Filmmaking Basics
Page 10
Deakin University in Australia offers concise tips on video for documentary and news coverage. They’re available on Apple’s iTunes as free video podcasts.
Broadcast Journalism Criteria and Standards
Criteria for broadcast journalism include:
reflecting the community
covering a wide range of topics
developing balanced stories
focusing on significant issues and ideas
citing multiple sources; quoting authoritative sources
Some notes on the characteristics of writing broadcast journalism:
Keep sentences short, almost to the point of over-simplification.
Keep subjects and verbs close together whenever possible.
Identification of subjects (such as age, job title) comes before the name, not after. It is essential to “cue” the listener that a name is coming up in the story. You do this by simply using a descriptive phrase before the name. Delay most names of people, places, things until the second or third sentence.
It is permissible (and often required for clarity) to use incomplete sentences.
Use a conversational style in broadcast writing. The way you would tell the story to an interested questioner is a good guide as to how you should write the story for your listeners. Be conversational, but don’t be verbose. Keep it short and simple. You can try reading your copy out loud as you type it, and then go back and read a whole paragraph aloud to make sure it makes sense and flows smoothly.
Avoid complex sentence structure, little-known words, and other literary techniques.
The use of contractions (“she’s”, “they’re”, “I’m”) is perfectly acceptable in broadcast journalism, just as they are in conversation.