Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 510 Journalism: Publishing Across Media In print, the sentence is not too diffi cult to understand, but it would not be a good broadcast sentence because • It is too long for most people to read aloud in one breath. • It is a complex sentence with multiple subordinate clauses that make it hard for a listener to grasp. • It contains too much information for the listener to take in all at once, and listeners do not have the luxury of re-reading. When you construct broadcast sentences 1. Use short, simple sentences. 2. Lead with the subject and verb. 3. Do not use words you would not use in conversation. Eliminate jargon as much as possible. 4. Read it aloud and edit it using your ear. Rewritten for video, the same passage is much easier to read. Lawmakers criticized federal regulators tasked with overseeing auto safety. They pointed to investigations that showed Takata airbag inquiries were mishandled by the National Highway Traffi c Safety Administration. They also cited delays in recalls of defective cars by General Motors. Those cars, recalled last year, were tied to at least 117 deaths. The same principles apply in writing for radio. National Public Radio’s Jonathan Kern says, “Remember: when you are on the air, you are communicating with one person at a time.” Audio journalists should write as though they are talking to a friend. Once you have gathered footage, recorded voiceovers and secured copyright-free music or still images, it is time to put it all together. This stage of post-production requires judgment and careful decision making. You may also need to go back to an earlier stage of the process to collect more footage, record another voiceover to use as a transition, or to grab 1. Rewrite these print sentences for broadcast. Principal Wendy Scott announced yesterday that this year will be the fi rst in which juniors, who have gone untested in the areas of social studies and science for the past four years, will be required to take the state standardized test, and their test scores will be used by colleges and universities to determine their eligibility for admission, though the scores will not be the sole admission criteria. 2. Going Deeper. Now try writing the introductory script for an event happening at your school. Remember to follow the four tips for writing for broadcast. Your Turn 1 R