General Certificate of Secondary Education Journalism in the Media and Communications Industry (JMC) Controlled Assessment Task Unit 3: Broadcast Media and Communications Part 1: News Bulletin [GJR31] VALID FROM 1st SEPTEMBER 2015 INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES UNIT 3 TASK INTRODUCTION The overall purpose of the Unit 3 task is to produce two broadcast scripts: • 1 script for a 3-minute news bulletin (Part 1); and • 1 script for a 2-minute news package (Part 2). Format The broadcast media format you will be working in for this task will be: Northern Ireland regional radio – for a public service broadcast at 5 pm. Instructions continue on pages 2 and 3. Candidates’ work to be submitted May 2016 10221 PART 1: NEWS BULLETIN The material contained in this booklet is for Part 1 of the Unit 3 Task. On pages 4 to 21 you will fi nd source material for a 5.00 pm news bulletin. The material contains 14 stories from which you will select the content for your 3-minute news bulletin. Stories are taken from a number of different dates and sources to provide suffi cient variety of material for you to choose from. The source of each story is specifi ed for you to help your background research. The date of each story falls within the month of December 2014. For the purposes of this task, all stories should be treated as though they have occurred on the same day. You may choose your own date. Timescale You must produce a script for the 3-minute news bulletin within 7 weeks of receiving this material. You will be expected to: • read the pre-release material and select the 4–5 stories (including one sports story) you plan to use; • complete background research on these stories; • compile a fi nished script based on your selection and research. Duration Your script must be of suffi cient length to be presented in 3 minutes and no longer. You may fi nd it useful to rehearse different script versions to determine their length, when recorded. Guide Base your script on an average talk time of 160–180 words per minute. (Words from any audio clip inserts (e.g. quotations from a key spokesperson) must be included in your total word count.) Presentation You will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of the presentational aspects of the radio bulletin in your fi nished script (such as the use of additional music, sound effects or audio clip inserts). An example of a possible script format you might use to do this is provided at the back of this booklet. 10221 2 Supervision Stage 1: Research and Planning You can use this hard copy booklet to make initial notes when background researching your selected stories. Your annotation can include underlining, highlighting and brief notes based on information uncovered in background research. You may also include additional relevant material that you discover in your background research. You will be expected to do this planning work during normal class time and your teacher may also set you additional task-related homework at this stage. Stage 2: Compiling the fi nished script under controlled assessment conditions You will be expected to complete the writing of your fi nal fi nished bulletin script under controlled assessment conditions which will take place in class under the teacher’s formal supervision. You will be allowed to bring your annotated hard copy booklet into the controlled assessment session scheduled by your teacher. This marked up hard copy must be submitted with your fi nal bulletin. PART 1 CHECKLIST Your fi nal script must show an understanding of: • ethics and broadcast industry guidelines; • legal constraints; • broadcast journalism deadlines; • broadcast journalism writing skills; • broadcast media formats; • news sense; • the target audience of the chosen media; • the appropriate presentational features of different media. PART 2 The material in this booklet will be followed within 7 weeks by the release of additional source material on one of the stories already featured here. Your teacher will provide you with a follow-up booklet containing this additional source material and further instructions on Part 2 of the Unit 3 task. For Part 2 of the task, you will be expected to compile a script for a 2-minute radio news package for the 6.00 pm news using the material provided. 10221 3 Story 1 Pugsley from ‘The Addams Family’ dies NEW YORK (AP) — Ken Weatherwax, who played the child character Pugsley on “The Addams Family” television series in the 1960s, has died. He was 59. Weatherwax died of a heart attack at his Box Canyon, California, home over the weekend, said Joey D. Vieira, his half brother. Weatherwax’s body was found on Sunday. Pugsley, the son of Gomez and Morticia, was a member of the family of macabre oddballs in the television series, which aired on ABC from 1964 to 1966 with its familiar, fi nger-snapping theme song. He stayed in show business after he grew up, although on the other side of the camera. Weatherwax worked as a grip on the sets of several Hollywood productions, said Vieira, a former actor himself who played the character Porky in the original “Lassie” series. Weatherwax retired a few years ago for medical reasons, Vieira said. © Associated Press (AP) (December 9 2014) 10221 4 Story 2 ‘Yellow’ Weather Warning In Place The Met Offi ce has extended a ‘yellow’ warning for snow, ice and wind to run over the course of the coming week. Drivers were warned of the potential for disruption to travel on Monday morning as a result of heavy rain over Sunday night, some falling as snow above 200-300 m with a mixture of rain, hail, sleet and snow on lower levels. ‘Yellow’ warnings of wind are now in place until Friday. Gales, severe at times, are likely to affect north Wales, northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland from Tuesday night. This will spread into Wednesday and early on Thursday, with a risk of storm force winds for parts of western and northern Scotland. The strongest winds will ease on Thursday morning. Waves are to be “unusually high”, bringing the risk of localised fl ooding in western and northern Scotland and northern coasts of Northern Ireland. The Chief Forecaster said: “Very strong winds are likely to affect northern and central parts of the UK from Tuesday night until early Thursday as a deep low pressure system moves slowly eastwards between Scotland and Iceland. There remains some uncertainty in the track and depth of this low and therefore in the exact wind strengths and timings, however a period of severe gales over the highlighted area is likely, as well as the potential for storm force winds over western and northern parts of Scotland. Gusts of 60-70 mph can be expected within the warning area, with 70-80 mph in northwestern exposures. Wintry showers could give some signifi cant snow accumulations over high ground.” © The Daily Telegraph (December 8 2014) 10221 5 Story 3 Tory MP apologises for playing Candy Crush during committee Conservative MP Nigel Mills has issued an apology for playing popular mobile puzzle game Candy Crush Saga during a Commons committee hearing. Pictures were published in the Sun newspaper of the MP playing the game on his tablet during a Work and Pensions Committee session on pensions. Mr Mills, a committee member, had initially admitted playing and told the newspaper he would try not do it again. But he later apologised “unreservedly” for his behaviour. The MP for Amber Valley was said to have played Candy Crush Saga over a period of two-and- a-half hours. It was during the committee’s evidence session on pension reforms, which took evidence from representatives of the pensions and insurance industries ahead of the Autumn Statement. In a statement on Monday afternoon, the MP for Amber Valley said: “I apologise unreservedly for my behaviour at the committee meeting and realise it fell short of what is expected of a member of parliament. I guarantee it will not happen again.” Mr Mills had initially told the paper that he “probably had a game or two” but said he was “fully engaged” in the hearing and would “try not to do it” again. The House of Commons authorities have now launched an investigation because the photographs in the Sun of Mr Mills playing Candy Crush were a breach of parliamentary rules. A Commons spokesman said the Serjeant at Arms’ probe could lead to the person who took them being banned from the Houses of Parliament. Prime Minister David Cameron said Mr Mills was a “very hard-working” MP and would be “embarrassed” by what had happened. But Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh had some sympathy for his party colleague, recalling his own boredom when he used to chair a Commons committee. “I would say get a life. I survived nine years as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and I just about managed not to go to sleep and not to play computer games but my god, it was boring! So if Nigel has to keep himself awake by playing computer games, good on him,” he said. TaxPayers’ Alliance spokesman John O’Connell criticised the Commons investigation as “pointless” and a “nonsense”. He said the issue was not who took the photos of Mr Mills but why he was playing the game in the fi rst place, “and why Parliament insists on these outdated fi lming regulations for what is, lest we forget, a public meeting”. 10221 6 Candy Crush was the top downloaded free mobile app of 2013.