Chapter 1: Determine broadcast equipment

Broadcast journalism relies heavily on high-quality audio to communicate news and stories effectively to audiences. The selection and use of appropriate audio equipment are critical in ensuring clear, reliable, and professional sound production. In Kenya, where broadcast stations range from national outlets to vibrant community radio stations, understanding audio equipment enables journalists and producers to adapt to varied environments and technical constraints. This chapter explores the meaning and scope of audio equipment production, focusing on the tools and technologies essential for broadcast journalism.

1.1 Meaning of audio production

Audio production is the planned work of creating sound content for broadcast: deciding what will be heard, capturing it, shaping it and delivering it so that a listener understands it clearly. In a radio newsroom it covers the voice of the presenter, the recorded words of a witness, the music under a feature and the quiet pause before a headline. The word production matters: audio does not simply happen, it is designed, recorded, corrected and checked before it goes on air.

Definition of audio production

Audio production is the whole process of planning, recording, editing, mixing and delivering sound for radio, television, podcasts and online platforms. Its aim is a finished programme that carries a message accurately and is comfortable to listen to. A reporter who records a vox pop at a bus stage, trims the answers, adds a short music sting and hands the clip to the presenter has carried out audio production on a small scale. A station that runs a two-hour drive-time show with live links, pre-recorded items and adverts does the same work on a large scale, with a team.

Audio production differs from simply recording. Recording is one stage that captures sound. Audio production includes the decisions before the recording (what to record, where, with whom) and the work after it (cleaning, arranging, balancing and delivering).

Elements of an audio programme

Every audio programme is built from a small set of sound elements. Production is the skill of choosing and combining them.

• Speech: The voices of presenters, reporters, guests and interviewees. In news and talk programmes speech carries nearly all of the information.
• Music: Signature tunes, stings, beds under speech and full tracks. Music sets mood and marks the start and end of items.
• Sound effects: Short sounds that add meaning or realism, such as a door closing, a market crowd or a matatu horn in a feature about transport.
• Ambience: The background sound of a place, for example a busy fish market or a quiet office corridor, which tells the listener where the story is happening.
• Silence: A deliberate pause. Silence gives the listener time to absorb a statement and is as much a part of the programme as sound.

From sound to broadcast signal

Sound is vibration of the air. A microphone converts these vibrations into a small electrical signal. That signal is strengthened, shaped and combined with others, then stored as a recording or sent to a transmitter or an internet stream. At the listener's end a receiver or phone changes the signal back into sound through a speaker or headphones.

Audio can be analogue or digital. An analogue signal is a continuously varying voltage that copies the sound wave. A digital signal measures the wave many times each second and stores the measurements as numbers, which makes copying, editing and sending easier without loss of quality. Stations today record and edit digitally, although some analogue equipment is still found in studios.

Audio production in broadcast journalism

In journalism the purpose of audio production is to tell a true story through sound. The journalist must keep the speaker's words intact, balance voices fairly and avoid sound that misleads the listener. Editing an interview for length is acceptable; changing the meaning of an answer by cutting out its qualifying words is not.

Broadcast journalists produce audio in several settings: a studio with a mixing desk for live bulletins, an outside broadcast at a public event with portable equipment, and a quiet corner or recording booth for voice-overs and packages. Deadlines are short, so the production work must be fast as well as accurate.

Terms used in audio production

• Signal: The electrical form of sound that moves through equipment.
• Level: How strong the signal is, usually shown on a meter. A level that is too low is hard to hear; one that is too high distorts.
• Frequency: How fast a sound vibrates, measured in hertz. Low frequencies are deep sounds and high frequencies are thin or sharp sounds. Human speech sits mainly in the middle of the audible range.
• Frequency response: The range of frequencies that a piece of equipment can reproduce accurately. A microphone with a good response for speech captures a voice without making it thin or muffled.
• Noise: Unwanted sound such as wind, traffic, hum or hiss.
• Signal-to-noise ratio: The comparison of the wanted sound with the unwanted noise, usually given in decibels. A higher ratio gives a cleaner recording.
• Distortion: A harsh or crackling change to the sound, often caused by a level that is too high.

The tools that carry out audio production

Audio production depends on equipment, but the equipment is only the means. The main groups are introduced here and taught in detail in the chapters on recording equipment and recorders.

• Microphones: Convert sound into an electrical signal and are chosen for the place and the speaker.
• Mixing consoles: Blend several sources, set their levels and send the result to the recorder or transmitter.
• Amplifiers: Raise the signal to a level suitable for recording, monitoring or transmission.
• Recording devices: Store the sound for later use, from portable field recorders to computers with recording software.
• Transmission and streaming equipment: Carry the finished sound to the transmitter or the internet stream.
• Headphones and monitor speakers: Let the producer hear exactly what is being recorded or aired.

Audio production and audio equipment

Equipment and production are related but are not the same thing. A station can own an excellent console and still broadcast poor audio if the producer sets levels badly or records in a noisy room. A skilled producer with modest equipment can still deliver clear and balanced sound. Audio production is therefore the combination of equipment, technique and editorial judgement.

Chapter Summary

This chapter explored the meaning of audio equipment production, emphasizing its role in creating quality broadcast content. It examined various types of audio productions, including interviews, documentaries, and live shows, highlighting their distinct requirements. The scope of audio production was outlined, covering pre-production, recording, editing, and post-production processes. The importance of audio production in broadcasting exercises was discussed, particularly in enhancing listener engagement and clarity. Techniques for mixing audio for radio were detailed to achieve balanced sound that meets broadcast standards. The chapter also described different audio recorders, focusing on their functions and suitability for various production needs. Finally, it introduced digital recorders, explaining their advantages in terms of sound quality, portability, and ease of editing in modern broadcasting environments.