When you start out writing for broadcast, it can be hard to know when you’ve nailed it. Rick Russell is news director at WJTV in Jackson, Miss.; he says the best way to assess the quality of your story is…
Good TV writing checklist
Category: 06. Writing the Story: Broadcast
The power of words
I love using all the elements of multimedia storytelling–compelling video, sparkling sound and great graphics–but words still matter. A lot. A great script can make a story memorable, even if the video isn’t much better than wallpaper. A poorly-written script…
Structuring a multimedia story
The problem with many news stories is that they’re not really stories at all. They’re a jumble of facts, often in no apparent logical order. What stories need, as we note in the book, is a focus and structure: beginning,…
Handy rules for journalists
I’m a sucker for lists, especially lists for journalists. So I had to read the 25 commandments for journalists posted by a former editor of the Guardian. Tim Radford’s “manifesto” is a useful reminder of what really matters in journalism, and…
Adventures of an accidental journalist
Some people set their sights on the news business at an early age; others just stumble into it. But to stay in it and be happy for more than 30 years takes a combination of grit, talent and luck. Laurie…
Where’s the surprise in broadcast news?
It’s easy to criticize TV and radio news. So much of it is shallow, sensational or both. It’s also easy to dismiss the criticism as uninformed, ill intentioned or both. Much of it is. But when the criticism comes from…
Radio news writing tips
A lot of the best writers in the broadcast news business come out of radio, says CBS’s Harvey Nagler, “because you need to think on your feet and write concisely.” Want some examples? CNN’s Candy Crowley, ABC’s Robert Krulwich and…
Find your focus, already!
Have you ever watched a television news story or read something in print or online and wondered afterwards what on earth it was about? It happens all too often when stories have no focus. Reporters who spend much of their…
How to tell a great story
Bob Dotson is one of the most respected storytellers in TV news. In his three decades at NBC, he has produced a mountain of memorable content, mainly by talking to everyday people and revealing what makes them special. At the…
TV-speak to avoid
Plenty of broadcast journalists fall into traps when it comes to writing scripts, but if you think the audience doesn’t notice, think again. Rob Owen, a TV critic at the Pittsburg Post-Gazette, recently asked people to submit the “most overused TV news…