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Television Production & Broadcast Journalism
• Use action verbs, when possible.
• Do not offer your opinion by commenting that something is bad,
good, interesting, or shocking.
• A person’s name should never be used at the beginning of a story,
unless the person is well-known. When a person’s name is used
in a story, always provide an identifying title or the reason the
person is in the news story. Mention the person’s title or reason for
involvement before stating their name, so viewers understand the
importance or context of the person.
Visualize This
You are a single male at a party. Many of your friends have been trying
to “fi x you up” with potential prom dates. You’ve already been introduced to
four ladies at this party. Your friend Chuck arrives and introduces another
woman, Christine. Christine is the most attractive woman you’ve met so
far. It would certainly be important to mention that Christine is Chuck’s new
girlfriend, right at the beginning of the introduction. Knowing Christine’s
title or connection to the event/person (Chuck) is a great deal
more important than knowing her name, considering all the
attempts at fi xing you up at this party. Having this information
immediately would avoid a very embarrassing situation.
A reporter has a fi nite amount of time to tell a story and relay all the
information viewers need to know. It is important to purposefully choose
the most effective words to tell the story.
• Do not use a long word when a short one will do. Say: “The colors
on a plasma television match the colors of things in real life.” Don’t
say: “The chrominance and luminance on a plasma television are
reproduced accurately.”
• Do not start a story with trite and cliché phrases that do not provide
any useful information, such as “Once again,” “In the news,” “A new
development,” “As expected,” and “In a surprise move.”
• Mention a person’s age only when it is relevant to the
newsworthiness of the story. For example, “A ten year old graduates
from Harvard.”
• When footage or images are included in a news story, the reporter
should not waste words by narrating with information the viewer
can plainly see, or stating the obvious. Phrases like, “As you can see,”
“Here is a,” and “This is an” typically describe what the viewer can see
for themselves. A picture is worth a thousand words. The reporter’s
time and words are better spent in providing viewers with more
relevant information that may not be obvious in the image on screen.
Preparing a News Package
The fundamentals of newswriting, including simple sentences and
language, present tense, and active voice, apply to any type of news story.
A package story that incorporates interview footage with narration by