News Writing Tips to Create Strong Content for TV News



News Writing Tips to Create Strong Content for TV News10 Ways to Make Your News Writing StrongerBy Glenn Halbrooks , Media Expert News writing for television seems so simple, until you try it for the first time. Experts in English or print journalism often struggle with turning stories into tight scripts that are meant to be heard, not read. While you'll spend your entire career perfecting your TV news writing style, mastering the basics will provide a foundation for success. These news writing tips help you create strong content for TV news with every single script:1. Write for the EarRead your script out loud. Is it easy to understand just by hearing it one time only? Unlike in print, a TV news audience has one shot to get the story.That's why words that sound alike but have different meanings create stumbling blocks for the ear. Words such as "cite", "site" and "sight" should be avoided if possible. Short, punchy sentences are easier for the ear to digest than long, complicated sentences that are full of dependent clauses.2. Avoid Passive VoicePassive voice writing jumbles up the usual sequence of subject, verb, object in active voice writing. This sounds like a lesson from English class, but it really makes a critical difference in broadcast news writing.An active voice sentence is, "The robber fired the gun." You see the subject, verb and object. A passive sentence is, "The gun was fired by the robber." The object and verb came before the subject. Viewers have to wait until the end of the line to know who did what. Then their brain has to process that information while trying to keep up with what the newscaster is saying.Beware of the "by" in a sentence. That's usually a giveaway the sentence has been written in passive voice.3. Use Present Tense Where AppropriateTV news is designed to sound like "now." That's another big difference between broadcast and print news writing. A 6:00 p.m. newscast needs to sound fresh, as if the news is just now unfolding.But the mayor's news conference you covered happened at 2 o'clock. The natural tendency is to write, "The mayor held a news conference earlier today."By shifting the focus of the sentence to the subject of the news conference, you can put the sentence in present tense and give it extra punch. "The mayor says he wants to slash taxes by 20 percent. He made the announcement at a news conference..."That example starts out in present tense for the hook, then shifts to past tense. It's important not to simply force the present tense into every sentence you write. It would sound awkward in a 6 p.m. newscast to say, "He makes the announcement at a news conference that happens at 2 o'clock."4. Write Stories about PeopleThis seems obvious, but it's easy to allow a script to veer away from focusing on the people who are watching your newscast. If viewers sense your stories don't directly affect them, they will turn away.So when the state department of transportation announces a huge infrastructure improvement project that involves replacing bridges around your city, you may be presented with institutional information. But transform it into something personal and meaningful to the people at home."Your drive to work or school will soon be safer and easier, thanks to a big project to make our city's bridges better." You've taken the information and told viewers how it could change their lives. Dissect press kits, graphs and data before you start writing to determine why your viewers will care about it.5. Action Verbs Add VerveIn news writing, you can't do much to the subject or object of your sentences, but you can spice up your verbs. They are the part of speech that can bring life to your stories.Look at a story to see whether you can switch a sentence that says "Residents are requesting information..." to "Residents demand answers." That easy change adds urgency and action.Before you get carried away, remember your story still has to be accurate. "Demand" may be too strong. Try, "Residents want to know."Using "is, are, was, were" weakens the impact of the action. "Residents want answers" sounds better than "Residents are wanting answers."6. Be Careful with NumbersNumbers are hard on the viewers' ears, especially when there are a lot of them. Make your point with a number or two, then move on.Instead of, "The company's profit was $10,470,000, then fell to $5,695,469 a year later," you can simplify the line to be, "The company's profit was about 10 and-a-half million dollars, then fell to about half that the next year." The viewer gets the idea without having to hear every last digit.It's ideal to take big numbers and translate them into something meaningful for the audience. Besides pointing out that the electric company is raising rates by $3.5 million, take the time to say that the hike means a typical customer will pay $200 more a year. That's the number that affects people the most.7. Skip Cliches and JournaleseEven experienced news writers fall into a trap of writing the same tired words and phrases. Powerful storms always "wreak havoc", political candidates "throw their hat into the ring" and the moments after a crime has happened "details are sketchy."Those empty terms make your news writing seem shallow. Replace them with words that normal people would actually use in conversation.Reporters often use journalese when they are confronted with the cliches of other professions and merely repeat what they hear. A police officer may say a shooting suspect "fled on foot". It's a TV news writer's job to change that to "ran away". The law enforcement, government and health care industries have their own way of speaking, which shouldn't be repeated on the air. Otherwise, your news writing sounds like it came straight from a press release.8. Write to VideoMany TV news stories are read as the audience watches video playing. Connect the words to the video as if you were leading a tour group.That requires you to know what is going to be on screen as the viewers hear the script. Once you have that information, the rest is easy.If you're talking about an embezzlement suspect while the video shows that suspect walking down the street with his lawyer, say, "The suspect, seen here on the left walking to the courthouse with his lawyer." That reference to the video keeps the viewer from wondering which of the two people is the suspect while missing out on the rest of the story.A line like, "Watch what happens when firefighters try to get the kitten out of the tree," forces the viewers' eyes back to the screen. Remember, some people have the news turned on while reading the newspaper or cooking supper. Get their attention riveted to the television.9. Sell the StoryPrint journalists may groan at this basic aspect of TV news writing. In most cities, there's one newspaper but several TV stations providing news. That means in television, a news writer also has to sell the product as something different and superior to the competition."When the school board said there wasn't any money for classroom computers, we decided to dig for answers." A line like that demonstrates that the news team is aggressive, and is taking action to get to the truth."We are the only station with video of the brawl inside the college cafeteria." A TV station uses its scripts to combat the perception that all newscasts in a city are the same.While this isn't pure journalism, this is a basic part of news writing that is common at most TV stations. Realize that a newscast is also a television program that not only competes with other newscasts, but also all TV shows that are on the air in the same time slot. Sell the coverage as something special.10. Move the Story ForwardA TV news story doesn't have a "the end" at the bottom of the script. The end of your script should usually tell the audience what will happen next to the people involved."The school board will take a vote on whether to cut teachers' pay at its next meeting," lets the audience knows what developments to expect next. Leaving that fact out leaves the audience hanging."We will be at that meeting and tell you the outcome of the vote," is good to add so that your viewers will return for updates. That line reinforces that your news team will stay on top of the story and not just drop it.That's a lot of effort to put into a 30-second script. Even though TV news would seem to be all about video, crisp news writing will put you above others in your newsroom and could be the key to building your career faster than you thought possible.How to Write Broadcast News StoriesWriting for television, radio or video requires a different set of skills than writing text. Clear and condensed writing is key. After all, a radio listener or TV viewer can't go back and re-read a sentence. To improve your broadcast writing, multimedia producer Jehangir Irani recommends that you open a major newspaper, pick any news article, and try reading the first paragraph aloud.You'll probably find that "it’s long and dry," he says, "and you’ll run out of breath before finishing it."To help you hone your broadcast writing skills, IJNet recently spoke to Irani and media trainer Estel Dillon. Here are their key tips: Write like you speak: Write in your own voice, in a conversational tone, as if you’re speaking to only one listener. Keep sentences short. If you have a long sentence, follow it up with a short one. When you go back and read your narration aloud, do you truly sound like yourself?Keep it simple: Allot a sentence to each idea. Be clear and concise, stick to the story and don't try too hard to be "clever." Too much detail can become irrelevant and make the story lose focus. Avoid most multiple-syllable words, words that are tough to pronounce and long, convoluted sentences. "Treasure small words," Dillon says. Provide specificity: Although the goal is to write clearly, you must also avoid being too general. Dillon says reporters should provide context for anything that may cause confusion or "raise eyebrows." When describing people, don't label them. Tell exactly what they do as opposed to using their official title.Tell stories in a logical order: Make sure that your content has a beginning, a middle and an ending. Don't bury the lead; state the news near the top, without too much buildup. Use the present tense and active voice: You're writing for flow and to express what is going on now. Broadcast strives for immediacy. To convey this to the listener, use the active voice whenever possible. In English, try to use a subject-verb-object sentence structure. For example: "Police (subject) have arrested (verb) 21 activists (object) for staging a protest at Merlion Park on Saturday afternoon."Write to the pictures: TV and video audiences will see why something happened. In television, the phrase “write to tape” is used to describe the way a story script is built around the visual images you have gathered. Don't write any longer than the story or pictures warrant. Use imagery: Radio audiences need to imagine the people, places and things in your story. With your words, create powerful and straightforward imagery. Use descriptive verbs instead of adjectives. For example, if you say “he struts or saunters” you’re giving a picture without using an adjective. But don't let vivid, imagery-rich writing turn verbose. Use words sparingly. Let the speaker speak: If you’re hosting a show or an interview, be the host. Don't overpower the subject of the story. When interviewing, "Don’t 'mm hmm' them and don't keep talking and talking about yourself," Irani says. "You’re just a conduit whose job it is to relay a story/experience/emotion from the guest to the audience."The idea behind newswriting is pretty simple: Keep it short and to the point. Anyone writing for a newspaper or website knows this.But that idea gets taken to a new level with it comes to writing copy for radio or television broadcasts. Here are some tips for broadcast newswriting.Keep It Simple:So keep your sentences simple and use basic, easily understood words. If you find you've put a longish word in a sentence, replace it with a shorter one.Example:Print: The physician conducted an extensive autopsy on the decedent.Broadcast: The doctor did an autopsy on the body.Keep It ShortGenerally, sentences in broadcast copy should be even shorter than those found in print articles. Why? Shorter sentences are more easily understood than long ones.Also, remember that broadcast copy must be read out loud. If you write a sentence that's too long, the news anchor will be gasping for breath just to finish it. Individual sentences in broadcast copy should be short enough to be easily read in one breath.Example:Print: President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats sought to ease Republican complaints about a massive economic stimulus plan Friday, meeting with GOP leaders in the White House and promising to consider some of their recommendations.Broadcast: President Barack Obama met with Republican leaders in Congress today. The Republicans aren't happy with Obama's big economic stimulus plan. Obama says he'll consider their ideas.Keep It ConversationalMany sentences found in newspaper stories simply sound stilted and unwieldy when read out loud. So use a conversational style in your broadcast writing. Doing so will make it sound more like real speech, as opposed to a script someone is reading.Example:Print: Pope Benedict XVI joined U.S. President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II on Friday by launching his own YouTube channel, the latest Vatican effort to reach out to the digital generation.Broadcast: President Obama has a Youtube channel. So does Queen Elizabeth. Now Pope Benedict has one too. The pope wants to use the new channel to reach out to young people.Use One Main Idea Per SentenceSentences in newspaper stories sometimes contain several ideas, usually in clauses that are broken up by commas.But in broadcast writing you really shouldn't put more than one main idea in each sentence. Why not? You guessed it - more than one main idea per sentence, and that sentence will be too long.Example:Print: Gov. David Paterson appointed Democratic U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand on Friday to fill New York's vacant Senate seat, finally settling on a woman from a largely rural, eastern district of the state to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton.Broadcast: Gov. David Paterson has appointed Democratic Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to fill New York's vacant Senate seat. Gillibrand is from a rural part of the state. She will replace Hillary Rodham Clinton.Use The Active VoiceSentences written in the active voice just naturally tend to be shorter and more to the point than those written in the passive voice.Example:Passive: The robbers were arrested by police.Active: Police arrested the robbers.Use a Lead-in SentenceMost broadcast news stories start with a lead-in sentence that is fairly general. Broadcast newswriters do this to alert viewers that a new story is being presented, and to prepare them for the information that is to follow.Example:"There's more bad news today from Iraq."Note that this sentence doesn't say very much. But again, it lets the viewer know that the next story is going to be about Iraq. The lead-in sentence almost serves as a kind of headline for the story.Here's an example of a broadcast news item. Note the use of a lead-in line, short, simple sentences and a conversational style.There's more bad news from Iraq. Four U.S. soldiers were killed in an ambush outside Baghdad today. The Pentagon says the soldiers were hunting insurgents when their Humvee came under sniper fire. The Pentagon hasn't yet released the soldiers' names.Put Attribution at the Start of the SentencePrint news stories usually put the attribution, the source of the information, at the end of the sentence. In broadcast newswriting we put them at the beginning.Example:Print: Two men were arrested, police said.Broadcast: Police say two men were arrested.Leave Out Unnecessary DetailsPrint stories tend to include a lot of details that we just don't have time for in broadcast.Example:Print: After robbing the bank the man drove approximately 9.7 miles before being apprehended, police said.Broadcast: Police say the man robbed the bank then drove nearly 10 miles before he was caught.Bottom of Form ................
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