How to write good news/readers script

tease/ lead

clear, singular attention grabbing sentence

Be concise

Say more with fewer words

Use conversational style

informal speech/writing

use present tense and active verbs

Example: Says, explains, adds, states, etcetera; avoid passive verbs

3 Sources

Include VIP source, another expert, and someone the story affects

Multiple perspectives

Include different genders, ages, majors, and roles.

No anonymous sources

informational recived that is not verifiable

Attribution before quote

Identify source by their title, role, or part in the story then include their quote

ID tags

include full and exact names and titles

Spell names phonetically

Challenging words and names should be simplified

Objectivity

writing should be free of bias

No editorializing/cheerleading

A writer cannot include their own opinion or openly promote a cause or event in their script

flow

read it out loud to yourself to guarantee conversational and logical blank

Outtro

final sentence of the script that offers “for more info”

the mom rule

If I were sitting down at the dinner table and telling this story to my mom, what would I say

Precise

are you saying what you think you’re saying?

Don’t use parentheses

They clutter the prompter copy