Page 65 - Convergent Journalism an Introduction Writing and Producing Across Media

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Broadcast Writing and Speaking

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Writing for broadcast is unlike almost any kind of writing you might
have done before. That’s because of the fundamental differences inher-
ent in both the transmission and reception of broadcasting—both radio
and television. Information that is broadcast involves people saying the
information out loud while the audience takes it all in by virtue of hear-
ing it. Broadcast is spoken on the one hand and heard on the other. It’s
as simple—and as complicated—as that.
Almost everything we do in constructing messages for broadcast
ultimately comes down to producing words that can be spoken well and
understood by people who only get to hear them. Those two aspects
of broadcast lead to a world of challenges.
In print, readers can reread material. They can stop and mull over
what they read or check another source. None of those options is avail-
able in broadcast. The reporter or anchor says the material one time—at
a pace determined by the reporter or anchor. The audience gets one
shot and one shot only at understanding what’s being said. The audi-
ence can’t go back for another pass. Viewers and listeners have no
chance to think over and decipher something that might be unclear.