When writing weather stories, remember that positive temperatures are not read: “positive seven degrees”; “Seven degrees” is fine. Negative temperatures are read as “minus seven degree” not “negative seven”. A zero temperature is “zero degrees”, not “It’s nothing outside”.

Tell the Story to a Friend

Broadcast writing should be like telling a story to a friend or a group of people at a meeting. It should be simple and more importantly, entertaining. People read newspaper stories for its detail, but television and radio stories should be able to convey all the important details and also entertain as well. That doesn’t go to say that a television copy should have slang or Internet lingo (lol). Think of it as telling a story to a manager. It should be entertaining, personal, and informing but also professional as well.

When listeners hear the story, it should feel like a one-to-one conversation. If the story were a painting, what would it look like? Read the copy out loud. Does the story sound like something that would capture people’s attention and entertain them?

Eliminate Unnecessary Information

Keep the copy short. Television and radio copy that an anchor or host reads should be short. Four to six sentences should be enough and of course only the most important information. If the story is about a car crash on the highway this morning, the names of the people involved or vehicles may not necessarily be important in a broadcast copy, unless it was a tractor trailer hitting a motorcycle, or if one or both parties were someone famous. In a story like this, the copy should answer what condition the two parties are in, how many people involved, the location of the accident to warn others of traffic delays, and any other pertinent information for that particular crash. The newspaper version of the story will answer all the questions that weren’t in the broadcast copy like names, times, model of vehicles, etc.

Always think about the audience and what they might want to know. Sometimes information like age, location, etc may not be important (unless it was a three-year-old boy who beat cancer or something of that sort). Think about whether there is something that can be taken out to make this copy better.

Broadcast Writing Overview

The writer should make sure that spelling and grammar are correct in a broadcast copy, even if the writer is also the anchor. This proves credibility. Broadcast copy should be short and concise. Details like job titles or names of people that no one will know are kept for newspaper and magazine stories. Always question how the story can be told to a manager or friend, and revise it. More importantly, get others to read it over and ask for criticism. That is how some of the best broadcast writers learn – through practice.

When writing weather stories, remember that positive temperatures are not read: “positive seven degrees”; “Seven degrees” is fine. Negative temperatures are read as “minus seven degree” not “negative seven”. A zero temperature is “zero degrees”, not “It’s nothing outside”.

Tell the Story to a Friend

Broadcast writing should be like telling a story to a friend or a group of people at a meeting. It should be simple and more importantly, entertaining. People read newspaper stories for its detail, but television and radio stories should be able to convey all the important details and also entertain as well. That doesn’t go to say that a television copy should have slang or Internet lingo (lol). Think of it as telling a story to a manager. It should be entertaining, personal, and informing but also professional as well.

When listeners hear the story, it should feel like a one-to-one conversation. If the story were a painting, what would it look like? Read the copy out loud. Does the story sound like something that would capture people’s attention and entertain them?

Eliminate Unnecessary Information

Keep the copy short. Television and radio copy that an anchor or host reads should be short. Four to six sentences should be enough and of course only the most important information. If the story is about a car crash on the highway this morning, the names of the people involved or vehicles may not necessarily be important in a broadcast copy, unless it was a tractor trailer hitting a motorcycle, or if one or both parties were someone famous. In a story like this, the copy should answer what condition the two parties are in, how many people involved, the location of the accident to warn others of traffic delays, and any other pertinent information for that particular crash. The newspaper version of the story will answer all the questions that weren’t in the broadcast copy like names, times, model of vehicles, etc.

Always think about the audience and what they might want to know. Sometimes information like age, location, etc may not be important (unless it was a three-year-old boy who beat cancer or something of that sort). Think about whether there is something that can be taken out to make this copy better.

Broadcast Writing Overview

The writer should make sure that spelling and grammar are correct in a broadcast copy, even if the writer is also the anchor. This proves credibility. Broadcast copy should be short and concise. Details like job titles or names of people that no one will know are kept for newspaper and magazine stories. Always question how the story can be told to a manager or friend, and revise it. More importantly, get others to read it over and ask for criticism. That is how some of the best broadcast writers learn – through practice.