Luck of the Irish Invitational
2025 — Online, MI/US
Broadcasting
Event Description:
The purpose of this event is to familiarize the student with the important medium of broadcasting and to test the ability of the participant to read with authority, intelligence, and audience appeal while understanding the necessity of visual communication with the audience. The student will also engage in a satisfactory analysis and synthesis of news items through broadcasting, including a one-minute editorial on a tournament-designated item.
All contestants must use only the official broadcasting copy that is made available by the Tournament Director for the news and editorial segment in advance of the tournament. The Tournament Director will provide the judge(s) with the copy and note the appropriate news story selected for commentary.
The insertion of additional copy (e.g., commercial material) at the discretion of the student or choice of editorial topic from outside the included copy will result in the disqualification of the contestant from further competition; however, openings and closings for broadcasting may include the contestant's name and/or references to local conditions, such as weather and/or traffic conditions. Commercial content is not allowed. Original transitional phrases are acceptable and encouraged. In broadcasting, a transition is a phrase or sentence relating one news story to another news story.
In advance of the tournament, all contestants will receive the same copy in order to prepare broadcast elements, with the exception of the editorial. Contestants presentation order will be randomly assigned. At eight-minute intervals, following the order for presentation, each contestant will be told which item is the subject selected for the editorial. The student has thirty minutes to write and practice the editorial to achieve a five minute news presentation.
The contestant may use appropriate resource material to assist in the preparation of the editorial; however, the content of the editorial must reflect the words of the broadcaster. With regard to electronic materials, contestants may use personal technology to access resources to acquire information, but using technology to confer with external sources is unacceptable.
There shall be no communication between contestants during their entire preparation time. The coach in charge of the preparation room may dismiss a student from the contest if the contestant persists in talking or if the use of personal electronic technology is disruptive. Also, a contestant should not enter the studio while a broadcast is in progress. Entering a room during a broadcast could result in the disqualification of the offending contestant. Furthermore, the use of pre-written editorials will result in disqualification.
If contestants wish to use a name as well as their code number, they must use their given names in all rounds of all contests.
A timekeeper will be present with the contestant. Timing devices may include cards, watches, clocks, or recognized hand signals. The broadcast, including the editorial, is five minutes. In addition, the final minute will be timed with time cards (unless the contestant requests hand signals), which show 30 seconds remaining, 15 seconds remaining, 10 seconds remaining, and 5 seconds remaining. Presentations, which do not conform to the suggested time parameters, may be penalized at the discretion of the judge. Penalties are not mandatory.
Following the broadcast, the participant must remain in the contest room with camera off until the conclusion of the section. A contestant who leaves the contest room following his or her presentation may be disqualified from further participation in the particular tournament, or a rank of four with no percentage points could be assigned to the contestant for the round in which the individual left the contest room following his or her broadcast.
BASIS OF DECISION
Concept of Broadcasting: The broadcast should be a factual presentation of the news. Consideration should be given to the organization of the rewritten copy with the emphasis on announcing techniques and the editorial. The broadcaster should provide clear transition to identify the editorial, which may be placed at any point in the newscast. The suggested time limit for the editorial is one minute, not inclusive of the time spent reading the news story upon which the editorial is based. The substance of the editorial should reflect an understanding of the issue and should suggest an analytical judgment.
Script Preparation: The news should be clearly organized with effective transitions following a structured framework. Script emphasis should be on economy of language, analytic editorial content, and effective language usage.
Delivery: The broadcaster should exercise variety in inflection and rate. Enunciation should be clear. The importance of ideas should be evident by phrasing and position. The broadcaster should concentrate on the meaning of the script. The broadcaster should project personality, enthusiasm, and audience contact. The material should be delivered with poise and alertness, in a conversational style.