Writing for the ears – not the eyes! Writing for Radio Writing for the ears – not the eyes!

Basic principles Radio listeners only get one chance – you’ve got to grab their attention. They’re doing other things as well – you need to make every word count. They’ve got no pictures, video, text or graphics – just your words So keep it simple, clear and punchy.

What’s the story? Decide what you want to say – understand your story. If you don’t – the listener won’t! Try telling the story to somebody else in your own words. Your top line should be ear-catching and punchy. It should contain the essence of the story. Think of the tip of a pyramid. As the pyramid widens out, so the rest of your story fills in. Make your story logical Use clear language and short sentences.

Write as we speak Be conversational – use contractions such as “it’s, they’re, won’t”…etc. Use active not passive constructions – news is now! “The Prime Minister says…” not “…has said” in most circumstances. Avoid repetition – find alternative words Cliches, jargon and officialese – bin them…. Use direct quotes very sparingly – they’re hard to put across. DON’T mix singulars and plurals in the same sentence “The Council says it’s going to switch to fortnightly bin collections. They believe the move will save £5 million.” NO,NO,NO!

Types of cases 3 Indictable-only offences are the most serious ones which MUST go to Crown court. We therefore assume a jury trial and are heavily restricted in what we can report in order to avoid prejudicing future jurors. These case appear usually just once before magistrates before being “sent” – not committed – for trial. We are governed by the “10 Points” of the Magistrates Court Act – see McNae p.52. We stretch these 10 points very slightly – they don’t include a defendant’s dress or demeanour, but we do report them – very carefully. These restrictions can cease if the defendant requests it, if there is insufficient evidence for a trial and when proceedings are concluded.

Types of cases 4 You need to get your terminology right. Either-way offences which are going to jury trial are “committed” to Crown court. Indictable-only offences are “sent” to Crown court. A small number of cases – including serious fraud and crimes involving a child – may be “transferred” to CC under a special fast-track procedure. All these restrictions also apply to serious cases in Youth court where they may be a jury trial.

Crown Court The main function of a Crown court is a hear criminal trials – with a jury. (They also hear appeals from magistrates courts against verdict or sentence.) A CC trial follows a similar structural process to summary trial (see above) but it’s the jury which decides the verdict – the Judge rules on the law and decides the sentence. The jury consists of 12 people drawn at random from the electoral roll. (McNae p.76 for types of Judges). The jury is expected to return a unanimous verdict – if this is impossible the Judge may accept a majority verdict of 11 – 1 or 10 – 2. If a defendant is convicted by a majority verdict we report it – if he’s acquitted by a majority we don’t. It means somebody still believes he’s guilty.