Writing & Storytelling for news lecture

Writing is subjective although key points to help with the reading of your story are;

• Alliteration
• Avoid repetition
• Avoid saying what the person in the interview is about to say
• Wordplay
• Rule of three
• Similes and metaphors
• Make the writing relatable 
• Personify your writing but avoid cliches 
• Exaggerating can help emphasising things
• Relatable comparisons 

Page 'F' test

P recise 'exactness and accuracy'

• use language correctly 
• S.P.A.G
• Make sure you speak clearly and concisely

A ccurate 'correct in all details; exact'

• Present facts accurately
• Check facts with RELIABLE sources
• Check names or titles etc.
• Ensure information is up to date 
• Beware of statistics MAKE SURE THEY ARE CORRECT

G ermane 'relevant to a subject under consideration'

• Are all facts relevant, ensure your story is tight and doesn't waste time with unnecessary elements
• Know your story, through well executed research
• Clarify thoughts on the story by distilling it into a single top line-headline which would effectively sell your story

E quitable 'fair and impartial'

• Making sure a story is objective and gives equal priority to all parties concerned. 
• It should be a given that you consider representation in your piece 
• Tackle subjects with sensitivity 

F low 'move steadily and continuously'

• Consider;
• Logic- the natural order of the elements within the story
• Structure- walk the viewer the story
• Tie-writing- use the script to link or corner turn from one point to the next

Write in the correct order

Write the intro of the story first read by the news anchor
Then the package and your tag
Don't repeat the lead in within your package, beware of wordy writing, and overkill on facts and figures

How to write a good lead and/or tag

Make your news anchor/tag line

• ATTENTION GRABBING 

Putting your idea into a clear top line is a good way to clarify the purpose of the story. The audience can therefore decide whether it's relevant to them and if they want to watch. 

• CONCISE AND NOT OVERLOADED WITH FACTS 

The facts belong in the main body of the news report so hold them back, don't put them in the intro. Use your leads to draw people into the news again in that ‘gossip-style’. 

A good rule of thumb is ONE SENTENCE, ONE THOUGHT. 

• SHOULD SOUND FRESH/”NEW” 
• BE WRITTEN IN AN ‘ACTIVE VOICE’ 

An active voice will enhance and drive your narrative.

Use the SVO method;

• Subject
• Verb
• Object

• BE CREATIVE 
• CONVERSATIONAL IN TONE 

Write as if you are imparting some important news to a friend almost a ‘gossip’ voice write as you speak. This allows you to TEASE your audience and draw them in with an ‘IT COULD BE ME !!!!’ rather than ‘I don’t live there and I don’t care!’ 

• USE NARRATIVE TO TELL THE STORY 

Things to avoid

‘Journalese’ – artificially exaggerated or embellished writing 
Or overly clinical references 
Additionally avoid generally used cliches 
Slang and overly familiar language, keep it on the side of formality and professionalism 

Write to pictures, words should help the images/show don't tell

Writing for live news/studio content

The producer is responsible for overseeing and much of the writing and creation of the running order for the studio script. They are then in the gallery to oversee the programme as it goes live and make editorial decisions whilst it is on air. 

Don't forget the viewer

Use words such as ‘You’ to connect with the audience and again answer the ‘Why should the audience care?’ 
Try to write in a way which not only engages the viewer, but allows them to see the relevance of your story to them and therefore heighten its impact.

Headlines and comings up

The other important tool in writing for news is creating headlines these are the initial selling tool for your stories. 
It is a menu of the main stories and delivers them in an order which usually reflects the level of newsworthiness of each story.
The ‘coming ups’ tell the viewer what’s still to come.

Scripting OOV/SOT n 

Out of vision/sound on tape requires the ability to discern good sound bites from interviews and script in and out of them. 
The studio script must indicate when and where the video is supposed to start and it’s duration so that the director has an idea of when to finish filming or when to put a package up.
Additionally, you need to ensure that the presenter is aware of when to stop reading the VO and allow the SOT to take over. When the they've nearly finished reading the presenter should be in vision as they finish reading the report directly to camera. 
either by : 

• Direction through the ear piece from the gallery 
• Put the SOT on a separate source to play out so that the sound is separate and can be mixed to in the gallery. 

SCRIPTING A NEWS PACKAGE 

Work out your shot list and scripted elements such as the PTC, before filming allowing you to be sure in what you want to film. Make your reporter active in what they are reporting on in your film. Doing something relevant on camera , getting them involved in some way with the subject (if they're talking about cooking maybe get them involved in cooking), means that we as an audience can feel vicariously connected to the piece and have a greater understanding and empathy with the subject.


NARRATIVE STORYTELLING 

 Typically narratives are structured in the following ways:
 Chronologically – Don’t mess about with the timeline too many times. Use the most up to date info/pix first then return to recount the story entirely.
Story told through strong central character – what makes it have meaning, context and perspective
Answer the 5 W's 

• WHAT
• WHEN
• WHY
• WHERE
• WHO as well as SO WHAT?

PREPARE FOR THE EDIT ! 

Prior to editing you will need to; view, log and transcribe the interviews.
The essentials of storytelling; who, what, what, when, where, why & how
But it is key to know how to sift the information for the story essentials – avoid an information overload or you risk loosing you audience's attention. Remember WIIFM= What's In It For Me?
This should make sure your story will feel relevant to the audience and therefore they have a reason to watch it.



From this lecture I learnt how we can effectively write for our news report in a professional and concise way. I also learnt how to prioritise stories to keep our audience interested in our report , as well the importance of extensive (where possible) research so that the interviewee feels you know what your talking about.