+ Weekend Script: Broadcast Writing on the Run at Homecoming Media Writing/ 2012 / Scott

+ The assignment Offered good chances if you took the Mitch Pittman approach and sought angles and ‘reveals.’ Plenty of people to find to interview. Required some pointed talking, some hard editing. One key for broadcasters is to learn how to get your sources talking. Move them past the generalities. Scope in on details, anecdotes, specifics. Some did!

+ Basics/Mechanics Names need to be spelled phonetically. As Mitch reminded us, we often write for someone else to read. Several of you didn’t do this. Phonetic: FEE-nicks [for Phoenix] How to write years? One way: Another: 2-thousand-12. To be honest: Viewers may not care what year someone graduated. Could be text on bottom of screen with name.

+ Biggest point Writing for broadcast is much different than for print. Most of the sentences and were too lengthy and wordy. Read it out loud. If you can’t do sentence in one breath, it’s too long. Write crisp sentences. Reduce pauses. Find small, concrete words. Kill those repeat clauses.

+ Clichés are the enemy They are so common they have lost meaning. Trite. Unsatisfying to viewers. Heard these before: In the air. Memory lane. Labor of love. Falling leaves. To defeat clichés, seek fresh phrases and specific stories and scenes. Be original. What makes this story different from all others? Ask that, and you’ll avoid clichés.

+ Lede to admire Homecoming is a time machine. It is a time for alumni to revisit school and rehash the old days with friends. Slightly edited but good idea. Notice how crisp, fast, clear. Good tempo. Works for broadcast.

+ Sound bite If I could relive anything it would be jumping in the fountains. There was a night when I did all that, and it was amazing. I would do it this weekend, but I’m sure the campus police are very aware of this desire and would catch me. Bingo! This is what we’re after. Fun. Full. Fresh. One-of-a-kind. How do you find a bite like this? You keep asking until you find one. Don’t be satisfied with dull sound bites. Work at it.

+ Good sound bite I just feel like this is my home. When I hear the word ‘homecoming,’ I don’t think of football. I take it literally as coming home. This comment plays with the idea of homecoming. Turns it around. Removes the sense of cliché.

+ Sound bite I miss the days I got to relax and chill with my friends. There was nothing better than sitting back on a Friday with a cold beer, watching the game. I am lucky to do that every few months now. I miss being that age.” Not a secret but an honest comment. It carries a touch of emotion. It’s wistful, specific. The last line makes the entire sound bit work.

+ Sound bite I miss day drinking. Just how my body was so sour and just hanging around and not having to worry about the real world. I miss the girls, too, and how easy they were. Now days you have to give a run- through of your background history. He said it, but... Would a TV station run this? Maybe Spike TV? Why are TV news officials cautious about what they air? What differentiates TV as a medium?

+ The end Lesson of the day: Being brief and conversational is not as easy as it looks. We’ll discuss some of this briefly on Monday.