Broadcast News Writing MechanicsBefore you can get a driver’s license, you have to learn how to drive a car. Before you write broadcast news, you must learn good grammar and know how to use a typewriter or computer. You also must understand what news is and how writing broadcast news copy differs from other types of writing. You must quickly learn about accuracy and responsibility. You also need to learn the vocabulary of broadcast journalism, terms such as wrap, voice-over, standup, and cutaway.

Mechanics of broadcast news writing is small thing, but it is essential details of preparing a script correctly. Learning these mechanics is like learning how to use the controls on a dashboard.

Some basicsComputers are rapidly replacing typewriters in news rooms and classrooms, but there are still plenty of type writers in use. Regardless of which machine you use, the following instructions for typing broadcast copy on 8,5 by 11 inch paper are standard for radio news. Television newswriters work with what is called the split page.

Set the margins for 65 spaces, leaving approximately 10 spaces, or one inch, on each side of the page. Depending on the make of typewriter, type the copy double or triple-spaced to allow enough room between the lines to make corrections, if your typewriter has large, bulletin-sized type fonts, or if you use a computer, double-space.

On a computer, you set these margins and spaces electronically, but the basic format remains the same. The major difference is that corrections will not be made between the lines on a computer screen. Corrections and changes in copy will be made electronically to the lines of copy themselves. The result is a much neater, easier-to-read script.

The Split PagePreparing a TV script is somewhat more complicated than preparing a radio script. A TV script is divided into two vertical sections and is known as the split page. All technical instructions and identification of video and graphics

appear in the left portion of the split page, and the script to be read by the anchor or reporter appears in the right column along with sound bite outcues and times. There will be a number of examples of split pages and how they are used, throughout this book.

As you examine those scripts, you will notice that each station has its own way of using the split page. Experienced broadcast journalists adjust easily to the slight variations as they move from station to station.

Avoiding abbreviationsAll words in broadcast news copy, with a few exceptions, must be spelled out, abbreviations are not permitted because they would force anchors to interpret their meaning, thus inviting confusion and mistakes.

Wrong Right

Lt. General Lieutenant General

Ass’t. Sec. of State Assistant Secretary of State

Union Pres. Jokowi Union President Jokowi

John St. and Norfolk Ave John Street and Norfolk Avenue

Abbreviations are used if the names of organization are better knows by their initials than by their full names-for example, FBI, NBC, and CIA. However, to make it easier for anchors to read, place hyphens between the letters.

F-B-I N-B-C C-I-A

Avoiding Split Words and SentenceIf there is not enough room on a line of copy to complete a word, the entire word must be carried over to the next line. Words should not be hyphenated because splitting words at the end of a line could confuse the anchor.

The same is true with sentences that cannot fit on one page. Part of a sentence should not be carried over from one page to another. Forcing anchors to jump from the bottom of one page to the top of the next when they are in the middle of a sentence invites trouble. It cannot be stressed too often that writers must avoid anything that increases the chance that anchors will stumble over copy.

If a sentence cannot be completed on a page, it should begin on the top of the next page. Type the word MORE at the bottom of the page so the anchors know that there is more to the story on the next page. Otherwise, they may pause unnecessarily, believing a new story starts on the following page. Some newsrooms prefer to use an arrow at the end of the page to indicate more copy is coming.