Writing for radion

1. Writing for Radio

2. Radio Journalism
• Similar to story telling;
• Conversational in style;
• The choice of words is similar to the listening audience’s
vocabulary;
• Sentences are short and uncomplicated;
• Use very few adjectives and stay away from quotes;
• Each sentence should flow to the next – so the listener
is not lost;
• Subtle repetition is just as necessary to keep the
listener following the story;
(ex. If you use Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in the first sentence, say the mayor in the next, instead of he)

3. Story Length
News written for other
media;
•You can read it over like
newspaper;
•Don’t have visual images
News written for radio;
•Written in a way that
listeners can understand
the story the first time it is
read.
The longest story in the entire newscast will be only 45
seconds long. Therefore, most stories are very brief and
condensed. The ability to do this, with a great amount of
information, is a challenge.

4. Rules for Writing Copy
· double space all copy for easy reading
· type on one side of the page only
· one inch margins
· type in capitals
· exaggerate where the paragraph begins by
spacing
· round out all numbers
· no abbreviations
· proper pronunciation of difficult words in
brackets
· titles go before names
· do not over-punctuate

5. Marking copy
• To ensure easy reading –
Ex. underline words that needs emphasis,
put slash marks in sentences where
pauses are required.

6. Positioning of the Stories
1. 1st story is called “the lead” – and the
most important news item - The lead story
signals listeners to pay attention, so it has to be a read ear-opener. The
audience will listen to the rest of the broadcast if the first story is
important and interesting.
2. “gate-keeping” – radio journalists must decide
which stories will be used and which wil be
thrown in the garbage.

7. Repetition of Stories
• Stories can be read 24 hours after they are released –
you have to remember, that regular listeners will tune you out if your stories are
exactly the same every hour.
• Try to change the wording a bit so the story still sounds
fresh. This is called “rewriting.”
• The number of times the story is read on air depends on
its news value.

8. Headlines
• They are only a few seconds long, and are placed at the
top of a newscast. A good headline will grab the
listener's attention and hold it.
• "teaser" is one or two sentences that grab the
audience, but it differs from a headline in that it can be
read at any time of the day.

9. Actualities
• Radio news needs some support, which will offer
proof of the stories. Ex. from the scene of an event
by a reporter with an interview of someone there;
• Actualities vary in length, but are not usually longer
than 30 seconds;
• The number of actualities used in a newscast varies
as well, from one to four per newscast;

10. The Newscast Final
For a typical newscast, this would be a typical schedule
on a typical day:
• one to two hours before the newscast, come in and
write the news
• check all earlier newscasts for the stories used
• 15 minutes before the broadcast, check the on-air
booth to make sure the mike is set up, and also inform
the technicians about the actualities you will be using
in the newscast
• 5 minutes before air time, go into the booth and sit
and relax. Read over your copy one last time.

11. End of part 1