Immediacy is another concept that must be foremost in a broadcast writer’s mind. The writer must consider what is the latest bit of important information he or she has. That is the information that must come first, or must be emphasized, in a broadcast news story.

Broadcast writers must remember that their writing is meant to be read aloud, often by someone other than themselves. Therefore, they need to write with the utmost consideration for the person who will be reading their copy.

A short, simple sentence -- this is the chief tool of the writer of broadcast news. The writer tries to keep punctuation to a minimum.

Likewise, short, familiar words should grace the copy. Broadcast news is not the place for a writer to show off an extensive, Shakespearean vocabulary. In this sense, broadcast writers should “write like you talk.” I have never particularly liked that advice because I don’t think many of us talk very well. But, in the sense that we talk to one another in a way that can be understood easily, it’s good advice.

Get in quickly, say it, get out. That’s the attitude that broadcast writers should have about how their copy sounds. That is NOT, however, the attitude they should have about the way they write. Writing efficiently is hard work. Every word should be weighed -- considered for what it means and what it adds to the information value of the copy. Is it the best word to use?

Because broadcast news copy is written under strict deadlines, writers often do not have the time to devotes these considerations to their copy. That’s why practice and experience are so important. You can develop habits of writing efficiently if you do it enough.

Remember that most broadcast news stories -- unless you are working for National Public Radio -- are 30 to 40 seconds long, Sometimes less. And even the writers for the NPR news breaks have to observe these conventions. Broadcast writers have to get in quickly, say it, and get out.

Pronunciation -- we mentioned that earlier, but it’s important enough to mention again. The words you write have to be pronounced. That makes a difference in what you write. As much as possible, you will want to avoid:

• sibilants -- words that have an “s” sound
• alliteration -- words that repeat sounds
• combinations of sibilants and alliteration, such as, She sells sea shells by the seashore.

We went over a lot of these concepts last week, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded of them.

Dramatic unity

The chief structure that broadcast news writers use in dramatic unity. It is a way of presenting information that allows a writer to tell a story very briefly and efficiently.

Dramatic unity has three parts:

Climax -- what is most important or dramatic of the story? Remember when we talked about news writing, we discussed things that should almost always be in a lead paragraph or near the top of a story: people killed or injured, property damage, large numbers of people affected by an event, etc. The same thing -- and many of the same rules -- apply to broadcast writing.

The city has delayed a seven hundred thousand dollar drainage project in the Coventry and Lakeshore Drive areas. City officials say they need approval for the project from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Cause -- what are the facts that will expand or develop the climax of the story? In this sense, “cause” doesn’t necessarily what caused the event. Rather, it means what can you say that will help the listener to understand the event better. For instance, in the example below -- the next part of the story begun above -- what is said is not the “cause,” but it does help the listener to understand this story better.

The city has planned this project for months without knowing it needed Corps approval. But today the city engineer announced that federal regulations require plans be submitted to the Corps.

Effect -- what information can bring this story to a conclusion? Again, we are not necessarily talking about an “effect” in the sense of cause-and-effect. We are simply looking for a way to bring the story to a conclusion.

That action could delay the project for six months. Residents say they are surprised and disappointed that the work won’t begin soon.

This was a difficult story to write. It was a story that had a lot of complexity and detail that could not be included. For instance, the residents had been waiting for several years to have this work down. While that was implied in the story, it could not be explicitedly stated. Another thing that the story leaves out is why the city is suddently finding out that the Corps of Engineers has to approve a project.

This story could be improved in several ways. Look at the last sentence. It contains five (count ‘em, five) sibilants -- residents, say, surprised, disappointed, soon. Some of these words may be necessary, or they may not have good substitutes. Still, this story could use some judicious editing and even rewriting.

Here are a couple of other stories. See if they are any better.

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Climax
Chicago police are looking into the death early Tuesday morning of 72-year-old Mary Ryan at the California Gardens Nursing Center in Little Village.

Cause
Ryan reportedly received a morphine injection from her 38-year-old daughter just hours before her death. Ryan was suffering from numerous terminal illnesses.

Effect
The case is just a death investigation at this time.

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Climax
An Illinois state trooper was killed in a fiery car crash in Downers Grove overnight.

Cause
The trooper was 29-year-old Chung Lin. The driver of the pickup truck that rear-ended the trooper, Azaria (a-ZAR-ee-A) Maja (Ma-JA), has been charged with reckless driving.

Effect
He is in the hospital in fair condition with lacerations to his face. Three other people suffered minor injuries.

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Using the present tense

Some students don’t completely understand when they should use the present tense in writing broadcast news. (Some don’t understand what the present tense is -- sometimes. Make sure you know.)

The present tense is a good way to introduce a sense of immediacy into your copy. Even though you are writing about things that have already happened, expressing them in the present tense rather than the past tense helps the writer lay stress on the most immediate information.

Here are a few guidelines about using the present tense in broadcast copy:

• when the action is continuing
  Hurricane Sally is battering the New England coast today.
  The governor plans a special session of the legislature next month
  
  
• when the action is in the immediate past and has some continuing effect
  The president says he will veto the budget bill.
  
  
• when referring to something in the future
  The Kroger company has announced that it is closing its stores in the city.
  
  
• but not when it is clearly inappropriate.
  Two people are killed in a three-car accident last night on I-59.

Speaking properly

One of the best ways to write well is to speak well. Unfortunately, many of us do not use the best speech we can in our conversation. We may be ignorant about the language; we may be lazy; or we may just have bad habits. Sometimes, we are not aware of how we sound to others. We should start paying attention to that.

Particularly, we should become self conscious about the following:

uh, well -- These space fillers may give us a little time to think about our words, but we would be better off -- that is, we would sound better -- if we thought in silence.

y’know -- A favorite of the inarticulate set, this meaningless expression marks a . . . uh, well, y’know . . .

like -- the most unnecessary word, the most ill-used, the most demeaning -- self-demeaning -- word in the language. Mature college students do their best to sound like 13-year-olds by using this as every third word they say. It is the ultimate in “language lite” -- words without meaning.
Stop saying it.
Be conscious of how much you do it.
Stop it.

Talk efficiently. Write efficiently.

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Guest lecturer for Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008

Katie Allison Granju
Ms. Granju is project manager for E.W. Scripps and a widely published writer who keeps up several web logs, including:

• Home/Work at Babble.com
  
• Because I Said So at Knoxnews.com
  
• She's also on Facebook and Linked-in.
  

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Possible news quiz questions

The answers to many of these questions can be found in the TennesseeJournalist.com (tnjn.com).

1. Who was selected last week to be the new chancellor of UT Knoxville? (tnjn.com)
2. What foreign correspondent was here on campus this week? (tnjn.com)
3. What team is UT's next football opponent? (tnjn.com)
4. How many people are on the women's pole vaulting team? (check out the video on the TNJN sports section)
5. A powerful earthquake has hit what southeast Asian country?
6. What has been the outcome of the World Series to date (Thursday morning)?
7. A U.S. senator from what state was convicted this week of giving false information on his Senate disclosure forms?
8. Who is the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives?