Writing for Radio & Television

1. Writing for
Radio &
Television

2. Nuances For Broadcast Writing
Broadcast writers often use the acronym KISS as a guiding principle for their work.
This stands for either “Keep it short and simple” or “Keep it simple, stupid,”
depending on your interpretation.
This reliance on simplicity is often why broadcast journalism gets a bad rap as being
simplistic.
However, any good writer will tell you it is a lot harder to write concisely and simply
than to write long, complicated sentences.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

3. Writing Concisely
Concise writing means sticking firmly to the noun-verb or noun-verb-object
sentence structure.
Broadcasters must find concrete nouns and vigorous verbs that can convey meaning
on their own, thus limiting the need for adverbs and adjectives.
Broadcast sentences range from eight to 15 words each, so broadcasters should
trim prepositional phrases and superfluous articles.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

4. Writing to Be Heard
In broadcast, people use their ears to consume the content and then process what
they just heard before they think about it. The audience members get only one
chance to hear what the reporter said. They don’t get a chance to stop and think
about what they heard before the next bit of content arrives. They can’t rewind that
moment in time easily and get a second chance to understand the news.
To make things easy on your audience members, you need to write to be heard.
● Choose common words that are used in their most familiar ways.
● Write in short sentences that contain one idea each.
● Pick words that have an auditory component to them as opposed to words that
don’t.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

5. Writing to Be Spoken
If you write broadcast copy well, any broadcaster can pick it up and read it properly
with very little practice. Obviously, practice will improve the read, but the goal is to
make the writing as universal as possible for the journalist.
To do this, you can exchange words like “children” for “kids” and complex numbers
for accurate approximations.
The writing also needs to build in spaces for the person reading the news to breathe
in an unobtrusive fashion.
Use short sentences and a conversational structure so the reader doesn’t run out of
air or be forced to gasp while reading.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

6. Writing for the Distracted
During the advent of broadcast, radios and televisions were rare and fascinating
devices. This allowed broadcast journalists to write in a way that more directly
matched the print writing of the time.
Today, people are constantly distracted while they listen to radios or watch TV.
Broadcast journalists understand this constant state of distraction among viewers
and listeners and write in a way that first attracts attention and then delivers
information. This approach of orienting the audience to the content and then
delivering it prevents the consumers from missing key information on important
stories.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

7. Structure
Broadcast writing tends to follow less of an inverted-pyramid structure than print or
web writing, primarily because of the way in which audience members consume the
content.
Audience members who are told stories are used to chronological stories instead of
those written in descending order of importance.
Broadcast mirrors that chronology while still relying on the news interest elements.
It also tends to take on a “circle” approach, in which the content is provided to the
viewers in a way that alerts them to important content, grabs their attention with
the material and then brings the story full circle at the end.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

8. The Lead
In broadcast, the writers assume that the audience members aren’t fully paying
attention to the story. The writers know that the viewers need a heads-up before
the 5W’s and 1H show up.
The lead of a broadcast story serves to alert the audience members about something
that might interest them. The purpose of the lead sentence is to mentally “poke” the
audience before getting into the details of the story.
Students at Northwestern State University will be paying more for school this year.
With this type of lead, interested audience members can orient themselves to the
news story quickly and avoid missing important information.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

9. The Body: The First Sentence
A broadcast story will introduce the most important thing in the story and then
move forward in a direction that will “close the loop.”
The first sentence of the body will look like a print lead, although still not as detailed:
The school’s board of governors voted today to increase undergraduate tuition by 5.5 percent. Graduate students
will see a 10.5 percent increase to their tuition bills.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

10. The Body
What comes next will be the various elements of the story that help tell a story in a
chronological format:
Board members agreed in July that tuition should be raised but did not note an amount.
An audit of the school in August found that tuition needed at least a 5 percent hike across the board.
During today’s meeting, the trustees settled on the approved amounts, saying they thought the increases were
appropriate. Members also said they didn’t want to have to raise tuition again next year.
Each sentence has a single information point in it. The body should be a few simple
sentences like these, especially if video is not involved.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

11. The Close
A closing for a broadcast story should seal the deal in some way. In the case of
reporter-driven stories that use video, the reporter can provide a personal sign-off
that includes the station’s call letters:
For W-X-X-X-T-V, I’m James Simon.
This lets the audience know that the story package is over and that it is time to move
on to the next story. Since the reporter a part of the story from its beginning, this is a
simple way to close up.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

12. The Close - Other Options
In other situations, the final sentence of the story can bring the story full circle and
close the loop. To do this, you want to look forward on the story or revisit the main
issue of the story in a simple conclusion:
The board will revisit the tuition issue next year.
Your final sentence also could provide the audience with options to act.
You can tell listeners or viewers to visit a website, call a phone number or
participate in an event.
In these cases, television reporters often state the information during the closing
and rely on a graphic to reinforce the point. Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

13. Integrating Additional Elements
One of the bigger challenges broadcasters face is pairing the script with video and
audio elements.
Video can tell stories when used well, and it can distract viewers when the text and
pictures don’t match up.
Audio segments, known as soundbites or actualities, can lend credibility to a report
or they can lead to confused listeners.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

14. Writing to Video
Writing to video allows audience members to more fully engage the content without
confusion. When the video and the words don’t go together, the viewers can feel
disoriented and thus miss key news elements in the story.
When you write your stories for broadcast, you need to know what kind of video is
available that will pair with the text. If you want to talk about a large crowd at an
event, you need to make sure that you have video that will support that idea.
Video that adds no value to a story, such as photos of the backs of people or random
crowd shots, is referred to as wallpaper.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

15. Writing Sound Bite Lead-Ins
Small clips of interviews with sources are called sound bites or actualities. You need
to write copy that introduces the soundbites and informs the listener as to the
source and content without repeating the sound bite or giving it a weak open.
Bad: In responding to the budget crisis, University System President Nate Craft had this to say:
“The loss of more than 20 percent of our revenue over the next biennium is more than our campuses can
withstand without cutting faculty and staff positions.”
Better: University System President Nate Craft says the budget cuts the governor proposed would substantially
weaken all of the campuses across the state.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

16. Writing Out of a Sound Bite
You must transition from the soundbite back into your script. Journalists often refer
to this as writing out of a sound bite, and it is a crucial skill that allows you to
continue the flow of your story. If you need to add information to clarify the
soundbite, the “out” can be a good place to do it.
If you need to transition to another aspect of the story or lead into a different
source, the out can create a transition between the pieces.
You will rarely place soundbites back to back, just as you will rarely place quotes
together with no transition, so consider the “out” in your script a chance to buffer
between soundbites.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

17. Polishing Your Final Piece For Delivery
Check your time: You should find out how long your piece is expected to be and how
close you are to that mark.
Check your pace: A decent pace is usually your standard conversational approach,
dialed back to be just a bit slower.
Check your enunciation: When you read aloud, open your mouth so that you fully
form the words you are speaking. This will prevent you from sounding like you’re
mumbling through a mouthful of marbles.
Check your pronunciation: Practice saying unfamiliar words until you are confident
in your approach to them.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak

18. Key Takeaways
1. Write for the ear: Broadcast is transmitted aurally and requires you to consider
how something will sound when it is spoken and how it will sound when it is
heard. “Crack” or “snap” sounds a lot better than “broken” or “in pieces.”
2. Play to the strengths of the platform: Write in a way that allows your video to
pair well with your script.
3. Connect with your audience: Take advantage of the opportunity to form bonds
with your audience members through the use of personal pronouns, audience-
centric story approaches and other similar touches in your writing. This bond
will sponsor trust from your audience and allow you to serve these people
better.
Dynamics of Media Writing, Vincent F. Filak