The news bulletin is the core of every radio station’s schedule. It is where the station tries to establish itself as a trusted source of information for its audience. The content of a bulletin should be relevant to the audience’s daily lives. It should also offer a variety of stories to stimulate their interest. Ideally the most important stories should go first. This ensures that listeners who tune in for a short time will catch the most significant news.
The order of stories in a bulletin should be determined by the priority that the station gives to different kinds of news. Some stations have a particular format for their bulletins; serious national broadcasters may have heavier, more serious news and a deliberate style of presentation while youth-oriented music stations may be lighter and brighter with more stories about popular culture.
It is usually considered important to have a balance of stories in a bulletin – some heavy and some light, some political and some about people. It is also usual to give some space in a bulletin for grabs of people talking on the phone or giving their opinion which add credibility and make the bulletin more interesting.
A special opening theme should be used to announce the bulletin and, occasionally, short music inserts (often called stabs) should be used to link sections of the bulletin together. It is usual to have a headline at the start of a bulletin which promotes the major stories. The headlines should be written carefully to avoid revealing too much about the story which is to follow. The headlines of a story about rising petrol prices, for example, should never be written in such a way as to tell the listener how much it will cost to fill up the car.