Writing a News Script for a TV Newscast (The Basics)

This is a slide presentation on the basics of TV news script writing.

1. Writing a
News Script
for TV News
Quick quide

2. Making TV news is more complicated
than producing radio news.
•Television always involves several people.
•Television always involves two simultaneous methods of presenting information –
sound and vision.
Words in TV support the pictures, not the other way around.

3. 1
Write for the
Ear
Beware of words that sound alike but
mean different things.
Words like cite" might be confused with
"site" or "sight" and should beavoided.

4. 2
Avoid the
Passive
Voice
An active voice helps distinguish
between verbs and subjects.
“The policeman fired the gun.” vs
“The gun was fired by the
policeman.”

5. 3
Use Present
Tense
wherever
possible
TV news is timely as
opposed to print news
writing that relates a bigger
story, putting facts and
information into context.
A 6 p.m. newscast must
sound freshand "of the
moment." Bring the viewer
into the news piece as it's
unfolding.
"Mayor Reyes held a news
conference earlier today.“ vs
"Mayor Reyes says he
intends to slash local taxes
by 20 percent. Reyes made
the announcement at a news
conference."

6. 4
Write Stories for People
Transform the information into something of consequence for the viewers at home.
"Your drive to work or school will soon be smoother, thanks to a big project by the DOT to fill
in potholes and uneven streets suffering from wear and tear."

7. 5Befriend Action Verbs
•Verbs are the part of speech that adds life and verve to your stories.
•"Residents are requesting information." vs "Residents want to know.”
•If you can, always avoid words like "is, are, was, and were."

8. 6Be Careful
With Numbers
"The company's profit was
P10,470,000, then fell to
P5,695,469 a year later.”
The company's profit was
about 10 and-a-half million
pesos, then fell to about half
that the following year."

9. 7Sell the story
•"When the school board said there wasn't any money for
classroom computers, we decided to dig for answers."
•The viewer likes this story because he or she feels someone is
championing for them. It personalizes it and brings it home.

10. 8 Move the story forward
•A goodTV newsstory ends telling the audience what will happen
next.
•"The school board will take a vote on whether to cut teachers' pay at
its next meeting a week from today“
•"We will be at that meeting and tell you the outcome of the vote."

11. Different Parts of a
Script

12. Pope Benedict's retirement announcement
The first line informs the audience about the main point of the story.
"Pilgrims began arriving at St. Peter’s Square on Monday, February 11, following an announcement by Pope Benedict that he's
resigning at the end of the month."
Provide a line or two of background information that adds context to your first line.
"The 85-year-old German-born pontiff said he is no longer strong enough to fulfill the duties of his office, becoming the first
pope since the Middle Ages to take such a step."
Next, go back to the pictures being broadcast and what's happening in your story as the news of the Pope's retirement
spreads.
"Thousands of people from all over began arriving at St. Peter’s Square."
Next, expand on the scene by saying,
"People of all religions prayed for the pope and wished him well.
Last, wrap-up the story with concrete information.
"The Vatican's spokesman said the pope would step down at 1900 GMT on February 28."