Fortheexecutiveproducerofanetworknightlynewsprogramme,theworkdayoftenbeginsatmidnightasminedidduringsevenyearswithABC’seveningnewscast.Thefirstorderofbusinesswasacalltotheassignmentdeskforapre-bedtime?rundownoflatestdevelopments. Theassignmentdeskoperates24hoursaday,staffedbyeditorswhomovecrews,correspondentsandequipmenttothesceneofevents.Assignment-deskeditorsatelogisticsexperts;theyhavetoknowplaneschedules,satelliteavailability,andwhomtogetintouchwithatlocalstationsandoverseasbroadcastingsystems.Theyarerequiredtoassessstoriesastheybreakonthewireservices—sometimesevenbeforetheydo-andtodecidehowmuchefforttomaketocoverthosestories. WhentheUnitedStateswasgoingtoappealtoarmsagainstIraq,thenumberofcorrespondentsandcrewswasconstantlyevaluated.BasedonreportsfromthefieldandalsoupontheskilledjudgmentsofdeskeditorsinNewYorkCity,therightnumberofpersonnelwaskeptonthealert.Therestwereallowedtocontinueworkingthroughouttheworld,inAmericaandIraqreadytomovebutnottieddownbyfalsealarms. ThestudiostaffofABC’s“WorldNewsTonight”assemblesat9a.m.toprepareforthe6:30“air”p.m.deadline.Overnightdispatchesfromoutlyingbureausandpressservicesareread.Therearephoneconversationswiththebroadcast’sstaffproducersindomesticbureausandwiththeLondonbureauseniorproducer,whocoordinatesoverseascoverage.Apatternemergesfortheday’snews,apatternoutlinedintheexecutiveproducer’sfirstlineup.Thelineuptellsthestaffwhatstoriesarescheduled;whattheprioritiesareforprocessingfilmofeditingtape;whatscriptsneedtobewritten;whatcommercialsatescheduled;howlongstoriesshouldrunandinwhatorder.Withoutalineup,therewouldbechaos. Eachstory’srelativevalueindollarsandcentsmustbecontinuallyassessedbytheexecutiveproducer.Cuttingbacksatellitebookingtosavemoneymightmeanthatanexplanationdeliveredbyananchorpersonwillreplaceactualphotosofanevent.Adeclineinlivecoveragecouldsendviewersawayanddriveratingsdown,butthereisnotenoughmoneytodoeverything.Sodecisionsmustbemadeandmaderapidly—becausedelaycanmeanamissedconnectionforshippingtapeoraccesstoasatelliteblockedbyacompetitor. Thebroadcaststhemselvesrequirepacingandstyle.Theaudiencehastobeallowedtobreathebetweenperiodsofintenseexcitement.Avividpictorialreportfollowedbylessexactingmaterialsallowstheviewertoreflectoninformationthathasjustflashedby.Frequentswitchesfromoneanchortoanotherorfromonefilmortapereporttoanothercreateasenseofforwardmovement.Ideally,leadingandlagstostoriesareworkedoutwithfieldcorrespondents,enablingthemtofittheirreportsintotheprogramme’snarrativeflowsotheaudience’sattentiondoesnotwanderandmoresubstanceisabsorbed. Scriptsareconstantlyrewrittentoblendwellwithincomingpictures.Goodcopyiscrisp,informative.Ourrule:thefewerwordsthebetter.Ifapicturecandothework,letit. Whatdoestheword“rundown”(Line3,Para.1)possiblymean?
A.The rehearsal of tomorrow’s programme. B.A working report or summary to his superior or head. C.An explanation of the programme. D.Preparation for the programme.正确答案B
