Writing for Broadcast Journalists Guides Readers Through the Significant Differ- 13 Ences Between the Written and Spoken Versions of Journalistic Language
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1111 2 3 Writing for 4 5 Broadcast Journalists 6 7 8 9 10 11 12111 Writing for Broadcast Journalists guides readers through the significant differ- 13 ences between the written and spoken versions of journalistic language. It 14 will help broadcast journalists at every stage of their careers to avoid such 15 pitfalls as the use of newspaper-English and Americanised phrases, to get to 16 grips with pronunciation and terms of address, and to capture the immediacy 17 of the spoken word in their scripts. 18 Written in a lively and accessible style by an experienced BBC radio and TV 19 journalist, Writing for Broadcast Journalists provides an invaluable guide to the 20 techniques of writing for radio, television and online news. 21 22 Writing for Broadcast Journalists includes: 23 24 • Practical tips on how to avoid clichés and ‘journalese’ 25 • Guidance on tailoring your writing style to suit a particular broadcast 26 news audience 27 28 • Advice on editing agency copy 29 • Examples of scripts from some of the best in the business 30 31 • An appendix of ‘dangerous’ words and phrases, explaining correct usage 32 and advising when to avoid certain terms 33 34 Rick Thompson has held senior editorial positions with BBC News at the 35 regional, national and international levels in radio and television. He now 36 trains journalists in central and eastern Europe, and is the Visiting Professor 37 of Broadcast Journalism at the UCE in Birmingham. 38 39 40 41 42111 43111 Media Skills SERIES EDITOR: RICHARD KEEBLE, CITY UNIVERSITY, LONDON SERIES ADVISERS: WYNFORD HICKS AND JENNY MCKAY The Media Skills series provides a concise and thorough introduction to a rapidly changing media landscape. Each book is written by media and jour- nalism lecturers or experienced professionals and is a key resource for a particular industry. Offering helpful advice and information and using prac- tical examples from print, broadcast and digital media, as well as discussing ethical and regulatory issues, Media Skills books are essential guides for students and media professionals. Also in this series: English for Journalists, 2nd edition Wynford Hicks Writing for Journalists Wynford Hicks with Sally Adams and Harriett Gilbert Interviewing for Radio Jim Beaman Web Production for Writers and Journalists, 2nd edition Jason Whittaker Ethics for Journalists Richard Keeble Scriptwriting for the Screen Charlie Moritz Interviewing for Journalists Sally Adams, with an introduction and additional material by Wynford Hicks Researching for Television and Radio Adèle Emm Reporting for Journalists Chris Frost Subediting for Journalists Wynford Hicks and Tim Holmes Designing for Newspapers and Magazines Chris Frost Find more details of current Media Skills books and forthcoming titles at www.producing.routledge.com 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 Writing for 8 9 10 Broadcast Journalists 11 12111 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Rick Thompson 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42111 First published 2005 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor and Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2005 Rick Thompson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Thompson, Rick, 1947– Writing for broadcast journalists / Rick Thompson. p. cm. – (Media skills) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Broadcast journalism – Authorship. 2. Reporters and reporting. 3. Report writing. I. Title. II. Series. PN4784.B75T48 2004 808′.06607 – dc22 2004009293 ISBN 0-203-34267-4 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0–415–31796–7 (hbk) ISBN 0–415–31797–5 (pbk) 1111 2 3 4 5 Contents 6 7 8 9 10 11 12111 Acknowledgements vii 13 14 1 Introduction 1 15 16 2 Good spoken English 4 17 3 The language of broadcast news 18 18 19 4 Writing broadcast news scripts 39 20 5 Different techniques for radio, television and online news 118 21 22 23 Appendix: Dangerous words: an alphabetical checklist 154 24 Further reading 175 25 Index 179 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42111 1111 2 3 4 5 Acknowledgements 6 7 8 9 10 11 12111 I would like to thank all the journalists whose broadcast scripts or written 13 articles have been used as examples and illustrations to the points made in 14 this book, the various authors of in-house style guides which have been 15 quoted, and my colleagues at the University of Central England’s Department 16 of Broadcast Journalism for their comments and encouragement. 17 In particular I would like to thank those senior practitioners of broadcast news 18 who agreed to be interviewed specifically for this guide. Their comments and 19 suggestions have produced an impressive body of advice on the language of 20 broadcast journalism from some of the best in the profession. They were: 21 22 Brian Barron, Foreign Correspondent, BBC News. 23 24 Anita Bhalla, Head of Political and Community Affairs, BBC English 25 Regions. 26 Karen Coleman, Foreign Editor and Presenter, Newstalk 106, Dublin, 27 and formerly a foreign correspondent in radio and television. 28 29 Lyse Doucet, Correspondent and Presenter, BBC World, and an experi- 30 enced foreign correspondent on radio and television. 31 Julie Etchingham, Presenter, Sky News. 32 33 Blair Jenkins, Head of News and Current Affairs, BBC Scotland. 34 Bob Jobbins, OBE, former Director of News and Current Affairs, BBC 35 World Service, and former foreign correspondent. 36 37 Rob Kirk, Editorial Development Manager, Sky News. 38 Mindy Leigh, English Editor, Cineuropa.org. 39 Ian Masters, Controller of Broadcasting, The Thomson Foundation. 40 41 Clare Morrow, Controller of Regional Programmes North, ITV York- 42111 shire, and former radio correspondent. viii Acknowledgements Sir David Nicholas, CBE, former Chairman and Editor in Chief, ITN. Tim Orchard, former Controller, BBC News 24. Richard Sambrook, Director of BBC World Service and Global News, formerly Director of BBC News. Mike Smartt, former Editor in Chief, BBC News Online. I am grateful to the authors of previous internal style guides whose work has been used as reference: Tom Fort, the BBC’s A Pocket Guide to Radio Newswriting. Sue Owen, The Heart FM Quick and Dirty Style Guide. Vin Ray, The Reporter’s Friend for BBC Television News. The various authors of The World Service News Programmes Style Guide. And in particular the late Peter Elliott, BBC Television Senior Duty Editor, author of the internal booklet called A Question of Style, and an inspiration to many broadcast journalists, including this one. Thanks are also due to those who helped to find useful examples, check the draft and format the material: Birthe Fox, Secretary, BBC Birmingham. Paul John, Assistant Managing Editor, BBC TV News. Roy Saatchi, Hon. Professor of Broadcast Journalism at John Moores University. Gill Thompson, T-Media. 1111 2 3 1 4 5 Introduction 6 7 8 9 10 11 12111 Polonius: ‘What do you read my lord?’ 13 Hamlet: ‘Words, words, words.’ 14 (William Shakespeare, Hamlet, II.2) 15 16 An English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostenta- 17 tious. (Dr Samuel Johnson, Lives of the English Poets) 18 19 20 21 WHAT THIS BOOK COVERS 22 23 This is a book about words, words that are usually spoken aloud, and received 24 into the brain via the ear rather than the eye. Specifically, it is about the 25 language and style of broadcast news. It is designed to help journalists working 26 in the broadcast media to write scripts that will be clear, concise, accurate 27 and elegant. It is a practical guide to the process of putting the right words 28 in the right places. There are an estimated 10,000 broadcast journalists 29 working in Britain, with about 30,000 more studying media or journalism at 30 any one time. Overseas, there are countless thousands more writing in the 31 English language. I have still to meet one who confesses to being a poor writer. 32 Yet inaccuracies, confusing usage and newspaper-style journalese can be heard 33 on the airwaves every day. 34 35 All journalists in broadcasting should aspire to be among the best in their 36 chosen profession, not merely to be competent enough to hold down a job. 37 In any medium, it is impossible to be a great journalist without being a very 38 good writer. So I hope this book will stimulate younger journalists to increase 39 their familiarity with the English language, and will encourage established 40 reporters and writers to reassess their own writing styles. It should help them 4122 to write with greater ambition, and I hope it will encourage them to love the 42111 language, and enjoy the process of writing. 2 Introduction WHAT THIS BOOK DOES NOT COVER This book is not about writing for newspapers or magazines, which is a completely different technique from writing for broadcasting.