Writing script for TV news

The Big change

Print journalists often struggle with turning
stories into tight scripts that are meant to be
heard, not read. While you'll spend your
entire career perfecting your TV news writing
style, mastering the basics will provide a
foundation for success.

Step 1: Write to be heard

Read your script out loud. Is it easy to understand
just by hearing it one time only? Unlike in print, a
TV news audience has one shot to get the story.
That's why words that sound alike but have
different meanings create stumbling blocks for
the ear. Words such as "cite", "site" and "sight"
should be avoided if possible. Short, punchy
sentences are easier for the ear to digest than
long, complicated sentences that are full of
dependant clauses.

Step 2: Write in Active Voice

Passive voice writing jumbles up the usual sequence of
subject, verb, object in active voice writing. This
sounds like a lesson from English class, but it really
makes a critical difference in broadcast news writing.
An active voice sentence is:
"Sachin played a fine shot." You see the subject, verb
and object.
A passive sentence is:
A fine shot was played by Sachin."
The object and verb came before the subject. Viewers
have to wait until the end of the line to know what
Sachin did.

Step 3: Use Present Tense if needed

TV news is designed to sound like "now." That's another big difference
between broadcast and print news writing. A 8 p.m. newscast needs to
sound fresh, as if the news is just now unfolding.
But the MLA's press conference you covered happened at 2 o'clock. The
natural tendency is to write, "The MLA held a news conference earlier
today."
By shifting the focus of the sentence to the subject of the news
conference, you can put the sentence in present tense and give it extra
punch. "The MLA says he wants to surrender to the police. He made the
announcement at a news conference..."

That example starts out in present tense for the hook, then shifts to past
tense. It's important not to simply force the present tense into every
sentence you write. It would sound awkward in a 8 p.m. newscast to say,
"He makes the announcement at a news conference that happens at
2 o'clock."

Step 4: What do you have for me?

If viewers sense your stories don't directly affect them, they will
turn away.
So when the Union budget announces huge tax concessions for the
middle class, the statement may sound like an institutional
information. But transform it into something personal and
meaningful to the people it will affect.
"Your yearly savings may just go up, thanks to the tax concessions
announced by the Finance minister on Monday."

You've used the information to tell viewers how it could change

their lives. Dissect press kits, graphs and data before you start
writing to determine why your viewers will care about it.

Step 5: Action Verbs Add Life

In news writing, you don't get to choose the subject or
object of your sentences, but you can definitely add
value to your script by using action verbs. They are the
part of speech that can bring life to your stories.

Look at a story to see whether you can switch a

sentence that says
"Residents are requesting information..."
"Residents demand answers."
That easy change adds urgency and action.

to

 Before you get carried away, remember your

story still has to be accurate. "Demand" may be
too strong.
Try,
"Residents want to know."

Using "is, are, was, were" weakens the impact of

the action. "Residents want answers" sounds
better than:
"Residents are wanting answers."

Step 6: Numbers and names

Numbers are hard on the viewers' ears, especially
when there are a lot of them. Make your point with a
number or two, then move on.
Instead of, "The company's profit was Rs 11,670,000,
then fell to Rs 6,786,469 a year later," you can simplify
the line to be, "The company's profit was over Rs 1
crore, then fell to about half of that the next year."
The viewer gets the idea without having to hear every
last digit.
Be careful with names. For instance, Times Now was
asked to deposit Rs 100 crore in a Pune court for
wrongly carrying a picture of Justice P B Sawant
instead of Justice P K Samanta.

Step 7: Skip Cliches

Even experienced news writers fall into a trap of writing the same
tired words and phrases. Powerful storms always "wreak havoc",
political candidates "throw their hat into the ring" and the
moments after a crime has happened "details are sketchy."
Those empty terms make your news writing seem shallow. Replace
them with words that normal people would actually use in
conversation.
Reporters often use journalese when they are confronted with the
cliches of other professions and merely repeat what they hear. A
police officer may say a shooting suspect "fled from the spot".

It's a TV news writer's job to change that to "ran away".

The law enforcement, government and health care industries have
their own way of speaking, which shouldn't be repeated on the air.

Step 8: Write to Video

Many TV news stories are read as the audience watches video
playing. Connect the words to the video as if you were leading a
tour group.
That requires you to know what is going to be on screen as the
viewers hear the script. Once you have that information, the rest is
easy.

If you're talking about an embezzlement suspect while the video

shows that suspect walking down the street with his lawyer, say,
"The suspect, seen here on the left walking to the courthouse
with his lawyer." That reference to the video keeps the viewer from
wondering which of the two people is the suspect.
A line like, "Watch what happens when firefighters try to get the
kitten out of the tree," forces the viewers' eyes back to the screen.

Step 9: Sell the Story

Print journalists may groan at this basic aspect of TV news writing.
Fundamentally, it means in television, a news writer also has to sell
the product as something different and superior to the competition.
"When the school board said there wasn't any money for
classroom computers, we decided to dig for answers." A line like
that demonstrates that the news team is aggressive, and is taking
action to get to the truth.
"We are the only station with video of the brawl inside the college
cafeteria." A TV station uses its scripts to combat the perception
that all newscasts in a city are the same.

While this isn't pure journalism, this is a basic part of news writing
that is common at most TV stations. Realize that a newscast is also
a television programme that not only competes with other
newscasts, but also all TV shows that are on the air in the same
time slot. Sell the coverage as something special.

Step 10: The forward spin

A TV news story doesn't have a "the end" at the bottom of the script. The
end of your script should usually tell the audience what will happen next
to the people involved.
Parliament will take a vote on whether to hike MPs' pay at its next
session," lets the audience know what developments to expect next.
Leaving that fact out leaves the audience hanging.
"We will be there to tell you the outcome of the vote," is good to add so
that your viewers will return for updates. That line reinforces that your
news team will stay on top of the story and not just drop it.

That's a lot of effort to put into a 30-second script. Even though TV news
would seem to be all about video, crisp news writing will put you above
others in your newsroom and could be the key to building your career
faster than you thought possible.