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It emerged that in some newsrooms there
is also a problem in identifying clear
stories and understanding narrative
journalism. Coming from a communist
tradition where enquiring journalism was
suppressed, some reporters still seem to
think that events, such as meetings, press
conferences, official visits or art
exhibitions, are the day’s stories. It took
some detailed discussions to establish
the western tradition of discovering
stories within these events, or pro-
actively setting the news agenda, and
then illustrating these stories in a visual
narrative, which makes them clear and
interesting on television.
The ideas were put into practice. Working
in teams of three, the journalists simulated
a local news operation, making a series of
real reports about Budva as it prepared for
the important tourist season. Despite the
language barriers and the lack of local
knowledge, they quickly found eight strong
stories, for example about the revelation
that there would be cuts in the water supply
at the height of the summer, about the
firemen threatening to close the local
station because they had not been paid for
five months, and why the authorities had
not cleaned the dirty beaches. All the
stories required some challenging
interviews with the responsible authorities.
The packages were shot and edited in
sequences, with plenty of visual variety,
human examples and clear narrative
structures. Some reporters used graphics
for the first time, discovering that they have
become much easier to use in recent years
with low-cost computer software widely
available. All tried to include ‘stand-ups’
in their reports, to emphasise key points,
and to make their journalism more
personal and credible.
Then the group turned the hotel entrance
hall into a TV studio, and put the reports
together into a half-hour news
magazine, complete with news
summary, and a weather forecast. The
journalists tried jobs they had not done
before, including some camerawork.
The two presenters, from Macedonia
and Hungary, had never faced a studio
camera before. The resulting
programme, ‘Budva Tonight’ was
impressive, with high professional
standards and fairly presented stories of
real relevance to a local audience.
At the end of the six days in Montenegro,
after the final classroom sessions and
agreement on action points for the future,
the journalists departed for their own
countries as close-knit friends. Some were
The expanded European Union of 25 states poses a growing challenge to broadcasters. How can we find
out what is happening and when?Who takes the decisions – the Council of Ministers, the Commission or
the Parliament? How can we make these meetings interesting? Where can we find good pictures? Here
areT-Media’s top suggestions that were passed on to participants at the journalismworkshop in Montenegro.
Information
European Commission Press Service
European Parliament
EU Council of Ministers
(The site changes with the presidency of the Council every 6 months)
Free EU policy forum site
A full list of
media sources
can be found at
TV facilities and picture sources
Europe-by-Satellite is the EuropeanUnion’s 24-hour distribution network for broadcasters.It carries European
Parliament sessions live,andmany Commission press conferences andmeetings.It also has daily summaries of
EU news, and topical picture dossiers.With the right decoder, the service can be taken free of charge.
W
T
+32 2 299 1176
E
For broadcast facilities at the Commission, including use of their studio, and some shooting and editing,
contact the Audio-Visual Planning Office T
+32 2 295 0804
E
For pictures from the Commission’s video archive: E
For TV facilities at the European Parliament sessions in Strasbourg and Brussels, contact the EP
Audio-Visual Department T
+32 2 284 2010
E
For broadcast-quality topical features about Commission initiatives,such as the environment,transport,
energy, education or external affairs, contact Mostra Communication in Brussels. (Some of these
features are available only to broadcasters in the 25 EU member states.) Mostra Press Relations Unit
T
+32 2 537 4400
E
Mostra’s special website for broadcasters, with video streaming:
in tears as they said goodbye, promising
to stay in touch and visit each other if
possible. Within 24 hours they had set up
a Yahoo Group site, which continues to
buzz with messages and news, and has
galleries of pictures of each other’s homes
and newsrooms.
The future of this troubled region depends very
much on the new generations of journalists.
It is particularly important for the TV viewers
in every country to be able to see fair, balanced
and responsible daily news. It is nearly 200
years since Lord Macauley’s famous ‘Fourth
Estate’declaration, which defined a free media
as the fourth essential requirement for a
healthy democracy. Yet in the 21
st
century, the
struggle goes on in many parts of the world.
Fortunately there are many organisations
dedicated to promoting the development of
high quality independent TV journalism. In
Europe, the Council of Europe, the European
Commission and many national governments
continue to support such initiatives. And
organisations such as the Cardiff-based
Thomson Foundation, the Reuters Foundation,
and Circom Regional carry out high-quality
training in many countries.
I hope that the major international
broadcasters will play their part in
supporting the smaller broadcasters,
passing on their experience and inspiring
younger professionals to achieve the
highest standards of broadcast journalism,
despite the financial and political restraints
faced in many areas of the world.
Reporting Europe – Top Tips
