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Writing Broadcast News — Shorter, Sharper, Stronger
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Writing Broadcast News — Shorter, Sharper, Stronger
A Professional Handbook

Third Edition
November 2010 | 272 pages | CQ Press
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The ability to write well is an applicant's most prized skill, according to surveys of broadcast news directors. To ensure that your students' writing skills are well honed, there is no better handbook to turn to than this newly updated third edition of Writing Broadcast News. Mervin Block- who has written for the best in the business- offers timeless advice, guiding both first-year students and seasoned professionals through the essentials of writing for the ear.

With countless scripts collected from writing workshops in newsrooms across the country, this resource is studded with insightful- and at times entertaining- comments, suggestions and much-needed corrections. Readers will find Block's clear and incisive voice coming through in the expanded "Top Tips of the Trade" and the "Dozen Deadly Sins"—reminding us that mistakes can be our best teachers. New "WordWatcher" boxes highlight the challenges in writing for print versus broadcast. 

 
PREFACE
 
I. RULES
 
1. Dozen Deadly Don'ts: Missteps and mistakes that mar scripts
 
2. Venial Sins: More mistakes that hurt copy
 
3. Top Tips of the Trade: 40 tips from the field that lead to better writing
 
II. STYLE AND FORM
 
4. Style: Tips to develop your writing style
 
5. Lead-ins, Lead-outs and Leading Questions: On starting strong and finishing well in broadcast stories
 
6. Attributions: Who Says? How to quote people and attribute facts in broadcast scripts
 
7. Words Part I: Put in a Good Word: How to find the right word at the write time
 
8. Words Part II: Eliminate the Journalese: How to write plainly and clearly for stronger scripts
 
9. After Words-After Math: A lesson on numbers for wordly writers
 
10. Bad News: Characterizing news is bad- and tips for sports and weather scripts
 
11. Noosepapers: Dangers of fishing for a fast fact in a print story
 
III: BEST PRACTICES
 
12. The Art of Rewriting: Why rewriting is an essential skill
 
13. My Least Worst: Rewrites of scripts written by the author
 
14. Your Turn: Scripts and rewrites to test your skills
 
15. All Else: Q&A with the author on the "tricks" of broadcast writing
 
APPENDIX A: A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR BROADCAST WRITERS

Highly accessible and focused textbook.

Dr Kevin Rafter
School of Communications, Dublin City University (DCU)
March 27, 2013
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Key features

New to this Edition

  • New and updated "Top Tips of the Trade"
  • Reorganization of chapters under three "Parts": Rules, Style and Best Practices
  • Better labeling of chapters and headings, with helpful annotations in the Table of Contents so readers can find exactly what they need, when they need it.
  • New WordWatcher boxes that highlight the differences of writing for the eye vs. the ear.
  • The addition of pull-quotes to help underscore important key points.
  • Updated Bibliography and expanded Index for easy reference.