scriptwriting for Radio

1. SCRIPTWRITING FOR RADIO
By Nicole Brownbridge

2. INTRODUCTION
 A large proportion of radio broadcasting is scripted
before transmission, even though listeners might
not realise it. Many different radio genres require
the use of pre-written scripts.
 The purpose of scripted material is to ensure
coverage of all intended content and to make sure
that schedules are met and over-running or under-running
does not occur.

3. LINGUISTIC CONVENTIONS
 Abbreviation: by abbreviating a word, you are
using a shortened version of this word. For example
‘it is’ becomes ‘it’s’ and ‘we are’ becomes ‘we’re’.
This is because it makes what you are saying flow
better and makes it more conversational.
 Writing Numbers: When saying numbers in radio,
if it is a large number, it gets rounded up. For
example 9567 would get rounded up to 10000. This
is because it is easier to pronounce and leaves less
room for mistakes.

4. LINGUISTIC CONVENTIONS
 Expanding Acronyms: An acronym is an
abbrevation formed from the initial letters of other
words and pronouced as a word. For example
NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. Acronyms are expanded when
being spoken about on air so it is clear to the
audience what is being talked about as they might
not be aware of the abbreviation.
 Punctuation: Punctuation is key when
scriptwriting, this is so the presenter knows when to
take a pause or finish a sentence. Radios do this
because it makes the content of the show flow
better and sound more natural.

5. LINGUISTIC CONVENTIONS
 Formal Language: Formal Language is ‘correctly
written/spoken language’. This is used more on
Radio stations such as Radio 4 when they are
talking about serious topics.
 Colloquial Language: Colloquial language is
‘informal language’. A radio station knows it’s target
audience, and more local stations such as Metro or
Capital North East might use colloquial language as
they feel they could connect to their audience more,
so they might use some Geordie words and it might
be a bit more informal as appose to Radio 4.

6. LINGUISTIC CONVENTIONS
 Jargon: Jargon is a group of terms that only specific
people would understand. Such as in the TV Industry, a
pair of headphones are called ‘cans’. Only people within
this industry will understand that term and people not in
the TV industry will have to have this explained to them.
 Phonetic Spelling: When writing a script for a
presenter to read out, if you think they might have
difficulty pronouncing a word, then it is normally wrote in
phonetic spelling. This is to avoid embarrassment when
on air and so that everything runs more smoothly. An
example of this would be the name ‘Siobhan’, to make
this easier to pronounce you would phonetically spell it
‘SHAH-VORN’.

7. STYLE
 House Styles: Each individual station has it’s own
house style, this defines who the radio are. Each radio
station will use a specific theme and have their own way
of doing things such as the way they format their scripts.
This helps the audience identify the radio station and
also makes sure the content, etc is consistent
throughout.
 Writing For The Ear: Writing for the Ear means you
have to write using spoken language as appose to
written language. When a presenter is broadcasting a
news report, they might use descriptive words to try and
help the listener visualise the surroundings because
they can’t see where the presenter is.

8. STYLE
 Standard In and Out Cues: In and Out cues are a way
of the presenter keeping the audience informed about
the songs etc. For example, the presenter might say ‘Up
next we have Ed Sheeran’s new song Sing’ and then
after the song the presenter would say ‘and that was Ed
Sheeran with his new song Sing’. This is so that if a
listener has tuned in halfway through a song, they are
informed. In and Out Cues can also be used for
introducing interviews, etc.
 Signposting: Signposting is used for setting the scene
for the listener, for example if you were outside, then
there would be background noise. The background
noise from being outside would make the listener feel
involved and like they were there.

9. STYLE
 Language Style: Language Style is the language
used by the presenter to try and get a certain
emotion across. For example if the presenter was
playing slow music, they might talk in a more
relaxed way.
 Natural Speech Rhythms: a natural speech
rhythm is the rhythm in which a person naturally
talks. For example someone from up north might
naturally speak faster than someone from down
south. The average pace for someone presenting is
averaging 3 words per second.

10. STYLE
 Continuity Links: Continuity Links are links that
are played in between songs, some radio stations
such as Metro get celebrities to read things such as
‘you’re listening to Metro’ and play them in between
songs. These are just links in between songs or
adverts that make the show run more smoothly
when the presenter does not need to speak.

11. RECOGNISED GENRES
 Music Scripts: Music scripts are scripts written for
music shows. In the script, it will show when the
music is to be played. These are always planned
out, this makes the presenter’s job easier and
makes the radio station sound more professional as
there is less chance of mistakes.
 Documentary Programmes: These scripts are
detailed, they will state where the in and out cues
should be and when the interviews should be
played. This minimises the chance of mistakes by
the DJ.

12. RECOGNISED GENRES
 Speech Packages: Speech packages are sections
that have no music in and are all talking. These are
used on radio stations such as TalkSport.
 Live Feature Material: These are recordings of live
events that get played during a show. For example
Capital FM play live clips from their Summertime
Ball.