A news bulletin is a summary of current events and, as such, its purpose is to stimulate the listener into a daily conversation with their radio. The stories you choose and the way you build your bulletin are very important. A balance of stories and a variety of pace within the bulletin are essential; too many long complicated stories can slow down the overall pace and cause listeners to lose interest.
Listeners expect a balanced mix of stories; some heavy, some light, some about major political events and others about ordinary people. The actual mix will depend to some extent on the format of your station; a serious national broadcaster may use more serious stories delivered in a slower deliberate style whereas a youth-oriented music station might prefer a lighter, brighter tone with stories about popular culture.
During the building of your bulletin it is very important to look at each story and rank it according to its importance to the audience. This will help you to judge how long the story should be and whether it needs a headline or not.
It is also necessary to take a certain amount of extra copy into the studio to give you some flexibility and to allow for mistakes. Always glance at the studio clock while you are reading and be ready to add or subtract stories as appropriate. You may wish to include a short piece of music at the beginning and at the end of your bulletin; these are called stabs.