Tease Writing and a Successful TV Newscast Tease Writing and a Successful TV Newscast Ask most TV news producers about writing teases, and you might see their eyes roll and hear them groan. Thats because teases are an essential part of producing a compelling newscast, yet many producers hate doing them. Thats usually because tease writing has less to do with pure journalism and has more in common with TV commercials. So producers who arent properly trained arent very good at teases. With a few basic tips, they can actually look forward to this part of their daily grind. News Teases: What Are They? Teases are what the TV news anchors say to convince viewers to watch the newscast or to continue watching. They typically come in some sort of headline format before the newscast begins and at the end of each block of news, just before the commercial break. Heres an example of a tease before a newscast: Next on Channel 5 Action News, why the governor says hes not afraid to raise your taxes. A dog faces death in a house fire but barks his way to safety. Could a hurricane brewing in the Atlantic affect your weekend plans? And see how mushrooms could be the answer to a longer life. Channel 5 Action News is next. Heres an example of a tease during a newscast: Still to come on Channel 5 Action News, shes 105 years old but is the newest graduate of a local high school. Youll meet her and see why she didnt give up on getting a diploma. Plus, dont miss an incredible video of a man who survives a shark bite at sea. Stick around, more Channel 5 Action News is coming up. The goal is to grab attention quickly to keep viewers from changing the channel or flipping off their TV set. As a news viewer, youve seen teases thousands of times. They seem simple to write, but there are key ingredients to remember when writing TV news teases so that you accomplish your goal of keeping your audience. Knowing Which News Stories to Tease A news producer may have 20 stories in a newscast. Some stories also appear on rival stations, such as a city council meeting or the governors news conference. Other stories are unique to the station. Some stories could be considered important while others are features. Just as the newscast itself is a blend of hard-hitting news and lighter fare, teases should also reflect that variety. Teases that contain nothing but car crashes, or on the flip side, stories about puppies and children would indicate that the newscast is lopsided toward one type of content. In deciding which stories to tease, a producer should consider the stations target audience. That is often determined through focus group research. That research likely already has a role in which stories get covered. If a producer is in charge of an early-evening newscast that is geared toward women, then teasing stories about health, raising children and quality-of-life issues would be one way to reach them. While this is only a generality, most TV news consultants would advise avoiding teasing crime or sports in that kind of newscast, unless theres a human interest component beyond the basics of the story. Video Is Important in Teasing Stories Because were talking television, video is important in crafting an effective tease. Occasionally, a story is so compelling that words alone will convince people to watch, but that is a rare exception. Its not just having video, but having the right video, that will make teasing easier. Shots of people sitting around at a meeting will cause yawns from your viewers. If a news reporter covers a city council meeting about all the potholes in your city, theres an opportunity to entice people to watch the story. That is to show a close-up of a cars wheels banging through a pothole, while writing, Some local residents are fed up with this rocky ride around town. See what theyre telling city leaders to do about these potholes of peril. The much more common, and lazy approach would be to show the city council meeting, while writing, The city council met tonight to discuss the problem of potholes on some local streets. Well have a report from city hall coming up. That second example not only didnt use the best video available, but the words also didnt contain much energy. A city council meets regularly on all sorts of issues, so the producer didnt sell this story as being interesting to watch. Common Mistakes in Tease Writing There are all sorts of sins when it comes to tease writing. The penalty is a wasted opportunity to grow your newscasts Nielsen ratings. The first common mistake is to ignore any sort of viewer benefit of watching the story. The Legislature met today to talk about taxes. Well have more. Far better would be, Find out which legislators want to raise your taxes.. and by how much. Another mistake is to include meaningless words and phrases, which dilute the pitch youre trying to make. Well have the story. Well have more. Details ahead. Obviously, the story is ahead. A third mistake is to write a tease that doesnt pass the So what test. Doctors have new information about vitamin C. Tell viewers why they should care, instead of allowing them to say so what? Doctors have new information about vitamin C and why getting too much of it can be bad for your health. Now people want to know whether that glass of orange juice may be hurting them. A final common mistake is over-promising while under-delivering. Think of a restaurant that promises the worlds best apple pie, only to give you something that came out of a supermarket freezer. You would never order the pie again. So, if you say a story is a must-see, incredible, unbelievable with never-before-heard information and money-saving, life-changing tips, make sure you deliver on your promise. Most viewers wont stand for being fooled but once.
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4 ways sleeping naked makes you healthier and wealthier 4 ways sleeping naked makes you healthier and wealthier What if I told you in just 10 seconds a day, you can sleep better, make more money, reduce stress, and lose weight? Sleeping naked can do all these things and more. All you have to do is take off your clothes. While there are countless strategies floating around out there to help you improve in these areas, none is as simple- and many are less effective- as stripping down before you go to sleep.Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders’ magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!Since only 8% of people sleep naked, most everyone can discover the benefits of sleeping in the buff. This may sound far-fetched, but hear me out before you throw those cozy flannel pajamas on.You Sleep Better NakedWe’ve always known that quality sleep is good for your brain, but recent research from the University of Rochester demonstrates exactly how so. The study found that when you sleep your brain removes toxic proteins from its neurons that are by-products of neural activity when you’re awake. The catch here is that your brain can only adequately remove these toxic proteins when you have sufficient quality sleep.When you don’t get high-quality, deep sleep, the toxic proteins remain in your brain cells, wreaking havoc and ultimately impairing your ability to think. This slows your ability to process information and problem solve, kills your creativity, and increases your emotional reactivity.Researchers at the University of Amsterdam found that lowering your skin temperature increases the depth of your sleep and reduces the number of times you wake up in the night. Stripping down to your birthday suit is a great way to lower your skin temperature without changing the temperature of the room.Sleeping Naked Reduces StressWe all know that prolonged stress is bad news. It suppresses your immune system and increases your risk of heart disease, depression, and obesity in addition to decreasing your cognitive performance. Stress throws your cortisol levels out of whack. Proper rest helps to restore normal cortisol levels, which improves your stress level regardless of what’s happening around you. As described in the section above, sleeping naked will help you to get a better night’s sleep.Sleeping Naked Is HealthierSleeping naked has a slew of health benefits, including helping you to lose weight. A study conducted by the US National Institutes of Health found that keeping yourself cool while you sleep speeds the body’s metabolism because your body creates more brown fat to keep you warm. Brown fat produces heat by burning calories (300 times more heat than any organ in the body), and this boosts your metabolism all day long to help you lose weight.In addition to the metabolic effects of sleeping in the buff, removing your clothes improves blood circulation, which is good for your heart and muscles. The quality sleep you’ll enjoy also increases the release of growth hormone and melatonin, both of which have anti-aging benefits.Sleeping Naked Builds ConfidenceConfidence doesn’t just feel good; it’s the pillar of success. It pushes you to try new things, take on challenges, and persevere in the face of adversity. A University of Melbourne study found that confident people earn higher wages and get promoted more often than their less confident counterparts. Sleeping naked makes you more comfortable in your own skin. As your comfort with your body increases, so does your self-esteem and confidence.Bringing It All TogetherThe benefits of sleeping naked are many- so many that you owe it to yourself to give it a try. Did you know there was so much to gain from sleeping naked? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.This article first appeared on Linkedin.com . You might also enjoy… New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happy Strangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds 10 lessons from Benjamin Franklin’s daily schedule that will double your productivity The worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs 10 habits of mentally strong people
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