Broadcast Journalism: Sports Broadcasting

Name______

Set Induction: Individual/Group Brainstorm & Discussion:

Watch approximately 5 minutes of a recorded sports game (football/basketball/hockey/etc.)

What you watched:

Write down 5 things you liked from the broadcasters and 5 things you didn’t like from the broadcasters.

+ / -

Share and discuss with your groupmates, creating a larger chart on poster paper.

Discuss with Mr. B.

NOTES (Read!):

The Sports Broadcasting Team:

Modern television and radio sports broadcasting teams typically involve several individuals. The play-by-play announcer keeps the audience filled in on developments in the game as they are happening. The color commentator, or colorcaster, provides interesting background details about the players or the ongoing play in the game. Championship games or other significant matches might have two or more color commentators. A sideline reporter assists a sports broadcasting crew with sideline coverage of the playing field or court. The sideline reporter typically makes live updates on injuries and breaking news or conducts player interviews while players are on the field or court because the play-by-play broadcaster and color commentator must remain in their broadcast booth.

Which role in a sportscast is most interesting to you? Why? Define the role in your own words as well.

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Important Elements in Sports Broadcasting:

Setting the Scene —> It’s the sign of a great broadcaster when the announcer can not only describe what is happening during a play, but also how the crowd is reacting, what the general feeling in the stadium is, and how elements like the weather are affecting the teams/athletes.
Working with the Color Commentator —> Developing chemistry is crucial. Get to know when they will leave you space and when to let them give their analysis.
Leaving Space — Give time for the color commentator to speak, and also for the audience to hear the atmosphere in the building/in the stadium.
Preparation and Research — Know the teams inside and out, understand the background, before and after.
Time and Score —> This may be the most essential element in broadcasting, especially for radio. Because the audience cannot see the score in a graphic on-screen, they have no context for what they are listening to. The time and score should be announced as much as possible, because most fans will tune in for a few minutes at a time.
Differences between Radio and TV —> Radio is more about giving a picture of what’s happening, while for TV, you are acknowledging what is happening as well as providing additional insight or observations. Time and Score is still important for TV (the time/score graphic may go away periodically).

Tips for play-by-play radio sports broadcasting

(according to

(read and highlight the most critical)

BE SERIOUS!!! This is a serious endeavor. People who are listening don’t want to hear about you, they want to hear about the game!
Stay in the game. Don’t talk about other things, talk about the game. If it is a time out, talk about what happened before the time out, not another story.
In Basketball, give the time and score every time down the floor, even if no one has scored. In football, give the down and distance before every play, give the time at least every other play, the score at least once every three or four plays. Definitely give the time and score following change of every possession. In Volleyball, give the set and score (of the set and of the match) every serve. People who are watching and listening don’t know the score and time. Dead air is a bad thing. Too much of it is a really bad thing.
BE FORMAL!!!! You are talking to an audience.
Be conversational, too, and don’t talk “above” your audience.
Follow the ball. This makes talking a lot easier. If you know the names of the players, it makes it even better.
Don’t use players’ numbers. Names, Names, Names!
Personality isn’t bad, but don’t try to be funny! Stay with the game!
The play by play person does just that, play by play. The color person analyzes what is going on.
Don’t be critical of how the players are doing or of the referees. Think about how you would feel if someone were making those types of comments about you.
When going to orcoming back from a break, say the names of the teams playing, the time and the score, and, “You’re listening to ______on ______.”
Don’t be afraid to say your names occasionally. People want to know who you are!
Be Prepared! Get the starters before they are announced, not as they are announcing them. Know facts about the teams (records, etc.).
Say “(your station name)” often...
At the end of the game, say the final score again, and your names.Say, “Once again, your final score is ______. I’m ______, and I’m ______. Thanks for listening.”
Don’t call numbers. Call names and call them often. Give the score every time someone scores, and give the time often. Remember, the only things the listener really needs to know is: What’s the score? Who’s leading? How much time is left on the clock? What quarter is it?
Describe the action. Use phrases like “pulls the trigger,” “lets it fly,” and “three if it goes,” when the ball is shot. Describe how far out (15 footer). Don’t yell, but sound interested and excited.
Don’t be critical of a call unless you’re darn sure that the ref blew it-and then be kind. “It looks like he missed that one but he’s done a great job tonight, and it’s difficult not to miss a couple.”
Refs listen to the radio, and the last thing you want is a ref telling his or her buddies you’ve been hard on him or her.
Always set the defense: “Mount Vernon’s gone man to man, ” or, “in a one-three-one.” Set the offenses the same way.
When interviewing the coach, keep your questions short: “Coach, congratulations...” Then hush up. They’ll take it from there. Or in a loss: “That was a tough one tonight, coach...” Then hush up. The coach will let you know what he or she thought.
If you interview the players or coach after the game you may have differing opinions of the game outcome. In many gamesthe team played lousy but the coach thought they played great.
The last thing the coach wants is my opinion on the front end. You want his or her opinion.
Remember, you’ve been on the air for the last two hours giving your opinion. The interview with the coach is what you want, not more of your opinion.
Be careful what you ask. You may not know about a kid’s problem at home, an undisclosed injury or discipline problem.
Finally, give the score again as you sign off (at the end of both games if you’re doing a doubleheader). I’ve tuned in a hundred times to other broadcasters at the tail end of the interview and they failed to give the score again.

Discuss sections B & C with your cluster/groupmates. Someone should take notes and share out with Mr. B.

Independent Study: Figures in Sportscasting History:

Each student is to find and research a famous sportscaster (note: no two students can do the same sportscaster, so make sure to communicate with the cluster!)
Write a short bio of the sportscaster: What sport are they known for? Who have they worked for? For how long? Any trademarks/gimmicks/phrases? Why are they famous etc. (note: this can be bulleted).
Find a clip of the individual broadcasting. Reflect upon it after the bio. What worked? What didn’t work? What can you learn about it?
You will share these out with your cluster.

Sportscaster: ______

Bio:

Clip: ______

Reflection:

Practice/Demonstration: Sportscast!!!!!!

As the final element of this lesson, you are going to broadcast through 1-3 minutes of gameplay of a sport of your choice (note: communicate with Mr. B!!)

Using your own experience of watching and listening to your favorite teams, you will create a 1-3 minute clip of play-by-play of a sporting event.

You will “marry” the audio (which you can record on a recorder, a camera, a microphone, phone, etc) to the video in Premiere. Export and submit!

Notes/Brainstorming: