Writing
Style
Writing for broadcast news focuses on making the story easy
to understand.
Use short
sentences
Sentences must be kept short.
In a message on Kashmir Solidarity Day, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif invited
india to resolve all outstanding
disputes including Jammu and Kashmir,
through a comprehensive, sustained and result-oriented dialogue process.
On Kashmir day Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has invited India for peaceful
resolutions of all disputes including Kashmir through negotiations.
Clarity
The content of a news
broadcast must be immediately clear because a viewer cannot hear the segment
again to clarify.
WHERE AS
In print journalism, writers can write more complex sentences, but they
maintain short paragraphs. Print journalists are often instructed to write at
an 8th grade level so no matter a reader's education level, they can understand
the report.
Round off the number
In broadcast it is hard to follow a story with exact number .therefore
round off the large numbers for listeners
e.g
495,873
round off the number to nearly 500,000
BUT DON’T ROUND OFF
455,623 TO nearly 500,000
use:
nearly /approximately 456,000
OR
over 455,000
Do not write
Authorities spent Rs.3,90,389.50 on the system.
Write
Authorities spent about four lac rupees on the system.
Parallel structure
while listing out facts make the structure of news constant . e.g
Students of different departments of “Jinnah university for women” are going to
participate In the monthly youth conference on 2nd of march 2014. In
which there are 20 students from dept of English, 24 students from dept of
International relations, 10 students from dept of sociology and 35 students
from dept of mass communication.
BUT DON’T WRITE
Students of different departments of “Jinnah university for women” are going to
participate In the monthly youth conference on 2nd of march 2014. In
which there are 20 students from dept of English, 24 students from dept of
International relations, from sociology dept there
are 10 students and from dept of mass communication there are 35 students
Do not write in figure
do not write more than 3 digits in figure write in words
e.g
For 4555
four thousand five hundred and fifty five
use the name before
statement
e.g
Prime minister Nawaz Shareef said “We invite India to
engage in a comprehensive sustained and result-oriented dialogue process”
DON’T
WRITE
“We invite India to engage in a comprehensive sustained and result-oriented
dialogue process” Prime minister Nawaz Shareef said.
Don’t use pronoun
more than two times.
Avoid
tongue twist
Use active voice instead passive
Lahore Shalimar Express came under a bomb
attack near landhi in Karachi. Sources said that a minor girl dead and several passengers are wounded .
Don’t write
in Landhi the bomb which was planted on
the rail track damaged lahore shalimar express.
>PRACTICE READING YOUR NEWS LOUD
>IMAGINE THAT SOMEONE IS LISTENING WHILE YOU ARE WRITING AND PRETEND YOU ARE
TALKING TO THAT LISTENER.
Choice of tone is influenced by
.Type of program.
>The tone of a youth show announcer is different from that of a news reader.
>The presenter of a gender talk show will have a different tone than the
host of a music program.
•
Time of day.
Early morning programs require a lively, high-energy tone to get listeners
going.
News programs require announcers to use a formal tone.
Talk show hosts try to come across as friendly and more casual.
Voice
•
The best voice for radio
is natural and relaxed. The more comfortable you are with yourself and your
voice, the clearer your voice will be. Voice exercises can help build
confidence and promote speaking clearly.
•
Since listeners can't
interrupt the radio to ask what was said, radio presenters must take extra care
to be clear
Handle mistakes professionally.
If you make a mistake, don't panic. If it's a big error--one that could cause
confusion or misunderstanding-- apologize and correct it. Otherwise, take a
breath and carry on. Don't draw attention to stumble.
