Broadcast Journalism

Broadcast Writing is...

• longer, smoother, simpler

• Shorter, sharper, stronger

• Sharper, simpler, longer

• Simpler, smoother, sharper

Writing shorter means...

• Make your script shorter

• Precise and concise - make each word count

• Speak with an active voice

• Say only what needs to be said in the simplest way possible

How do you speak in an active voice?

• Verb -> object -> subject

• Object -> verb -> subject

• Subject -> verb -> object

• Subject -> object -> verb

Which follows the active voice model?

• Taco Bell was robbed by an armed gunman last night

• An armed gunman robbed Taco Bell last night

• Last night Taco Bell was robbed by an armed gunman

What gives your story credibility?

• Attribution

• Quotes

• Sources

• Statistics

What is the producer’s job?

• Decide on what channel the news airs on

• Decide on what the audience gets to watch

• Decide on how much each anchor gets paid

• Decide on the anchor’s outfits

What is the anchor’s job?

• To look cute

• To talk to the audience about their favorite TV show

• To write the script

• To read the information

What is a VO?

• Where a news ‘jingle’ is played to grab the audience

• Where the anchor talks over the video

• A sound bite over video

• A sound on tape

How long should the total story be ?

• All day

• 10 seconds

• 45 seconds

• An hour

What is a ‘package’?

• That thing you wait a week for in the mail

• 90 second long narration of a story by an anchor with VO, SOT, and VOB’s

• 10 second long narration of a story by an anchor with VO, SOT, and VOB’s