Basic TV Reporting, 2nd Edition

Planning Future Coverage

Laypeople are commonly under the impression that ‘news’ consists entirely of unexpected and spectacular happenings in all parts of the world. This is not the case. Nor do television reporters go roaming the streets with their camera crews in search of news: it would be time-consuming and almost entirely nonproductive. News gathering has to be approached on an organised and systematic basis. Professionally organised news services recognise this by dedicating teams of journalists to the filtering and discussion of ideas, building a catalogue of scheduled events at home.

This planning or futures desk — cornerstone of the intake or input department — is responsible for noting the dates of Parliamentary sessions, anniversaries, ...