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EASIT. Easy Access
for Social Inclusion Training.

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This is unit 3C.
Easy to understand language

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and audiovisual journalism.
Element 1. Processes.

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The process of creation, adaptation
and validation of easy to understand

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audiovisual journalistic content.

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I am Andrej Tomažin,
from RTV Slovenija.

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And in this video lecture
I will focus on the processes

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surrounding the creation, adaptation
and validation of easy to understand

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audiovisual journalistic content.

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Firstly, we must distinguish
between two core principles.

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The first is the original creation
of easy to understand content

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and the second one is
the adaptation of standard material

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into easy to understand content.

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In creating easy to understand
audiovisual journalistic content

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one has to preliminary focus
on the theme and narration

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which is carried out
by the editors and journalists.

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This process is followed
by the organization of shooting

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and recording the raw material.
The organization of TV recording

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consists of orchestrating
the camera crew and logistics,

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preparing the questions and in the case
of easy to understand content,

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for example, informing the interviewees
to answer slowly

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or providing other features on which
we will focus upon later in this lecture.

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Adaptation takes a different approach
by having the theme and the material

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already at hand.

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The largest part of
adaptation happens

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with the editing process,
which is in greater detail

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described in another video lecture
from Unit 3C,

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conveniently titled
Editing and voicing

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easy to understand audiovisual
journalistic content.

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The core principle
in adaptation

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that precedes editing and voicing
is the choice of news content

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to be adapted and prepared
in easy to understand fashion,

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and the selection of material
which is produced beforehand

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and to adopt
a different approach

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regarding the narration
and presentation.

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As Christiane Maaß
and Sergio Hernandez

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point out in their article
“Easy and Plain Language in

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Audiovisual Translation”,

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following the ideas
proposed by Pablo Romero-Fresco

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in his book
Accessible Filmmaking,

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planning the integration
of accessibility services

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during the production phase,
including easy-to-understand language,

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leads to a more perceptible
and accessible product.

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One of the crucial things
with recording for audiovisual media

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is to make sure there is enough material
prepared for the later stage of editing.

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Even though a journalist has a clear idea
of what will be included in the news item,

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the technical circumstances
can lead to certain shot

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not being usable
or relevant.

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Other kinds of errors can be
different intrusions into the scenery.

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For example:
if there is a random person

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traversing a landscape
the narrator talks about

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and that random person
has no role in the narration

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or even distorts
the image,

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this material will most
probably not be useful.

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The cameraman
needs to make sure

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there are different shots
of the same scene,

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so they can be later combined
in the correct manner

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and used in the proper context.
That is why the cameraman

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usually makes much more material
than is later used.

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As a journalist, producing
news for any kind of media,

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you first need to have
a reliable source of information.

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In case of foreign news,

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the information is provided
by international news feeds

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or foreign
correspondents.

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Whereas for domestic news
the list is longer:

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it can be yourself,
local news agencies,

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social media, news
conferences, media releases,

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newspapers or other radio
or TV stations.

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The exclusive way of accessing information
is by contacting different people who might

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give you accurate information
on the topic.

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Based on the given information you can,
for example, arrange an interview.

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The interview allows you to present
exclusive information

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regarding a certain topic.

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The figure of the interviewee
gives the news item an integral sense

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of assurance with respect
to its authenticity.

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With easy to understand
audiovisual journalistic content

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the journalist should make sure
that the uttered answers

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from the interviewee comply
with easy to understand guidelines.

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With regards
to this issue,

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we need to understand
that it is not always possible

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to implement Easy Language
in spoken scenarios,

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because it is not natural
to speak in that fashion.

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It could be viewed
as patronizing

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to use Easy Language
for comprehensibility purposes.

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Plain Language is more suitable
for spoken scenarios.

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This means that the interviewee
must understand these guidelines

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and use them with care, for example
not to use them in a patronizing tone.

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The task of the journalist
before the interview takes place

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is to explain the purpose
of the interview

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as short and as concise
as possible.

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The core principles are for interviewees
to talk slower and in short sentences,

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but staying true to the topic
they are referring to,

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not describing it as
they would describe it for children,

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which seems to be
the most common misunderstanding

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with easy to understand content.

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With easy to understand audiovisual
journalistic content

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the interviews must be introduced
with an adequate degree of context.

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If we, for example, interview
a healthcare professional

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on the risks of the spread
of some novel disease,

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the journalist
has to make sure

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that the information
from the interviewee

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is not placed
at the beginning,

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no matter how important
the words that are spoken,

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but is contextualized
with the help of narration.

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The context,
the narrative introduction

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of a certain topic
plays a crucial role

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with the easy to understand
audiovisual journalism.

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When using graphics
as a tool for explaining the narration,

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the graphics should be clear
and not too fast

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and not overabundant
with information.

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Not seldom can one see
in contemporary news bulletins

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the graphical explanations
and statistical information

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being presented
in a way

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which is incomprehensible
because the speed

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of the delivered information
is too fast.

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In this sense the graphics
should firstly correspond

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to the narration
and secondly be explained

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within the narration,
with special attention

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accorded
to the details.

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Details should be
as minimized as possible

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and the graphics or
statistical representations

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should only show
the information,

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pertinent to the topic
and the narration.

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With short broadcast deadlines
in mind,

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it is, as Barbara Alysen suggests
in The Electronic Reporter,

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“harder to write a clear, tight story
than to convey the same information

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in a longer one.”

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Even without the deadlines in mind,
both radio and TV news items

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need to be shorter
than their textual counterparts,

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but as concise
and tight

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in delivering information.

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It is here where
the characteristics of journalism

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must be juxtaposed
with the easy to understand guidelines.

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We can understand
the difficulty when faced

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with the task of narrating,
for example, a news item

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on a difficult political situation
in E2U format.

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There are
certain topics

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riddled with difficult vocabulary.
For example, the topics of corruption

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and elections.

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These topics must be addressed
in a precise manner.

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Especially when dealing
with delicate topics,

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where the main figures
do not talk clearly,

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use difficult words or are vague
in their statements.

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It is in this sense,
where the journalistic need of accuracy

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and easy to understand need
for understandability collide.

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We can understand producing
easy to understand news items

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as a task, which demands
from the journalist

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to assess every situation in detail
and decide which processes

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will be used to achieve
the degree of understandibility

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in easy to understand format.

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Since easy to understand language incorporates
both Easy Language and also Plain Language,

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the normativity of Easy Language
makes it harder for the journalist

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to adapt or create audiovisual
journalistic content in Easy Language.

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The principles of simplifying the content
in Easy Language

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and the principles of verification
and accuracy

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collide with greater force.

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This problem must be always
solved on an individual level,

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sometimes raising
the language difficulty

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at the expense towards
the easiness of the news item,

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but on the other hand
simplifying the complex concepts

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to the detriment
of detailed description.

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One of the relevant aspects here
is the marking of the target group:

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to whom the news items are intended
has a significant weight

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in deciding as to whether
the language is more complex or not.

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At the same time,
it is clear that

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easy to understand audiovisual
journalism is a novel endeavour,

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and as such lacks theoretical research.
Or as Maaß and Hernandez propose:

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“In audiovisual contexts, Easy Language
has not yet been addressed theoretically,

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even though there is
a mounting number of practical examples.”

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Many of the problems
that arise in the first phases

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of easy to understand audiovisual
journalistic content production

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are quickly resolved
with the help of validation.

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Validation as such is
mentioned in the two out of three

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existing Easy Language guidelines,
but can, even without those guidelines

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serve as a great help
for producers

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of easy to understand audiovisual
journalistic content,

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for those, for example,
producing audiovisual

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journalistic content
in Plain Language.

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The validation process is in most cases
done by external collaborators,

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who test the understandability
of the finished product

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and assess
what could be done differently.

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Different target groups must be taken
into consideration,

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people with cognitive
or reading disabilities,

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second language
learners, elderly.

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On the other hand, involving
users from the beginning is vital

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since they know
the problems or difficulties

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they are confronting,
and probably also what will make

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the content easier
to understand.

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If we decide to validate
the audiovisual journalistic content

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then the validation
needs to be assessed

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in a consistent way
and with the understanding

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that the users of easy to understand
audiovisual journalistic content

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form a rather
heterogeneous group.

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Validation is necessary to know
the wishes and approaches

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suitable for the target groups
and to replicate them in other content.

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Within the larger context of TV
or radio broadcasts, which tend to be produced

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for a broader audience,
journalists might need to find

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a proper way to address the question,
posed by Bredel and Maaß

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in the book “Leichte Sprache”,
where they say that quality control

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of the finished texts, and news items
in our case, is faced with a problem,

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where “due to the
considerable heterogeneity

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of the primary addressees,
the examining item

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has to be undertaken
by a large number

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of different readers or users,
and the question of whether texts

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checked by individual readers
from different groups

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guarantee the general comprehensibility
of a text would not be answered

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because of the random selection
of the examiners.”

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The use of easy to understand
audiovisual journalistic materials

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for a broader variety of context

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in this sense presents a problem
as to how to actually enforce

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adequate quality control
at a proper level.

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Broadening the scope of analysis
and validation is certainly a first step,

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but we must at the same time
acknowledge that this complexity

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should not lead us to avoid
the involvement of the end-users

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in the process of validating
easy to understand

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audiovisual journalistic content.

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This video lecture was prepared
by Andrej Tomažin from RTV Slovenija.

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You can reach me
at andrej.tomazin@rtvslo.si.

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Partners of the EASIT project:
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona,

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Universita degli studi di Trieste,
Universida de Vigo,

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Stiftung Universität

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Hildesheim,

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SDI München,
Dyslexiförbundet,

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RTV Slovenija,
Zavod  Risa.

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EASIT. Easy Access
for Social Inclusion Training.