script writing for radio e.g. linguistic conventions etc

1. Caitlin Anderson

2. For radio broadcasting a large amount of it is scripted before it goes on air broadcasting
to millions of people all across the country, which is totally different to what listeners
may think. They might think the show is being made up on the spot and don’t realise
the preparation that is needed.
Many of the different radio genres can use pre-written scripts, including continuity
announcements, music sequences, speech packages, radio features, magazines,
documentaries, and discussions. The topics included within the show include a variety
such as;- science, lifestyles, health, natural history, business, entertainment, archive
material, investigative reports, consumer issues and many more.
The whole purpose of any scripted material is to make sure all of the intended content is
covered and to then also meet the requirements of schedules and predetermined time
slots by avoiding both overrunning or under-running of radio programmes. The variety
of dialogue that is pre scripted may be under estimated especially in music sequence
production where the music track introductions and also the back – announcements can
sometimes be scripted centrally and then distributed which is via the internet daily then
onto radio stations this sometimes means there is only a small amount of time in the
middle of a link which is available for the presenter to ad-lib

3. Most of the existing radio stations will use scriptwriting before each show goes on air
the reason for this is to ensure they have a plan on what their show is going to include
and what they're going to say, this is preparation and will avoid presenters forgetting
what they’re going to say whilst they are live on air which can be considered un
professional.
The reasons for this are;-
 The presenter will always know what songs or what programmes are coming up next
 They are always prepared for the show
 Sounds more professional and as if the presenter knows what they’re doing/ talking
about
 The whole show has more structure because of this and also shape
 The presenter wouldn’t leave anything out that they shouldn’t
 Time wouldn’t be wasted
 The presenter would be able to say what they are meant to say
 The show would have a sense of style to it
 Could lead to a much better story

4. Radio aspects whilst presenting:-
 Must be written for the ear not for the eye – this basically means because radio is not
visual (people can’t watch it) it must be able to put an image in the listeners head and
kept interesting so that the listener stays tuned.
 Not written language but conversational language (speaking)
 The presenter needs to be able to read it aloud
 The grammar must be different
 Needs to be written in a way that is aimed at one listener so that each listener feels they
are being spoken to one on one and will feel more of a connection towards the
presenter/ show
 Think about both the colour and the flow of language used
 Words have to be substituted that don’t work

5. Within radio there is a variety of conventions which need to be used whilst writing a
script for a show
abbreviations
An abbreviation is a shortened word or phrase. However in radio it is slightly different they
instead use the full word an example of this is – using avenue instead of ave
The reason that radio does this is because the presenter might give the show or the radio
station a bad reputation if the abbreviated version is said because it would be the wrong
word to say, so saying the full word would avoid this and make it a lot easier for the
presenter to say. An example of an abbreviation would be it is becomes it’s or they are
becomes they’re.
 writing numbers
Writing of numbers is basically when the bigger numbers are rounded an example of this is
10433 becomes 1000. The reason that this is done is to ensure that the presenter does
not make a mistake when saying the number.
Expanding acronyms
 this means when the word is formed fully from the initial letters of other words e.g.
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This is used so that the audience
is more familiar with what you’re talking about than they would be if you used the initial
letters.

6. Punctuation
Punctuation includes marks such as both commas and full stops, this is used to separate
sentences. The effect of this is that the sentence would make more sense with them
included within. With these included the presenter is able to take a breath and take a
quick rest. This would also mean the show sounds more professional and better from
the audiences point of view. This also means its well structured if there are full stops
and comma’s to break everything up. (E.g. Next up on the show is a song by the Arctic
Monkeys, do I wanna know from their new album).
colloquial language
Colloquial language can be described as informal language metro use this becomes it is
more suited to their target audience so they would use ‘slang’ or ‘Geordie’ words within
their show. They would speak as if you are speaking to someone as you normally would.
Formal language
Formal language is the correct written language and this would be used if the informal
language would be unsuitable to use. An example of this is ‘’it would seem that
unfortunately there has been a terrorist attack on the western side of Manchester’’. This
type of language is suitable for news programmes and also radio stations such as radio 4.

7. jargon - A jargon is described as a group of specific words. These are used by a
particular profession. E.g. (drop ins, cue). A jargon is used when the presenter could be
able to play a song. Also this means that the listener would not get confused.
phonetic spelling – These are words which are difficult for the presenter to read, so
instead they are broken down. This makes it easier for the presenter to say. (E.g.
‘’Baghdad’’ would become BAG-DAD). It’s important phonetic spelling is used as it
means the presenter won’t make a mistake by trying to say the word live on air. If this
happens it could give the radio show a bad reputation.

8. Writing for the ear – On the radio show the presenters in the studio can’t be seen by the
listeners so in result this means the language used is important and it should appeal to
the listeners ears. The language which is used should be used in a way that it ‘paints a
picture’ into the listeners head making it more interesting to tune in to. (E.g. make the
show interactive and encourage people to do things such as phone in/tweet/email into
the show). This means the audience wouldn’t get bored and would make them keep
coming back to tune in which is good for the shows ratings. Also it might even mean
that for some listeners they feel more connected to the show or its presenters.
House styles – Each radio station has its own house style and this depends on the
presenter of the show (E.g. capital is entertainment and music based). It shows the
different styles of each radio station which will then show what target audience it
attracts.
Standard in and out cues -
This is a set up feature for either a song or a interview which is written by either the
presenter or the producer. (E.g. the next song we have coming up next for you is… ). For
songs on the show the presenter will always introduce the song that is going to be played
and then when the song finishes say what the song was again and who it was by. This is
done so that if the listeners tune into the song half way through they know what the song
was and who it was by if they didn’t already know this. It gives background information and
keeps the listener informed.

9. Signposting- This is the sound that sets up the scene (E.g. if there was a conversation
outside you would hear the sounds of passing by traffic). The reason this is done is so
that it makes the listener feel as if they are there with them.
Language style – This is the structure of what the presenter of the show is trying to get
across to the listeners/audience. This is done so that the audience would feel an
emotion. (E.g. happy, sad, excited), this within radio will guide the listener in to what
kind of style the radio is.
Natural speech rhythms – This is for the presenter to be able to sound as natural as they
possibly can. (E.g. 2-3 words per second) this sounds to the listener that the presenter
has a certain pace in their voice when they speak.

10. Continuity links – These are pieces of speech between segments or tracks within a radio
show (E.g. capital sometimes gets a celebrity to record a message to introduce their
song which they then play on the show). Ultimately this guides listeners in and bring
more in because the audience will think that they should also listen in to the show if
their favourite artist does.
Tone - this makes the quality of the show more better if the presenters tone of voice
makes them sound bubbly or excited in informal situations. Then using a more serious
tone of voice for formal radio stations. It must fit to the purpose of the show so it
sounds more professional for whichever situation it is.

11. Music scripts – these are scripts for music shows. Inside these they will include sections
which the music will be then played. These scripts will be planned before the show so
that the show/presenter is more prepared.
http://www.slideshare.net/andym1982/example-radio-script
Documentary programmes - documentary programmes are shows which are script fully
throughout these will include in and out cues, however the interviews wouldn’t really be
scripted these are mostly just cues
http://www.jrmartinmedia.com/book/writing-a-shooting-script-and-editing-script-for-documentary-
film-or-non-fiction-project/
speech packages – these are shows which are speech shows an example is radio 4’s
segments with drama in these include acting in them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=speech%20programmes
Live feature material – This is when a section on the show is all live and these can include
bands playing their song live on the show. The effect that this has is that this will go
towards promoting the station because its showing core music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL8CWVf4Ueg