1.

Write for the Ear

Read 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 Voice

Passive 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 Appropriate

TV 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 People

This 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 Verve

In 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 Numbers

Numbers 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 Journalese

Even 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 Video

Many TV news stories are read as the audience watches video playing on the screen. 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 Story

Print 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 Forward

A 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 know 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

444ANCHOR 1:
NOW WE’RE BACK. YOU’RE STILL LISTENING TO D
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THE EXPOSE.ANCHOR 2:
“MUNING” GETS BLAME AS FIRE HITS ONE HUNDRED FORTY
HOMES. CORRESPONDENT _______ REPORTS.
NEWS PRESENTER 3:
A FIRE THAT DESTROYED ONE HUNDRED FORTY HOMESWAS BLAMED TO A HOUSE CAT AFTER
ACCIDENTALLY TRIPPINGON A GAS LAMP PLACED ON TOP OF THE T-V SET IN THE SECONDFLOOR OF WARRAIN
HOUSE.THE SAID BLAZE LEFT AN ESTIMATED TWO HUNDRED EIGHYFAMILIES HOMELESS. NO ONE WAS
REPORTED KILLED BUTDAMAGES WAS ESTIMATED TO NEARLY ONE MILLION PESOS.THIS IS YOUR
CORRESPONDENT ______. YOUR NEWS, OURBUSINESS.
MUSIC UP…FADE TO BED…
ANCHOR 1: B–E – M– O FOUNDS EFFECTIVE AGAINST COCONUT SCALE
INSECTS. HERE’S ______ FOR THE SCIENCE UPDATE.

NEWS PRESENTER 4:
THE USE OF

BENEFICIAL EFFECTIVE MICRO ORGANISMSFOUND EFFECTIVE IN KILLING COCONUT SCALE INSECTS.IN MORE
THAN THREE HUNDRED COCONUT TREES IN ATWO HECTARE LAND IN SILANG, CAVITE, B – E – M – O
SHOWED ADRAMATIC EFFECTIVITY IN KILLING WHITE INSECTS THATDESTROYS THE LEAVES AND FRUITS OF
COCONUT TREES.FOR THE SCIENCE UPDATE, THIS IS ________ .YOUR NEWS,OUR BUSINESS.
NEWS MUSIC FADE OUT
SPORTSMUSIC UP…FADE TO BED

555ANCHOR 2:
FOR THE SPORTS UPDATE, F– E – U WINS OVER U– P.
HERE’S ________ FOR
THE UPDATE.
NEWS PRESENTER 5:
F– E –U CELEBRATES FOR AN EIGHTY- FIVE SEVENTY–ONE WIN OVER U – P IN THE U– A – A – P SEASON
SEVENTY-SEVEN MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT.
ACCORDING TO F – E – U HEAD COACH NASH RACELA, THE
TEAM’S PREVIOUS LOSS TO U – S – T A WEEK AGO GAVE THEM A
LOT OF LESSONS AND THAT’S WHAT THEY’VE WORKED IN THE
LAST COUPLE OF DAYS.THIS IS _______ FOR THE SPORTS UPDATE. YOURNEWS,OUR BUSINESS.
MUSIC UP…FADE TO BED…
ANCHOR 1:

FOR THE RECAP OF TODAY’S HOTTEST NEWS.

ANCHOR 2:
AQUINO REMAINS HIGH SPIRITED DESPITE DAP ISSUES.
ANCHOR 1:
DUTCH POLICE TRAVELS TO M-H SEVENTEEN SITE.
ANCHOR 2:
MUNING” GETS BLAME AS FIRE HITS ONE HUNDRED FORTY
HOMES.
ANCHOR 1:
B –E –M–O FOUNDS EFFECTIVE AGAINST COCONUT SCALEINSECTS.
ANCHOR 2:
F –E –U WINS OVER U – P.
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THIS HAS BEEN __________.
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AND THIS IS _____________.
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SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT TIME FOR ANOTHER FIVE MINUTES OF
…
NEWS WITH NO BIAS.
EXPOSED

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NEWS WITH NO EXCEPTION.
EXPOSED.ANCHOR 1:
THIS IS D – Z – R – S EIGHT FOUR SEVEN.
THE EXPOSE.ANCHOR 2:
YOUR NEWS.
OUR BUSINESS.ANCHOR 1&2:
GOD BLESS. KEEP SAFE