 Tips
I - Thinking about the Audience
You earn one shot at your audience, which cannot reread, rewind or
otherwise review your item. The more skillfully you write, the more
successfully you grasp your single chance to inform or entertain. Simplicity,
clarity and the conscious structure of information delivery rule.
For example:-
write
as you talk
use
simple, informal language which is accessible to listeners
compose
shorter, less complex sentences than you would in print
(easier for the audience to understand and the broadcaster to read)
hook
your listeners vividly as early as you can to secure their full attention
provide
your listeners with all relevant information they need to understand
the nuances of your story
(in the audio demo for class, for example, even before we learn Ruffalo's
name we know that he is, "A former mobster turned FBI informer…")
use
any title first and then the name: the title alerts the listener to
the importance to the story of the person about to speak or be quoted
(government attorney, Mary Sterling) or about to act (US District
Court Judge Howard Sachs)
avoid
information overload in a single sentence, though, and pace thoughtfully
your attention-grabbing detonations of illuminating detail
eliminate
jargon and esoteric vocabulary unless you explain its meaning
(briefly)
Tips
II - Thinking about the Broadcaster
Someone (perhaps you) will read the script on-air. Write accordingly
and read your script aloud before you submit it.
For example:
use
simple, informal language (again) which the broadcaster can read easily
with little rehearsal
spell out
all numbers as they are spoken (i.e. one thousand, three million)
spell out
all abbreviations (per cent, not %, and so on)
eliminate
abbreviations (Company instead of Co., for example instead of i.e.
or e.g.)
add
pronunciation guides (in parentheses) for difficult or unusual words
set
wider margins to allow space for the broadcaster's notes (1.25 to
1.5 inches left & right)
avoid
the splitting of sentences or paragraphs across a page break
(adapted, in part, from Kristie Bunton
et al.,
Writing Across the Media, (Bedford/St. Martins: Boston 1999), p.159)
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