement of
programmes

PROMOTION
When a new programme is produced broadcast stations employ various means to create awareness for
the programme. The idea is to continually promote the programme before it start showing and even the
programme start showing. The idea is to sell the programme to the target audience and possible
sponsor(s). Brookins (2014) maintains that promotion allows businesses (by extension broadcast media)
to reach out to consumers (audience) using various forms of techniques and strategies to capture their
attention. This explains why Ward (2014) holds the view that it is important to let people know about a
product because it helps to increase acceptance in a competitive market. The following strategies can be
use to promote programme and create acceptance:
Tent pole programming: in tent pole strategy the programmers use a well-known series to sell new
programmes that have not gain acceptance. The idea is to put a one strong programme in between two
weak programmes. The believe is that audience would watch the first new programme while waiting for
the favourite programme and would probably watch the second new programme.
Hammock: in this strategy a new programme is sandwiched between two popular programmes. The
intention is to make the audience watch the new or weak one after the first popular programme while
he awaits the next popular programme. Featuring cast in other programmes: according to Wikipedia
(2015), when a station has a new show starting, or if it needs to boost its ratings, part of its cast will be
featured in other programmes in the same station, inserted in the dynamics of the programme they are
in. such programme they can feature that will endeared the personalities of the cast to the audience
include participating in game shows, be interviewed by the journalists of the station, make cameos in a
series, substitute for the usual staff of other shows in their habitual functions, etc. Once audience falls in
love with their personalities they would want to follow their characters in the new programme they are
being featured. Again, while appearing on other shows, it is important that the hosts of the shows
mention repeatedly the new show and its time slot, trying to encourage their own viewers to watch it.
SELF ASSESSMENT 5
Do an extensive library research to see if there are other ways of promoting programmes

SCHEDULING AND COMPETITION

Every broadcast station wants to remain in business as well as make profit. This can be achieved if the
station is able to deliver the audience to advertisers. This is done if programmes match the
characteristics of the target audience. In addition to that, it is important for a station to be aware of
what its competition is offering its audience so as to counter the station with better programmes as well
as having a better share of the market to attract advertisers and sponsors to the station. Hasling (1980)
sums this up

"Radio broadcasting is a highly competitive business. In a large metropolitan area you could be up
against forty or fifty other stations. All of them are trying to attract and hold a particular audience
segment, and all of them will be attempting to do it in their own unique way. Some stations may have a
few loyal fans who listen to one station exclusively, but more frequently listeners will switch from one
station to another"

PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT AND ORGANIZATION

The production and arrangement of a station’s programme into daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly
schedule is the job of the programmes department. The structure of the department differs from one
station to another, but generally speaking the structure sometimes depends on the budget of each
station.

General Manager
Manager Programmes
Principal Producer

Senior Producer
Manager Programmes: the manager of programmes is the head of the programmes department
activities and staff. He reports directly to the general manager of the station. His role is to supervise all
operations and staff who work under the unit. He is also responsible for supervising all programmes
produced in his department. As part of his function, the manager of programmes department:
 Monitor staff from controller to senior producers, editor, cameramen, sound recordist and announcers
attached to the department;
 He ensures on a daily basis that rosters for the day’s shift are properly executed;
 He ensures that all production is guided by the principle of decency, and unity;
 He ensures that all commercials for sponsored programmes and other spot; announcements are aired
at the appropriate time; and
 He monitors the days programme

Controller of Programmes: the controller of programmes role is to assist the manager of programmes
especially in the training of the programme staff and the supervision of programmes schedule. As part of
his duties, the controller of programmes also monitors the movement of staff and common facilities in
the department.

Principal Producer: according to Onabajo (2002:51), he is responsible for the efficient operations and
development of programme type in the following ways:

 Assisting with the training of junior programme staff;

 Monitoring relevant programmes and conducting post mortems;
 Keeping abreast of programme materials and markets for the production centre.

Senior Producer: a broadcast senior producer is responsible for the day to day operational efficiency and
high standard programming by producing and presenting programmes staff training schemes. He is also
to among other functions:
 Keep register of performing artiste;
 Co-ordinate the activities of producers;
 Liaise with engineering or production department for production facilities.

FUNDAMENTALS OF BROADCAST WRITING, AUDIENCE ANALYSIS AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

WRITING FOR TELEVISION

Writing for television requires that the intending writer learn his craft. In other words the first step is to
undergo formal training in approved tertiary institution as well as undergo on-the-job training which
must be supervised by people who have had some success as television writers. However, before taking
the decision to write for television, the New Zealand Writers Guild (2014) advised all would-be television
writers to:
Study the Market: Learn what types of shows are produced in your country. In Nigeria most drama on
both private and government owned media are produced by independent producers just like talk shows.
The only productions that are mostly handled by station staff are documentaries, news and current
affairs programmes.
Practice: as put by Hybels and Weaver II (2001:25), it is always good to put into practice what you have
learnt in class and even on-the-job training and try it out on the world. In the same line the New Zealand
Writers Guild advised that the best place to start is to write television scripts for already existing shows
or for shows that you have created. Having gone through training, both at the former and informal
training, every intending writer must note that television writing style differs slightly from radio in that
the writer must take into consideration the video elements. According to Fang (1991) besides all the
other constraints which limit the writing, the words should relate to the pictures. If the words and the
pictures do not support each other, they surely fight each other for the viewer’s attention, a dissonance
that detracts from understanding.
Watch TV: by watching television, you have a grasp of idea of the various genres. According to the New
Zealand Writers guild, if you are writing for television you need to understand the medium, the way
stories are told on television. Watch great shows. Watch not so great ones and learn the difference. In
Dowling’s (2011) view a would-be writer would learn an enormous amount about dialogue, structure
and basically how things work in any area of choice. On the other hand Shovlin (2014) has this to say
about watching television to learn how to write: It might sound obvious, but actually watching
programmes in a genre similar to the one you would like to write in can be a great help. What works and
what doesn't? What do you think broadcasters are looking for? How far can you push boundaries? Is
introducing a child character an easy way to make a programme cute and appealing?
Research: a successful script is so because the writer did a thorough research to understand the
audience and the selected topic. You must be comfortable and happy with the topic for you to
undertake a thorough research.
Script layout: every broadcast station has its own in-house style, comply with this style if you want to
make a success of your career. Above all, Shovlin (2014) says the script must us words that are easy to
read and understood.
Beware of the remote control: newspaper readers may be ready to read lengthy features but television
viewers are not blessed with such patience. If the station is not offering them interesting and relevant
programmes they would usually go to other station that are reading to offer what will meet their
interest. Dowling (2011) advised every writer to construct his/her opening scenes to make it as punchy
as possible.
Rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite: according to Dowling (2011) after the exhilaration and rush of getting that
first draft down on paper, the hard work of editing begins. Be your own worst critic; if a word, a look or a
scene isn’t working then go at it again until it does – or else cut it out entirely.
Dialogue isn’t everything: often people like realistic dialogue but writing for television is not all about
dialogue. There are other ways to tell the story. There are other elements such as sound, effects and
silence that will tell the story along with the use of dialogue. Too long dialogue can be boring and
uninteresting.
Try to be original: be yourself and do something new that sets you apart from others. Again, if it is
something someone has done before, find another angle to it and tell it from a new perspective,
injecting your own style.

THE AUDIENCE ANALYSIS

AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS
Broadcast media plan media content along the characteristics of their audiences. By implication
therefore, the more a station know about its audiences the more it is able to serve them. Today’s
broadcasting has move away from producing programmes on the assumption that a good message is
capable of being accepted by the audience. Broadcast content are produced based on the knowledge
that media audience have the power to select or reject media messages. Thus, it is essential that
programmers know exactly who their messages are for. In other words there is need for programmers
to have a good knowledge of:
Audience interest: media audience’s area of interest differs and it is not all media contents that have the
same appeal for the audience. When a programmer knows the category of audience he is targeting, he
or she can project their area of interest and then develop programmes around their area of interest.
Audience attitudes and beliefs: it is important that a programmer considers audience’s attitude and
beliefs. This is because their belief system will affect how they accept or reject the message.
Audience demographics: demographic analysis reveals data about the characteristics of a group of
people, including their age, sex, education, occupation, race/nationality/ethnic origin, geographic
location and group affiliation. Thus, knowing their whether the audience category are male or female of
a combined sex; their educational level; their area of specialization and their ethnic affiliation will go
along way in helping the programmer develop programmes that will appeal to them.
SELF ASSESSMENT 1
Beyond the factors discuss here, find out if there are other factors that programmers must incorporate
into broadcast programmes

METHODS OF MEASURING AUDIENCE

Audience research is important to the successful operation of a broadcast media as this will reveal
station’s share of the broadcast market, rating and reach among other vital information. As noted by
Onabajo (2002) audience research is a specialized branch of broadcasting. According to him there are
two major ways one may carry out audience research, these are quantitative surveys and qualitative
surveys.
The quantitative survey sets out to determine how many sets are tuned in to a particular station at
various hours throughout each day of the week. It gives statistical information in percentages of sets in
use and it indicated the relative popularity of a station and its various programmes. On the other hand
the qualitative survey, tells something about how a programme is being accepted by its audience [p.17].

Another method identified by Onabajo (2002) is the audience letter type of programme, which he said
could be handled by a leading personality in the station who solicits opinions about programmes.
According to him these opinions can reveal useful information about the write.

Such information includes:

 Gender
 Educational level

 Ethnic background
 Place of residence etc.
Hausman, Messere, Bennoit and O’Donnell (2010:317) identified the following methods of audience
research:

Audience rating: this is a percentage of the total available audience. Hausman et al (2010) added that
sometimes, “the number of audience is expressed as just that - a total number, estimated from
statistical interpretation of result”. Rating is thus a percentage of an available audience. The available
audience is, in rating terms, known as a universe.Share: the share is a percentage of those who are
actually listening or viewing. According to them, the share is frequently “broken down among different
genders and age groups such as women 18-34”.Total Survey Area, Metro Survey Area: Hausman et al
(2010) averred that the total survey area usually include several countries that are served by two or
more stations from within a metropolitan area. While according to them, the metro survey area is a
local area defined by the city and its immediate environs.
Average Quarter-Hour Person: the quarter-hour is the basic unit measurement in radio/TV audience
measurement. According to them, the average quarter-hour person is the n umber of listeners or
viewers who tuned in during a specific quarter-hour for at least five minutes. Although they noted that
the AQH is important in figuring gross rating points, they were however quick to note that the problem
with this method is that one cannot simply ass up the AQH figures to obtain the total number of people
who are listening during the day because the AQH will include some of the same people.

Cume or Cumulative: Hausman et al (2010) averred that cumulative audience measure solves the
problem of determining the total number of people listening by using statistical interpretation to
determine the number of unduplicated audience listeners or viewers.
STATION PROGRAMMING AND NBC REQUIREMENT

Challenges of broadcasting Industry

Beyond fulfilling the information, education, interpretation and transmission of social heritage role, the
broadcast media, according to NBC code broadcast media must satisfy among others, the following
needs:
a) a truthful, comprehensive and intelligent account of each day’s local, regional, national and
international events that have significant impact on the Nigerian community;
b) an impartial access to the nation’s daily intelligence, made equally available to everyone;
c) a forum for the exchange of comment and criticism representing every stratum of the society, as
required in a federal state like Nigeria, in which the views and opinions of everyone are included in the
national consensus;
d) a means of projecting the opinions and attitudes of the groups in the society to one another, such as
the balancing of information flow between the rural and urban, government and the governed, as well
as the presentation and clarification of the goals and values of the society;

e) an efficient, professional and comprehensive broadcasting service to the entire people of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, based on national objectives and aspirations;
f) an effective coverage and reach of the entire nation;
g) the guaranteed right of practitioners to have control over editorial and programme content in the
media;
h) the development of Nigerian artistic creativity and talent in entertainment programming, and offering
information and analyses from the Nigerian point of view;

i) programming that promotes employment opportunities to serve the needs and interest, and reflect
the circumstances and aspirations of all Nigerians;
j) programming that promotes excellence and high moral and ethical standards acceptable to a
substantial group of the viewing and listening public;
k) development of human resources and training, and capacity building within broadcasting;
l) ready adaptation to scientific and technological changes;
m)maximum use of predominantly Nigerian creative resources in the presentation of programming, be it
news, programme, musical entertainment, advertising or sponsorships;
n) greater emphasis on the broadcast of news and programmes in Nigerian languages so as to ensure
direct relevance to local communities;

o) programmes of high professional standard;

p) reasonable opportunity for the public to be exposed to all views on matters of public concern; and
q) The development and growth of the independent production sector.
PROGRAMMES SCHEDULE
a) A broadcaster shall forward to the Commission its quarterly programmes schedule and synopses of
new or repackaged programmes not less than one week before the beginning of the quarter.
b) The scheduling of a programme is the absolute responsibility of the broadcaster in accordance with
its editorial standards; especially network programmes, taking into consideration the diversity in faith,
cultural and moral sensitivities of the audience.

c) It is the responsibility of the broadcaster to clearly explain its policies at all times, through programme
promotion and trailers.
d) Programmes unsuitable for children and youths shall not be scheduled before the watershed time of
10.00pm.
e) A station shall not schedule morally contrasting programmes, fillers or advertisements of similar or
competing genres back to back.

SELF ASSESSMENT 1
Find out the editorial policy of two radio and two television stations, then listen/watch their
programmes to ascertain whether the policies have been incorporated into their programming

PROGRAMMING STANDARD
This section of the Code sets out the content standard which the audience expects as a right in
programming. According to the code, the aim of setting guidelines was to ensure that qualitative
programming content are met, while encouraging creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. In
addition to this, it is believed that programming standard will equally facilitate internal self regulation
and quality control. The guidelines are:
a) All programmes shall adhere to the general principles of legality, decency and truthfulness, in addition
to the specific guidelines for their genre.
b) Materials likely to incite or encourage the commission of a crime or lead to public disorder shall not
be broadcast.

c) The broadcaster shall recognize that the exercises freedom of expression as an agent ofsociety,
therefore, he shall not use his medium for any personal or sectional rights, privileges and needs of his
own, proprietor, relatives, friends or supporters.
d) Programmes in a foreign language shall not be transmitted without sub-titles in the official language,
except sports where the audio is only complementary or religious and niche programmes where the
foreign language is easily understood by the adherents.
e) National transmission of programmes in a Nigerian language shall have sub-titles in the official
language to allow a general audience appeal.
f) Any programme or musical content classified as Not To be Broadcast (NTBB) shall not be broadcast.
g) Without prejudice to 3.1.6 and 3.1.7, the broadcaster shall not transmit any material that is morally or
socially unacceptable for public consumption.
h) The broadcaster shall ensure that every movie carries the appropriate classification symbol of the
National Film and Video Censors’ Board (NFVCB) or any other recognized classification, and are
broadcast within appropriate belt in accordance with the provisions of the Code.

i) Persons under the age of 18, the physically challenged persons and other vulnerable groups shall be
protected from offensive and harmful content.
j) A programme shall be properly heralded.
k) Relevant information shall be included to guide parents in deciding its suitability for their children and
wards.
l) The broadcast or rebroadcast of any content shall be only with the express permission of the rights
owner.
m) Piracy is prohibited.

n) The abrupt termination of a programme shall be considered a professional breach except in the event
of an emergency, such as technical fault or breaking news, which shall be heralded by the appropriate
courtesy.
o) A broadcaster shall clearly display audio-visual programme advice or classification symbol at the
commencement of a programme.

CONCLUSION
It is important that information given in a programme, is presented accurately and in lines with laws
guiding broadcasting in Nigerian. Above all, programmers must consider the sensitivity of the audience
they are targeting.