Follow one question through the programme
ZDF’s logo! introduction distinguishes explanatory videos, child reporters, reporters at the scene and longer logo! extra programmes. These formats can work together, but they supply different kinds of information. A child asking a politician a question is not doing the same job as an animation explaining how an election works.
Pick one question raised by the selected item. Write it in everyday language before viewing. The goal is to see which part of the report answers it, rather than remember every detail in a whole bulletin.
Give each contribution a clear description
After an interview, ask who spoke and what that person could know from their position. Their answer may describe a decision, experience or opinion. Keep that attribution attached when recalling it. “The interviewee said…” is more precise than turning every answer into an unattributed statement from the programme.
For a graphic, ask what relationship it explains: a sequence, a comparison or a process. Do not treat a diagram as footage of the actual event. For an on-location report, identify what the camera and reporter show directly and what they explain using additional information.
This need not become a vocabulary lesson about journalism. Three simple prompts are enough: who told us, what did we see, and what did the explanation add? Let the viewer point to a moment in the video. Replaying that moment supplies a shared reference for the conversation.
Make one careful retelling
Invite a short retelling that keeps those roles visible. It might begin with the event, attribute one interview answer and finish with a process the graphic clarified. If a detail is uncertain, return to the report instead of filling the gap from a thumbnail or headline.
Use a longer single-topic edition only when the question needs it. More running time can provide room for context, but it is still a selected account. Keep the programme title and date with the discussion note so a later update can be recognised as new reporting rather than remembered as part of the earlier item.
Questions answered
Is an interview answer automatically the programme’s own conclusion?
Attribute it to the person speaking. The report may add other evidence or explanation around it.
What should a child look for in an explainer graphic?
Ask which process or relationship it clarifies, and distinguish the illustration from recorded footage of an event.
Sources & further reading
Official references for the subjects discussed. Service terms and device software can change.