Sure, you could place that story later in the newscast. But if the audience is expecting today s big story and it s not ready at the top of the newscast, they ll switch to the competition. A Precise Fit Time restricts broadcast stories in another way. The producer who assembles the newscast must build a collection of taped stories, live material and commercials that will fit the time slot exactly. The time tolerance is so precise, listeners and viewers will notice if there is an awkward split-second of dead air.
Producers live with stopwatches hanging around their necks.
A television newscast, in its entirety, will be 30 or 60 minutes long. The newspaper news hole varies from day to day, depending on how much advertising has been sold. The newscast length remains the same. Radio Even Shorter A radio newscast producer will have only five or 10 minutes. Most radio news stories are 10 to 15 seconds long.