A news bulletin should be fresh and dynamic. It should include a range of stories, some heavy and some light, covering major events and ordinary people. It should also have a variety of pace, with the bulletin going slow at times to give listeners time to catch up and speeding up at others to keep interest alive.
The first story in the bulletin should be a dramatic one, if possible, and should be headlined to attract listeners. The title should suggest the main idea of the story without giving away any details. Using a question mark or exclamation mark can help to create an attractive headline. It is often a good idea to have a funny or light story at the end of the bulletin, a sort of tail-ender which can break up a long period of reading and add some relief for the audience.
If the bulletin is to be read from a script, the newsreader should practise it to make sure it has the right pace. Ask a colleague to time you for 60 seconds while you read a short piece of news script, then write down how many words you said in that time. Repeat this for ten different scripts and then calculate the average number of words per second to get your reading rate.
It is a good idea to have some recorded sound with each story, either a five or 10-second grab inserted into the voice report or a full-length audio clip. These sound bites make the bulletin more interesting for listeners and they can be more credible than written words because they come from someone who knows about the situation or event from first-hand experience.