Broadcast News WritingBroadcast News Writing

Edward R. Murrow

Edward R. Murrow

This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can inspire. But it can only

do so to the extent that humans are determined to

use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires

and lights in a box.

Edward R. Murrow

Edward R. Murrow

One of the basic problems with radio and television is that both instruments have grown up in an incompatible

combination of show business, advertising and news... And when you get

all three under one roof, the dust never settles.

Print vs. Broadcast

•More immediate

•Visual

•Passive

•Lacks depth

•Written for ear, not eye

Newspaper•Longer sentences

•More words, details

•Not as conversational

•Attributes more often

•Uses parenthetical phrases

•Gives precise numbers

•Uses direct quotes

•Constructed in inverted pyramid style

Broadcast•Shorter sentences

•Fewer words, details

•More conversational

•Attribute less often

•Avoid parenthetical phrases

•Rounds off numbers

•Rarely uses direct quotes

•Stories constructed with a beginning, middle, end

Writing for broadcast

•Preference for active voice

•Preference for present tense

•Attribution before assertion

•Short, direct sentences

•No abbreviations

•Symbols, numbers spelled out

Passive Voice

Some form of “to be”

Is, was, were, be, being, been

The receiver of the verb’s action is preceded by the verb

The actor of the action is often at the end of the phrase

Advantages of active voice

Straight line meaning

Tighter copy

Complete reporting

More interesting copy

Verb TenseOrder of preference

FutureThe city council will vote on the ban tomorrow

PresentThe hurricane is battering the coast

Present perfectThe president has resigned

PastThe president resigned

Attribution before assertion

After Before

The election is tomorrow, the mayor

said.

The mayor says the election is tomorrow.

Parenthetical Phrases

•Governor Smith, who is 46 years old, the father of two, and a published author, is running for a third term.

•Governor Smith is running for a third term. He’s 46.

Basic scripting rules

• Standard-sized paper

• Use only one side

• One story per page

• Double space

• Indent

• Upper case

• Ellipses

• No dateline

• End mark # # #

• Break at natural point if story carries over to the next page

Broadcast writing rules

•Phonetic spellings

•Cairo (KAY-rho), Illinois

•Eliminate abbreviations

•Except common ones, like YMCA, Dr. Mrs., U-N, etc.

•Titles precede names

Broadcast writing rules

•Use st, rd, and nd after dates, addresses, and numbers to be read as ordinals

•2nd Avenue, 16th Street, etc.

•Set off quotes which phrases such as:

•“in these words...”

•“as she put it...”

•Avoid “quote” and “end quote”

Handling numbers•Spell out numbers one through eleven

•Translate other amounts into digits and words

•Never $12,000,000.00

•Better: 12-million dollars

•Use thousands, millions, billions, trillions

•Avoid dollar & cents signs, decimal points

•Round out complex numbers

• CRABB, Texas (AP) Voters in this farming community Saturday overwhelmingly rejected a plan to incorporate, a move the town’s 12-year-old mayor had sought to prevent annexation by neighboring cities.

• “It’s back to the drawing board,” frowning Mayor Brian Zimmerman said after the 595-30 vote against incorporation, which also allowed him to keep his job.

• Only 33 percent of the 1,911 eligible voters cast ballots, and Zimmerman wasn’t among them because of his age.

• Although failing in his campaign promise of incorporation, Zimmerman gets to retain his title as mayor. He said he doesn’t plan to give up on incorporation.

• When Zimmerman, then 11, was elected mayor in an unofficial election in September, he vowed to put Crabb on the map by seeking incorporation.

• Incorporation, he said, would prevent adjacent cities such as Richmond, Rosenberg and especially Houston from annexing it. Crabb is about 20 miles south of Houston.

• (CRABB, TEXAS) – EFFORTS BY THE 12-YEAR-OLD MAYOR OF CRABB, TEXAS, TO INCORPORATE THE COMMUNITY HAVE FAILED BUT HE SAYS HE DOESN’T PLAN TO GIVE UP ON INCORPORATION.

• THE MAYOR PUT IT THIS WAY: “IT’S BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD.”

• MAYOR BRIAN ZIMMERMAN, WHO WAS ELECTED WHEN HE WAS 11 YEARS OLD, VOWED TO PUT CRABB ON THE MAP BY SEEKING INCORPORATION. HE SAID IT WOULD PREVENT NEIGHBORING CITIES – INCLUDING HOUSTON – FROM ANNEXING IT.

• ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF CRABB’S NEARLY 2,000 ELIGIBLE VOTERS CAST BALLOTS. ZIMMERMAN WAS NOT ONE OF THEM …. HE’S NOT OLD ENOUGH.

• THE YOUNG MAYOR DID NOT LIVE UP TO HIS CAMPAIGN PROMISE OF INCORPORATIONN. BUT THE LANDSLIDE VOTE AGAINST INCORPORATION DOES HAVE ONE POSITIVE EFFECT – ZIMMERMAN GETS TO KEEP HIS JOB.

•PROVO, Utah – A 31-year-old woman was stabbed and robbed Friday morning in downtown Provo, police said.

• Shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, the victim was walking down an alley to the south of the 600 block of Park Avenue, said police Sgt. Andrew Wheeler.

• Two teen-agers accosted her and demanded money, Wheeler said. She told them she had no money so one of them stabbed her twice in the leg, he said.

• The teens then took an undisclosed amount of cash from the woman and fled west down the alley on foot, Wheeler said.

•PROVO POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR TWO TEEN-AGERS WHO STABBED AND ROBBED A THRITY-ONE-YEAR-WOMAN FRIDAY.

• THE VICTIM WAS WALKING DOWN AN ALLEY TO THE SOUTH OF THE SIX HUNDRED BLOCK OF PARK AVENUE SHORTLY BEFORE ELEVEN A.M.

• THE TEEN-AGERS STABBED THE WOMANAFTER SHE SAID SHE HAD NO MONEY. THEN THEY TOOK HER MONEY AND FLED EAST DOWN THE ALLEY ON FOOT.

• PROVO, Utah – A partially devoured woman’s body was found early Saturday in the outdoor lion enclosure at the Provo City Zoo. A zoo official said two lions were in the enclosure at the time.

• Police Department spokesman Sergeant Joe Gentile said the cause of death had not been established. The woman was not immediately identified.

• A zookeeper discovered the body at about 7 a.m. He coaxed the animals back into the lion house and called police.

• A spokesman for the zoo, Marc Bretzfelder, said the dead woman was not a zoo employee.

•PROVO CITY ZOO WORKERS FOUND A PARTIALLY DEVOURED WOMAN’S BODY IN AN OUTDOOR LION ENCLOSURE.

• A ZOOKEEPER FOUND THE UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN AT 7 A.M. SATURDAY. HE COAXED THE TWO LIONS BACK INTO THE LION HOUSE AND CALLED POLICE.

• A POLICE SPOKESMAN SAYS THE CAUSE OF DEATH HAS NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED. THE VICTIM WAS NOT A ZOO EMPLOYEE.

• PROVO, Utah – Thieves have stolen seven Picasso paintings worth more than $40 million from BYU’s Museum of Art, police said today.

• Provo police said the break-in occurred over the weekend through the basement of a neighboring building.

• A police statement said tow works, “Seated Woman,” and “Christ of Montmarte,” were the most valuable of the paintings stolen. Both paintings were stolen in 1991 from a Zurich gallery and were recovered the following year.

•POLICE IN PROVO, UTAH, ARE LOOKING FOR SEVEN PICASSO PAINTINGS. THIEVES GRABBED THEM FROM AN ART GALLERY OVER THE WEEKEND.

•THE MOST FAMOUS PAINTINGS ARE PICASSO’S “SEATED WOMAN,” AND “CHRIST OF MONTEMARTE’ (MONT – Mar – Tay)– BOTH RECOVERED FROM A PREVIOUS THEFT IN 1991 FROM A ZURICH GALLERY.