You Are a Member of the Crew Working on the BBC Six O Clock News

Breaking news

You are a member of the crew working on the BBC six o’clock news.

You have a 30 minute, prime-time news slot to fill.

You need to allow five minutes for the news headlines and three minutes for a recap of the headlines at 6.15.

You need to put what you think are the most important stories first and spend longer on them.

Task 1

Put the following stories in order of importance and say how many minutes, if any, you would allow for each.

1. Poor workhouse conditions cause many to suffer long-term health problems.

2. Railway transport declared unsafe during investigation into death of William Huskisson.

3. Novelist Charles Dickens publishes his latest masterpiece Great Expectations.

4. Jack the Ripper kills again.

5. Smog and sewage pollute East End of London.

6. Rise in alcohol abuse throughout England.

BBC SIX O’CLOCK NEWS
Headline Time devoted
Main story
Story 2
Story 3
Story 4
Additional stories

Task 2

In groups, you are to plan, write the script for and deliver a six o’clock news programme using four or five stories based on real or fictional events that could have occurred in Victorian England.

Your script should include:

· Headlines to all stories.

· Information on each story:

- Introduction from newsreader (Who? What? Where? When? Why?).

- Report from someone ‘on location’. (Providing more information, interviewing someone involved in the story, answering the newsreader’s questions.

- Conclusion from the newsreader.

You should try to write about 100–120 words for each minute you wish to spend on the stories. You will need to make up facts, statistics, quotes and so on. Try to make your stories as realistic and believable as possible.

Task 3

Prepare to present your news programme.