B-roll is extra video used in broadcast journalism to support the main story, cover edits, and give viewers something to look at while narration or interviews continue.
B-roll is the extra footage that sits alongside the main audio or interview in Intro to Journalism broadcast work. If the primary material is the reporter, anchor, or source speaking, b-roll is the visual support that makes the story feel complete on radio and television packages.
In practice, b-roll includes cutaways, reaction shots, wide shots, close-ups of details, and scene-setting footage. For a school board story, that might mean the outside of the building, parents walking in, a shot of the meeting room, and a close-up of the agenda. The viewer hears the facts, but the footage gives those facts a place to live.
A big reason journalists use b-roll is to avoid dead air or static visuals. If you leave only one talking head on screen for too long, the story starts to feel flat. B-roll gives editors something to cut to when the reporter is narrating, when an interview needs trimming, or when a transition would otherwise feel abrupt.
B-roll also helps the audience read the story emotionally. A line about a flooded street feels different when you show water pushing into a driveway, a sandbag wall, and a resident carrying belongings. The footage does not replace reporting, but it sharpens what the reporting means.
In broadcast writing, you often plan b-roll while you write the script. That means thinking about what visuals can match each section of narration. Good b-roll is not random filler, it is footage that matches the story, supports the facts, and gives the package momentum.
A common mistake is assuming any extra clip counts as b-roll. Random shots that do not connect to the topic can confuse viewers or make the story feel careless. Strong b-roll is specific, usable, and chosen with purpose, usually gathered during interviews, events, or on-site reporting so the editor has options later.
B-roll matters because broadcast journalism is both written and visual. In a print story, you can explain a scene with words alone, but in radio and television you need pictures that match the reporting. B-roll is how you avoid telling a story in a way that sounds complete but looks empty.
It also connects directly to the broadcast writing skills in this unit. When you write for the ear, you still have to think about what the viewer sees during the voiceover. Good writers and reporters plan visual coverage at the same time they plan the script, especially for feature stories and packages that depend on atmosphere, action, or emotion.
B-roll is also part of editing. It gives you coverage for cutting out pauses, shortening interviews, and moving from one beat to another without awkward jumps. If you have strong b-roll, the final piece feels smoother and more professional, even when the reporting itself is simple.
For classwork, b-roll is often the difference between a story that just informs and a story that actually feels like broadcast journalism. It shows whether you can think like a reporter, a shooter, and an editor at the same time.
Keep studying Intro to Journalism Unit 10
Visual cheatsheet
view galleryVoiceover
Voiceover is the spoken narration that carries the story while b-roll plays on screen. The two work together, because the voiceover explains the facts and the b-roll shows them. In broadcast assignments, a strong script usually predicts what visuals will appear under each line of narration, so the words and images feel matched instead of separate.
Cutaway
A cutaway is a specific type of b-roll shot that briefly leaves the main action to show something related. You might cut away from an interview to a sign, a crowd reaction, or hands doing a task. Editors use cutaways to cover edits, hide jump cuts, and keep the story visually varied without losing the thread.
Montage
A montage uses a sequence of short shots to condense time, build mood, or show a process quickly. B-roll often becomes the raw material for a montage, especially in feature stories. The difference is purpose: b-roll is the general visual support, while a montage is a deliberate editing choice that organizes those shots into a pattern.
Feature story
Feature stories rely on strong visuals more than straight hard-news pieces do, so b-roll is especially useful there. A feature about a student artist, a local coach, or a community event usually needs scene-setting shots, details, and reaction footage to create tone. Without b-roll, the story can feel like a plain interview instead of a full package.
A quiz item or broadcast-writing prompt may ask you to identify where b-roll should appear in a script, or to choose which shots would support a reporter's narration. You might also get a short package and need to point out which visuals are b-roll versus the main interview or anchor copy. In a class production assignment, you show you know the term by gathering usable footage, matching clips to your voiceover, and using shots that cover edits cleanly. If the story feels jumpy or visually blank, that usually means the b-roll plan was weak.
B-roll is the broad category for extra supporting footage, while a cutaway is one specific kind of b-roll shot. Every cutaway can function as b-roll, but not every b-roll shot is a cutaway. If the shot is just setting the scene or showing action around the story, it may be b-roll without being a classic cutaway.
B-roll is the supporting footage that gives a broadcast story visual shape while the main narration or interview carries the facts.
Good b-roll is specific, usable, and tied to the story, not just random extra footage.
Editors rely on b-roll to cover cuts, smooth transitions, and avoid long stretches of static visuals.
In Intro to Journalism, you often plan b-roll while writing the script so the visuals and voiceover match.
B-roll can change the tone of a story by showing action, setting, reaction, or detail instead of only speech.
B-roll is the extra footage used to support a broadcast story, especially in radio and television. It shows the people, places, actions, and details that match the reporter's narration or an interview. Instead of leaving the screen on one talking head the whole time, b-roll keeps the story visually active.
Not exactly. A cutaway is one type of b-roll shot, usually a quick shot of something related that takes you away from the main action for a moment. B-roll is the larger category that includes cutaways, reaction shots, background shots, and other supporting visuals.
You match the visuals to the narration. If your script mentions a school meeting, the b-roll might show the building, the room, the crowd, and close-ups of notes or hands. The point is to write lines that make sense over those shots and give the editor room to cover edits cleanly.
Feature stories depend on atmosphere and detail, so b-roll does a lot of heavy lifting. It can show emotion, setting, and movement in a way that interview audio alone cannot. Without it, a feature can feel flat and unfinished, even if the writing is strong.