Newsreader Script Voice Piece
Teenagers texting whilst driving has caused numerous accidents over the past years leading to investigations into whether younger drivers should be allowed on the roads.
Our reporters Rebecca Lavin and Christopher Donaldson are Live from South Downs College reviewing the highly discussed issue of teenagers texting whilst behind the wheel.
Cut: Donaldson1
Dur: 40 Secs
Out: Lavin1
Reporters Voice Piece
Chris: Hello, welcome to South Downs News.
Rebecca: We are here today reporting live from South Downs College, discussing the topic of teenagers texting whilst driving.
Chris: 33% of deaths among 13 to 19-year-olds in 2010 occurred in motor vehicle crashes.
Rebecca: This is a terrifying statistic which is why change must begin as soon as possible.
Chris: We are now here joined with Charlotte, a 17 year old student who's recently passed her driving test.
Rebecca: Whats your thoughts on teenagers who text whilst driving?
Charlotte: I think texting whilst driving isn't good and I would never personally do it. I understand sometimes if its an emergency and you have to reply straightaway than its acceptable to text and drive, but if people just do it for the sake of it then I don't agree.
Chris: If you were in a vehicle with somebody who was texting would you intervene?
Charlotte: Yeah I would try to stop them as they are putting my life and others in danger. If it was say in a traffic jam where we wouldn't be moving for a while then I would maybe not intervene but if I thought I was in danger I'd definitely speak up.
Rebecca: Only 44% of teens said they would definitely speak up if someone were driving in a way that scared them.
Chris: Talking on a cell phone can double the likelihood of an accident as well as slow a young driver’s reaction time down to that of a 70-year-old.
Chris: Teen drivers with involved parents are twice as likely to wear seat belts.
Rebecca: Only 44% of teens said they would definitely speak up if someone were driving in a way that scared them.
Chris: Statistics show that 17 and 18-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger.
Rebecca: I hope you have found this to be helpful and informative.
Chris: So next time you debate texting whilst driving, just remember your putting your life and others in danger.
Chris: And this has been Chris and Lucy reporting for South Downs News.
Rebecca: Thank you for watching, back to the studio.
Vox Pop
(News readers asks the question 'whats your thoughts on teenagers texting whilst driving?')
Vox Pop Response:
I think texting and driving is bad and anybody who considers doing it should be ashamed. I would never personally do it as I think it puts peoples lives in danger. Being safe on the roads is way more important than answering a phone call or text.
(News readers asks the question 'If you were in a vehicle with somebody who was texting would you intervene?)
Vox Pop Response:
I personally would definitely intervene as its my life at risk just as much as the drivers and other people on the road. I have never been in a car where someone has texted and drove but if I did I would feel like its my right to say something so I would.
(News reader asks the question 'Would you ever text whilst driving?')
Vox Pop Response:
No I wouldn't think about doing that. Its stupid and unneeded, answering a call or text should not be peoples main priority whilst driving. I've just recently passed my test and I'm already scared of other drivers on the road purely for the fact of things like texting whilst driving, I just think people shouldn't do it.
Final Radio Vox Pop Piece
This is the final finished version of our radio vox pop piece, we edited it through Adobe Audition, the changes we made were are as follows; cropping and cutting certain sections, replacing parts with different recordings and manipulating certain responses to fit within the style of a vox pop. After we changed the recording to an MP3 we uploaded it via Chirbit.
Check this out on Chirbit
Evaluation
The story I was assigned to do was about teenager’s texting whilst driving, this story has a lot of news value as it effects a large majority of society. A lot of people drive or are aware of people that do, so the thought of a generation putting people’s lives at risk would grab attention and be engaging. I was pleased with the story I was given as I felt I could create a news story and radio vox pop piece to a great standard with such a in depth story. The target audience for ‘teenager’s texting whilst driving’ specifically relates to teenagers it also relates to near enough everyone from people who drive, passengers in vehicles to people who are learning to drive. This is also a story which people would find interesting and want to hear more about as it does relate to such a wide variety of audiences. This story being about teenagers would firstly draw attention to teens but also parents and grandparents, older people who do reservations about young drivers as they are constantly stereotyped as being 'bad' drivers. This story appeals the audience for the simple fact it effects a wide variety of people and is a serious matter as texting whilst driving is illegal and puts people’s lives in danger.
I have demonstrated a variety of professional practice within my film and radio piece. To start with my filming assignment reflects professionalism as I used a mixture of different and expert angles like cut away shots, long distance shots and close ups. I also made sure the actors and actresses I decided to use for the filming were the best I could find, I wanted the news film to be as professional as possible which is why I choose actors and actress who were up to that standard and what I wanted to represent our news programme. Another example of how my film treatment reflects professional practice is the script. Throughout this assignment I researched a variety of different news programmes and looked into how the way news reporters speak, what they say etc. and due to this made sure the script reflected that. I used the conventional aspect of the news reporters introducing themselves and addressing what location they are at so it related to a traditional style news report. Some examples of how I established professional practice in my radio assignment are as follows; when collecting vox pops, I looked into different ones through research (Radio 1 News, BBC News ect.) All of the vox pops I listened to all stuck to a similar style of clear voices, lack of background sound and short answers, due to this I decided to make sure my vox pops were to a similar theme. When doing vox pops I was sure to do them in areas which weren’t surrounded by a lot of background sounds and asked questions which were recognizable and allowed the person to give a detailed answer. The voice piece in my radio assignment also demonstrated professional practice because the voice was clear and understandable. The way the voice piece and vox pops were edited also showed professionalism as personally I feel it sounds similar to ones you would hear on the radio.
A lot of the places where I sourced my information for both my radio and television assignment were from the Internet. After I discovered the story I was assigned to I straight away started researching facts and figures, information and incidents which may have appeared in the public eye which involves not just teenagers but people in general texting whilst driving. I found a lot of facts and figures such as 33% of deaths among 13 to 19-year-olds in 2010 occurred in motor vehicle crashes and 56% of teens said they talk on the phone while driving on a website called ‘No Texting Whilst Driving’.
A feel I have a lot of strengths as well as some weaknesses in both of my television and radio assignments. The strengths I have in my television assignment are as follows; as an overview I’m pleased with how my news film has ended up as it’s demonstrated the style of a professional news programmes. The whole film I feel was finished to a high standard as I used different, good quality shots, a couple of good actors/actresses and a script which displays effectiveness. The weaknesses in this news programme is maybe the lack of interviews within. I only used on particular person who got asked questions by the news reporters. So if I was to complete this assignment again I would make sure I had arranged an interview with another person who maybe would be more significant to the story like a policeman or someone who has been involved in a car accident but specifically when someone was on their phone. The strengths in my radio assignment are I feel that my audio piece was to a professional and good quality standard. I enjoyed researching different audio on the radio and due to this I feel this is why the vox pop and voice piece I created relates to it and does sound strikingly similar. My vox pops in particular I’m impressed with as I feel they are clear, understandable and relate to the style of radio vox pops. One weakness I felt I had with this radio assignment is although I was happy with my vox pops if I was to do the task again I would ask a more variety of questions to get a different response.
