PWAY-TV. The Five "W"s and the "H" Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

Writing News for Broadcast

PWAY-TV

Writing News for Broadcast

The Five "W"s and the "H"

Who?   What?   Where?   When?   Why?   How?

Writing News for Broadcast

The Five "W"s and the "H"

Who?   What?   Where?   When?   Why?   How?

Any good news story provides answers to each of these questions.

You must drill these into your brain and they must become second nature.

For a story about a sports team entering a competition:

Who is the team? Who is the coach? Who are the prominent players? Who are the supporters?

For a story about a sports team entering a competition:

Who is the team? Who is the coach? Who are the prominent players? Who are the supporters?

What sport do they play? What is the competition?

For a story about a sports team entering a competition:

Who is the team? Who is the coach? Who are the prominent players? Who are the supporters?

What sport do they play? What is the competition?

Where is the competition? Where is the team normally based?

For a story about a sports team entering a competition:

Who is the team? Who is the coach? Who are the prominent players? Who are the supporters?

What sport do they play? What is the competition?

Where is the competition? Where is the team normally based?

When is the competition? How long have they been preparing? Are there any other important time factors?

For a story about a sports team entering a competition:

Who is the team? Who is the coach? Who are the prominent players? Who are the supporters?

What sport do they play? What is the competition?Where is the competition? Where is the team

normally based?When is the competition? How long have they

been preparing? Are there any other important time factors?

Why are they entering this particular competition? If it's relevant, why does the team exist at all?

For a story about a sports team entering a competition:

Who is the team? Who is the coach? Who are the prominent players? Who are the supporters?

What sport do they play? What is the competition?Where is the competition? Where is the team

normally based?When is the competition? How long have they been

preparing? Are there any other important time factors?

Why are they entering this particular competition? If it's relevant, why does the team exist at all?

How are they going to enter the competition? Do they need to fundraise? How much training and preparation is required? What will they need to do to win?

The Inverted PyramidThe style of journalism which places the

most important facts at the beginning and works "down" from there. Ideally, the first paragraph should contain enough information to give the viewer a good overview of the entire story. The rest of the segment explains and expands on the beginning.

The Inverted PyramidThe style of journalism which places the most

important facts at the beginning and works "down" from there. Ideally, the first paragraph should contain enough information to give the viewer a good overview of the entire story. The rest of the segment explains and expands on the beginning.

A good approach is to assume that the story might be cut off at any point. Does the story work if the director only decides to include the first two paragraphs? If not, re-arrange it so that it does.

Writing for TV1. WRITE CONVERSATIONALLY: Tell a

story without being boring. Say it as though you were telling your best friend or your Mom or Dad with enthusiasm.

Writing for TV1. WRITE CONVERSATIONALLY: Tell a

story without being boring. Say it as though you were telling your best friend or your Mom or Dad with enthusiasm.

2. WRITE CONCISELY: Use short sentences. Use one idea per sentence. Avoid words you don't need.

Writing for TV1. WRITE CONVERSATIONALLY: Tell a story

without being boring. Say it as though you were telling your best friend or your Mom or Dad with enthusiasm.

2. WRITE CONCISELY: Use short sentences. Use one idea per sentence. Avoid words you don't need.

3. SIMPLIFY COMPLICATED IDEAS: Present straight-forward facts in a way that does not talk down to people. Remember, they will only hear the information once, so it is important that what they hear is easy to understand.

Writing for TV1. WRITE CONVERSATIONALLY: Tell a story without

being boring. Say it as though you were telling your best friend or your Mom or Dad with enthusiasm.

2. WRITE CONCISELY: Use short sentences. Use one idea per sentence. Avoid words you don't need.

3. SIMPLIFY COMPLICATED IDEAS: Present straight-forward facts in a way that does not talk down to people. Remember, they will only hear the information once, so it is important that what they hear is easy to understand.

4. RESEARCH & VERIFY ALL INFORMATION: Know what you are talking about. Check the facts. Get first hand information, not second hand opinion. Research will tell you which way your story will go in finding the truth. Be objective; there are always two sides to a story.

Writing for TV5. DON'T SCARE THE VIEWERS: Why

would you start a story with "This story is very complicated and confusing ? " Viewers don't want to know about the labor pains, they just want to see the baby!

Writing for TV5. DON'T SCARE THE VIEWERS: Why

would you start a story with "This story is very complicated and confusing ? " Viewers don't want to know about the labor pains, they just want to see the baby!

6. DON'T GIVE ORDERS: "Listen Up" or "Attention" Just tell the information- don't tell them what to do with it...

Writing for TV5. DON'T SCARE THE VIEWERS: Why would

you start a story with "This story is very complicated and confusing ? " Viewers don't want to know about the labor pains, they just want to see the baby!

6. DON'T GIVE ORDERS: "Listen Up" or "Attention" Just tell the information- don't tell them what to do with it...

7. DON'T BURY A STRONG VERB IN A NOUN: Say, "a bomb exploded" not "a bomb explosion" Use "VIGOROUS VERBS" for Go Power!

Writing for TV5. DON'T SCARE THE VIEWERS: Why would you start a

story with "This story is very complicated and confusing ? " Viewers don't want to know about the labor pains, they just want to see the baby!

6. DON'T GIVE ORDERS: "Listen Up" or "Attention" Just tell the information- don't tell them what to do with it...

7. DON'T BURY A STRONG VERB IN A NOUN: Say, "a bomb exploded" not "a bomb explosion" Use "VIGOROUS VERBS" for Go Power!

8. DON'T START A STORY WITH: "As expected" or "In a surprise move" People don't want the expected or like feeling as though they don't know what's going on. Phrases like "A new development" or "Making the news" are redundant. Why else would it be on the news?

Writing for TV 5. DON'T SCARE THE VIEWERS: Why would you start a story with

"This story is very complicated and confusing ? " Viewers don't want to know about the labor pains, they just want to see the baby!

6. DON'T GIVE ORDERS: "Listen Up" or "Attention" Just tell the information- don't tell them what to do with it...

7. DON'T BURY A STRONG VERB IN A NOUN: Say, "a bomb exploded" not "a bomb explosion" Use "VIGOROUS VERBS" for Go Power!

8. DON'T START A STORY WITH: "As expected" or "In a surprise move" People don't want the expected or like feeling as though they don't know what's going on. Phrases like "A new development" or "Making the news" are redundant. Why else would it be on the news?

9. DON'T CHARACTERIZE THE NEWS AS GOOD, BAD, INTERESTING, OR SHOCKING: Let the viewers decide what is good, bad, shocking, etc. What is good for one person might be bad for another.

Writing for TV10. DON'T START A LEAD SENTENCE

WITH THE NAME OF AN UNKNOWN OR UNFAMILIAR PERSON: If the name means nothing to the viewers, they won't keep listening. Use a title or label before the name- "Seattle newspaper photographer..." "Tacoma mayor..." "President..." And don't use personal pronouns (he or she) to start a story.

Writing for TV10. DON'T START A LEAD SENTENCE WITH THE NAME

OF AN UNKNOWN OR UNFAMILIAR PERSON: If the name means nothing to the viewers, they won't keep listening. Use a title or label before the name- "Seattle newspaper photographer..." "Tacoma mayor..." "President..." And don't use personal pronouns (he or she) to start a story.

11. DON'T WRITE A FIRST SENTENCE WITH "YESTERDAY" OR "CONTINUES": Yesterday is "old news." The word "continues" tells viewers that "nothing is new." If something is ongoing, find a new angle to describe it. The word "Details" is a dirty word! It's like the fine print in a legal contract and tells the viewer that, "there is more, but we can't really explain all that right now." Try to be positive in your leads. Avoid using "no" or "not" in a first sentence. Change "did not remember" to "forgot." "Did not pay attention" to "ignored" etc.

Writing for TV 10. DON'T START A LEAD SENTENCE WITH THE NAME OF AN UNKNOWN OR

UNFAMILIAR PERSON: If the name means nothing to the viewers, they won't keep listening. Use a title or label before the name- "Seattle newspaper photographer..." "Tacoma mayor..." "President..." And don't use personal pronouns (he or she) to start a story.

11. DON'T WRITE A FIRST SENTENCE WITH "YESTERDAY" OR "CONTINUES": Yesterday is "old news." The word "continues" tells viewers that "nothing is new." If something is ongoing, find a new angle to describe it. The word "Details" is a dirty word! It's like the fine print in a legal contract and tells the viewer that, "there is more, but we can't really explain all that right now." Try to be positive in your leads. Avoid using "no" or "not" in a first sentence. Change "did not remember" to "forgot." "Did not pay attention" to "ignored" etc.

12. DON'T START A STORY WITH "ANOTHER" "MORE" OR "ONCE AGAIN": These are viewer/listener turn-off words. What they hear is "Old News" or "Just the Same Old Thing." Don't try to cram too much information into a story. Give the viewer the "highly concentrated essence of the story." Remember, the audience only gets to hear and see the piece once. (Who records the news on their VCR so they can review it later? Not normal people!) People have difficulty processing a steady stream of facts - (think of the teacher who just lectures.) Waste Words: "in order" "in the process" "literally" "actually" "really" "suddenly" "gradually" "finally" "flatly" "personally" "officially" "miraculously" "local" "nearby" "area" "separate" "a total of" "then" "the fact that" "meanwhile" "on a lighter note”

Writing for TV 10. DON'T START A LEAD SENTENCE WITH THE NAME OF AN UNKNOWN OR

UNFAMILIAR PERSON: If the name means nothing to the viewers, they won't keep listening. Use a title or label before the name- "Seattle newspaper photographer..." "Tacoma mayor..." "President..." And don't use personal pronouns (he or she) to start a story.

11. DON'T WRITE A FIRST SENTENCE WITH "YESTERDAY" OR "CONTINUES": Yesterday is "old news." The word "continues" tells viewers that "nothing is new." If something is ongoing, find a new angle to describe it. The word "Details" is a dirty word! It's like the fine print in a legal contract and tells the viewer that, "there is more, but we can't really explain all that right now." Try to be positive in your leads. Avoid using "no" or "not" in a first sentence. Change "did not remember" to "forgot." "Did not pay attention" to "ignored" etc.

12. DON'T START A STORY WITH "ANOTHER" "MORE" OR "ONCE AGAIN": These are viewer/listener turn-off words. What they hear is "Old News" or "Just the Same Old Thing." Don't try to cram too much information into a story. Give the viewer the "highly concentrated essence of the story." Remember, the audience only gets to hear and see the piece once. (Who records the news on their VCR so they can review it later? Not normal people!) People have difficulty processing a steady stream of facts - (think of the teacher who just lectures.) Waste Words: "in order" "in the process" "literally" "actually" "really" "suddenly" "gradually" "finally" "flatly" "personally" "officially" "miraculously" "local" "nearby" "area" "separate" "a total of" "then" "the fact that" "meanwhile" "on a lighter note"

13. DON'T LOSE OR FAIL TO REACH THE VIEWERS: Talk "to" them, not "at" them. Don't make factual errors! If you lose your credibility, you lose your audience. Learn to spell correctly and properly pronounce names. If you are not sure about something, look it up or find someone who does know! Writing is hard work. It's only easy for those who haven't learned to write. Confucius should have said, "easy writing equals hard listening. Hard writing equals easy listening!"