Broadcast news writing

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Broadcast news writing
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We start with Photographer vs. Photojournalist

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• If you have a camera,
• youre a photographer.
• No one is a photojournalist
• until they learn
• how to tell the visual story.

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Telling the visual story

• 1. Start with a clear focus
• a simple, vivid, declarative sentence
  expressing the heart and soul of the story
• as it will be on the air.

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• Good The economics of farming affects all
  Americans.
• Good One man, working hard, can
  accomplish his goals.
• Good A chronic disease is not a death
  sentence.
• Bad An election will be held next
  week.

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If you cant express your focus for a story on a
3 by 5 card, in one sentence, you dont
understand the story.TV journalist Shellie
Karabell
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2. Downplay your own presence in
stories. Telling the audience is
lecturing. Showing the audience is
teaching. Letting the audience experience the
moment is visual storytelling.
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3. Write the pictures first. In the field,
look first for the pictures that will tell your
story. Search for sounds and sound bites that
will add impact, emotion and meaning. Then,
use words to interpret and explain what the
pictures cant say.
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CARDINAL RULE Use words to interpret and
explain what the pictures cant say.
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4. Shoot sequences.
We construct mini-movies in our minds eye for
everything we experience. In TV news, we must do
the same thing when shooting and editing
video. Sequential pictures with action that
matches from one shot to another replicate how
viewers would break down the action if they were
there.
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Humans see sequentially in long shots, medium
shots and close-ups. Long shot LS Medium shot
MS Close-up CU
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View of the telephone booth (LS) Look around for
phone book (MS) Look at handful of change (MS or
CU) Push buttons (CU) Watch people go by (LS, MS,
possibly CU) Buses and cars drive past (LS, MS,
possibly CU) (You cant shoot sequentially if
youre trying to force your shots into a
prewritten script, so Write the pictures
first.
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5. Prove the storys focus visually. But be
ready to change your focus if the story changes
or the focus was not correctly identified.
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6. Tell your story through people. Use strong
central characters. Use compelling action. Avoid
telling the story yourself with official
sources. (If you dont allow viewers to
experience the action themselves, they wont
remember it.)
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(No Transcript)
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• Write like
• you talk.
• Read aloud and decide which is better for
  TV news
• General Motors Corporation has announced that it
  will boost retail price tags on its passenger
  cars by an average of 500-dollars because of
  increasing costs of steel and rubber.
• General Motors is raising new car prices. The
  average increase is 500-dollars. G-M says it has
  to charge more because steel and rubber costs are
  up.

Lead your viewers by the ear.
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• Which one is better?
• The Teamsters walkout continues at five major
  supermarket warehouses. Union members have
  decided to ignore their union leaders and a court
  order.
• Ignoring their union leaders and a court order,
  Teamsters members have continued their walkout at
  five major supermarket warehouses.
• 1. The F-B-I is looking for the business agent
  of Aerocraft Leasing Company. One of the
  companys planes crashed in a Miami neighborhood
  last night killing eight people, and F-B-I
  officials think the business agent could have
  prevented the crash.
• 2. The business agent for the Aerocraft Leasing
  Company, the operators of a plane that crashed in
  a Miami neighborhood last night and killed eight
  people, is being sought by the F-B-I today
  because bureau officials think he could have
  prevented the crash.

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• 1. Most stories have at least one.
• Get it right.
• Pronounce it correctly.
• Ask around if youre not sure.
• 2. Write it
• Alex Chriseoman (KRISH-oh-man)
• 3. Give listeners a break. Warn them a name is
  coming A Neptune man won the world dance
  championship last night. Paul Jones said it was
  the most fun he ever had.
• 4. Endless titles
• Poor The vice president of the Wall Women
  for the Protection and Enhancement of the Female
  Image on Television, Lori McFadden, says
• Better The vice-president of a local
  womens organization says

Whats in a name?
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• Use both first
• and last name on first reference.
• Then last name only. No Mrs.,Miss, etc.
• Doctor Sharon Kim is the new president of the
  school district. Kim replaces Donald Sneed. Kim
  says shell continue Sneeds austerity program.

Initials Eliminate the middleman. (Except if
well known) J. Edgar Hoover, Michael J.
Fox P.T.Barnum, Edward R. Murrow J. Paul
Getty, Edward G. Robinson H. Ross Perot, P. Diddy
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Titles, Ages and Addresses

• Sometimes you have two Smiths in one story. To
  differentiate
• Give their titles or occupations
• Give their addresses
• Give their ages
• TITLES they go before names The director of the
  Neptune Help Center, Gloria Perkins, says
• Remember Write in a conversational manner use
  delayed identification.
• The director of the Neptune Help Center says
• Gloria Perkins knows, though, shes not
  the brightest knife in the drawer.

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Age report it BEFORE a persons full first and
last name.

• Three ways to report age
• The winner was 20-year-old Susan Lynn.
• The winner was Susan Lynn, who is 20 years old.
• The winner was Susan Lynn. She is 20 years old.
• Age should only be reported when it is a
  pertinent part of the story.
• Addresses theres a heirarchy
• Susan Lynn, of 7-6-9-1 Mast Avenue in East
  Midcity, won the race.
• Susan Lynn, of the 76-hundred block of Mast
  Avenue, in East Midcity
• Susan Lynn, of Mast Avenue in East Midcity,
• Susan Lynn, of East Midcity,
• Susan Lynn, of Midcity,

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• Attribution who said so?
• It normally goes at the beginning of the
  sentence, because its conversational and it
  tells readers its not the broadcasters comments
  or opinions.
• Poor Too many local businesses are mismanaged,
  Mayor Moore says.
• Poor Too many local businesses, Mayor Moore
  says, are mismanaged.
• Better Mayor Moore says too many local
  businesses are mismanaged.

Use says, said. Dont use claims, asserts,
declares, vows.
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• Review
• Five types
• of leads
• Emphasis
• Umbrella or Blanket
• Verbless
• Narrative
• Question

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• Which lead type is it?
• Mayor John Jenks resigned today as investigators
  continued their probe into the mayors financial
  dealings with contractors.
• Two more traffic deaths last night.
• By nine oclock last night, Jen Spellacys day
  had just started to get interesting.
• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on three landmark
  cases yesterday.

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• Question leads
• are almost never good.
• Avoid them.
• Poor Are you looking for ways to save money on
  food? Well, we have some hints for you.
• Better If youre looking for some way to save
  money on foodwe have some hints for you.
• Poor Have you ever wondered what youd look like
  with a smaller nose? A new computer program makes
  it possible.
• Better A new computer program makes it possible
  to see what youd look like with a smaller nose.