The challenge of writing for broadcast:
potentially passive audience
 
need to be interesting, (entertaining?)
 
summarizing is critical, no time for long explanations
(which means you have to really know what you're talking about)
 
one chance to communicate, then it's gone
 
immediacy is a major advantage (over print)
 
 
Differences between print and broadcast journalism:
writing for the ear not the eye
 
language of the written word differs from the language of the spoken word
 
shorter leads
 

often broadcast leads don't contain the 5 W's

(usually 1 or 2)
 
time vs. space (length)
 
the ear tires before the eye
 
chronology is critical
 
 
 
Things to be aware of:
1. Know your audience
helps determine the style of presentation, what you have to say, and
why you are saying it
though it is mass communication, you are writing for one person
 
2. Accuracy
gets to the issue of journalistic integrity and credibility
bias
verify and substantiate
 
3. Attribution
who takes responsibility for what is said?
whose opinion or analysis is reflected?
separating news fact from commentary/opinion
look for ways to shorten the attribution
attribute at the start rather than at the end
 
4. Quoting the source
direct or indirect
use indirect unless direct adds emphasis or impact
 
5. Other Attribution Words
"said"
"told"
"reported"
all neutral words
 
6. Verb tense
present tense gives immediacy and impact
 
7. Active vs. Passive voice
active is more lively
subject of a verb is the doer of the action
who do you want emphasis on?
 
8. Word usage
simple rather than complex
concrete rather than abstract
active rather than passive
concise rather than wordy
 
9. Grammar
conventional rules don't always apply!
commas are important
 
key - listen, and read aloud copy after you've written it
does it make sense?
is it concise?
is it accurate?
 
 
Broadcast Writing Guidelines:
1. Use 8 and 1/2 x 11 paper.
2. Double space.
3. Use only one side of the paper.
4. Use 1 inch margins.
5. Put slug in upper left corner of the page (single spaced).
Reporter's name
Story identification
Date
Page #
Length of story
6. Start story four lines below the slug.
7. Use commas and ellipses (…) to indicate pauses. Breathe!
8. Use ### at the end of the story.
9. If a story continues onto a second page, break the story at a natural pause point.
10. Start each new story on a new page.
11. Underline key words that may be difficult to pronounce. Know who you are writing for.
12. Include phonetic spelling for difficult to pronounce words. The phonetics should be inside parentheses immediately following the word. Capitalize any syllable that needs emphasis.
13. Spell out abbreviations the first time (condense if possible). Abbreviate rarely.
14. Treat numbers properly. Make the abstract concrete.
Spell out numbers one to nine.
Use numerals for 10 - 999.
Use the words for thousands, millions, billions etc.
Round off large numbers unless specific numbers are significant.
Spell out dollars, cents, and percent with reference to numbers.
15. Use st, rd, th and nd after dates, addresses and numbers to be read as ordinals.
16. When using age, use a combination of years and "year old."
Ex. 21-year-old
17. In general, don't begin a story with a number or name.
18. Indirect quotes are usually preferred to direct quotes.
19. Titles precede names.
20. Use present tense as often as possible.
21. Localize/personalize when possible.
22. Avoid overusing "today," "tonight" etc. However, these phrases are preferable to am or pm.
23. Avoid overusing "you" and "your"
24. Be careful about using loaded words.
25. For now, four lines equals 15 seconds of airtime.
26. The lead sentence is the most important part of the story. There will always be a better lead than the one you've written. The only question is if you will be the one to write that lead.
 
 
 
Sochay's Five Rules for Good Broadcast Writing:
1. Write the story.
2. Check this sheet.
3. Read the story aloud.
4. Rewrite the story.
5. Repeat rules 1-4.
 
 
 
What is news?
Criteria:
1. Timeliness
currency
happening now or about to happen (even just recently happened)
the "why" of an event (analysis) often comes later
 
2. Proximity
the closer the event, the more likely it is to be news
scale is important
often local ties to a story can make a distant story close
ability to identify with the story
 
3. Significance
who is affected?
who is interested?
what is the impact?
 
4. Conflict
visual dramatics
emotion
movement
person v. person - physical, economic, mental, political, social
person v. self - internal conflict manifested
person v. circumstance - response to situations outside the norm
person v. nature - weather, environment etc.
more than one conflict can be present in a story
 
5. Prominence
people are more interested in the famous than the not so famous
famous places, events, things as well
 
6. Human Interest
a catch all category for anything else
a need to know your audience
often positive
Identifying why a story is newsworthy often gives you the focus for the lead.
 
 
 

The Lead
1. Summary lead
one or two essential facts that clue the audience in to the crux of the story
tells what the story is about and why they should be interested
often not very specific
 
2. Hard news lead
for breaking news
for updating an ongoing story
more specific
gets to the heart of the story
often information that the story can't do without
 
3. Soft news lead
for features
for analyses
to give perspective
to attribute value
 
a) suspended interest lead
delaying the climax or punch line of the story
 
b) question lead
good for issues that generate debate or interest
 
c) freak events lead
emphasize the unusual up front to generate interest
 
d) well-known expressions lead
can also be a play on words or a new working on a well known phrase
 
e) staccato lead
sets a tone
phrasing that tells the story
 
f) metaphor lead
uses a figure of speech to draw comparisons
 
g) literary (or cultural) allusion lead
make sure you know your audience
 
h) parody lead
 


take-offs on well known events, sayings, persons

 

 

 

 
Interviewing
no set rules, but there are guidelines

 

 
Two key principles

1. Come prepared

(know about the interviewee/subject)
2. Prepare questions ahead of time

 

 

 
Interviews can be "live" or "canned"
Live can generate immediacy, but can also be a problem (gives up control, wrong person on camera etc.)

 

 
In general, interviews alone can't tell the story
What makes for a good interview?

see pages 117-123

(esp. Figure 4-2 on p. 120)

 

 
1. Think of your audience
ask questions you think your audience would ask
don't be afraid to ask follow-up questions

 

 
2. Don't let the interviewee wander too far off track (though some tangents are worth exploring!)

 

 
3. Be wary of the interviewee trying to manipulate the interview

 

 
4. Be aware of pacing
in terms of questions and waiting for answers

 

 
5. Set up questions logically and progressively

 

 
6. Avoid asking yes/no questions unless essential

 

 
7. Clash/conflict can make for good interviews
a key - the line between hostile and challenging

 

 
8. Your responses are important too
ex. "I see" "uh huh" "okay" "right"

 

 
9. Avoid two part questions
they confuse the interviewee and the audience

 

 
10. Avoid obvious questions
they waste time and time is precious

 

 
11. Ethics are important
types of questions asked
timing of interview

 

 
12. Be relaxed yourself

 

 
13. Be aware that cameras, lights, mikes, etc. can disorient an interviewee
a pre-interview?

 

 
14. The reporter isn't the story

 

 
15. Have an exit line ready

 

 
ABOVE ALL, LISTEN!!!!!

 

 

 

 
Features
stories that interest people
entertaining and informing
can help keep things in perspective or add depth or analysis
most news stories contain the ingredients for a feature story

 

 
What makes for a good feature story?
ability to find a fresh perspective
getting behind the facts to find something powerful
adding historical, cultural perspective
stressing the "why" and its consequences
tells a STORY (narrative structure)
emotional and personal


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