writing for broadcast what you should know…

in general… Broadcast writing is different from formal thesis/paper writing Broadcast writing is all about talking to your audience in a clear, concise, conversational manner

no immediate feedback… Broadcasting is a one-way communication There is no immediate feedback Your audience only gets one chance to hear your story, and they can’t ask questions Scripts are heard, not read, by your audience If you don’t understand it, your audience surely won’t!

think like the viewer… Emphasize the viewer’s benefit of your story What’s in it for me?

what day is it… (your audience isn’t looking at their calendar) The meeting is Friday, November 21, 2008 –The meeting is tomorrow The next ACT session is Saturday, November 28, 2008 –The next ACT session is one week from this Saturday

don’t page your audience… Attention all basketball players: there’s a meeting on Monday, November 24 th. –All basketball players have a meeting next Monday Attention all students: many service- learning opportunities are available. –Many service-learning opportunities are available

Spell words fo-ne-tic-ly… Spelling words phonetically helps your pronunciation –The audience will never see the script! Mrs. Shovein –Mrs. Show-ven Cuginos –Cu-gee-nos

shorten your sentences… The senior all night party meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening at 7:00 in the media center and is open to all parents of the class of 2010 who want to help with this annual event to celebrate the end of the school year. The senior all night party meeting takes place tonight. It starts at 7:00 pm in the media center. All parents of current seniors are welcome to attend.

all the information… The freshman basketball team won last night The freshmen basketball team hosted Okemos last night. The comets came out on top, 52 to 31. Lois Lane led all players with 14 points for GL.

who are we??? We should only be used if you’re referring to your class/comet TV The earth club meets tomorrow. We’ll discuss the next fundraiser –The earth club meets tomorrow. They’ll discuss the next fundraiser The basketball team won last night. Our top scorer was Lois Lane –The basketball team won last night. Their top scorer was Lois Lane

ACTIVE VOICE Get rid of passive verbs… the “being” words… is, are, was, were, am The man was taken into custody by the police –Police arrested the man The Change Club will be having a meeting tomorrow –Change Club meets tomorrow The tennis players are going to be playing away at Haslett tonight –The tennis team travels to Haslett tonight

use a thesaurus… The football team beat Sexton –defeat, overcome, overwhelm, hammer, thrash, trounce, outdo, outclass, steamrolled, demolished, annihilated, cream, slaughter The Art Club meets today –gathers, convenes, gets together, assembles, congregates, rallies, converges

use contractions… We use contractions when we talk Be conversational –But, don’t slur your words Ex: “Let us” vs. “Let’s” “Can not” vs. “Can’t”

numbers, numbers, numbers… Write out the words for one through ten Bad: –The final score was 3-1 Good: –The final score was three to one

Write the numbers themselves for Bad: –The club is looking for twenty to thirty people to join the trip Good: –The club is looking for 20 to 30 people to join the trip numbers, numbers, numbers…

Write out the words for one thousand and greater Bad: –There are 3,200,000,000 cells in the human body Good: –There are three-billion, two-hundred million cells in the human body numbers, numbers, numbers…

Apply the same rules for time & class periods Bad: –1 st hour starts at 8:00 Good: –First hour starts at eight o’clock numbers, numbers, numbers…

repeat names often… This helps to avoid confusion Bad: –Jon Doe, Clark Kent, and Joe Mama each scored for Grand Ledge. He had a 29 yard TD, followed by his extra point Good: –Jon Doe, Clark Kent, and Joe Mama each scored for Grand Ledge. Doe had a 29 yard TD, followed by Kent’s extra point

story format… Your Lead: –One sentence to catch our attention –How could you summarize the whole story in one sentence? Body: –What are the 3 or 4 main points/ideas you need to communicate? End: –What’s the most important for your audience to know/remember? –End with IMPACT!

read your script… out loud! Applies to anchors as well as script-writers Helps to avoid verbal potholes Helps with familiarity of script

KISS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE! KEEP IT SHORT & SIMPLE