Writing news for broadcast media (such as TV, radio or webcasts) is like other forms of writing with one crucial difference — it will be consumed as a spoken medium, so you have to create it with that very thing in mind.  Here are some guidelines to follow to make sure your writing is optimized for broadcast use.

• Choose simple over complicated.  There are times when fancy word play can work in written news.  The chances of it sounding good, however, diminish immensely once the material is read aloud.   Remember: people hearing the news don’t have the same luxury of pausing or reading back as those with a newspaper in hand do.
• Make sentences shorter.  The shorter your sentences, the easier they will be to understand.  Even more importantly, you won’t leave whoever’s reading the news out of breath when they finish your sentences.
• Always start with a lead-in sentence.  This alerts the reader that you are going into a new story, rather than continuing a previous one.  Think of it as a way to transition from one thread to another during a long conversation.
• Write in a conversational tone.  A lot of writing can sound stilted when read aloud.   For broadcast news, you want to compose sentences that sound like the way someone would speak during a regular conversation.  It will sound more natural and spontaneous that way.
• Put attribution in the beginning.  In broadcast media, attribution is always given at the start of the sentence (to make sure listeners don’t miss it), rather than the end (as is the common practice with print).

Some stories that make the news are naturally interesting.  Some aren’t.  If you write your news articles properly, though, you can make even the least interesting bits look plenty palatable for reading.

1. Write a great lead.  Create a lead that grabs the reader’s attention and you’re off on the right foot.   So make sure you find the most newsworthy detail to use as a hook, while keeping the entire paragraph to under 40 words.
2. Use the right structure.  Embrace the inverted pyramid model when writing news by starting with the most important details and working your way down to the least significant ones.
3. Trim your writing.  Tighten up your writing to convey as much information in as few words as possible.    The shorter a news story is, especially for straight up reporting, the better.  As such, follow all the usual rules for writing concisely, such as staying away from passive constructions, using a subject-verb-object sequence and keeping modifiers to a minimum.
4. Be discerning with quotes.  Use only good quotes for your articles.  By that, we mean choosing ones with interesting material, preferably those said in an interesting way.  Stay away from anything with a chance of being misinterpreted.

The copy editor is the last line of quality control in most newspapers — the one who put the final stamp on a piece of writing before it goes to print.   If you’re publishing a newsletter or any similar type of publication, it will help to assign a copy editor in charge of the final check.

What tasks will a copy editor perform?

Fact-check.  All facts, statistics and quotes submitted need to be verified by the copy editor.  If anything can’t be confirmed, it’s their job to decide whether to let it go to print or to yank it off.

Finalize headlines.  The copy editor also has a final say on headlines, both in terms of its attractiveness, information-content and adherence to editorial policy.

Check spelling, punctuation and grammar.   A copy editor needs a quick eye to find mechanical errors on this end.  He might also rely on a quality writing software to perform thorough scans of the text.  A style checker that conforms to Associated Press standards will also be useful.

Check with editorial policy.  All writing that goes to press should adhere to the publication’s editorial policy.  Oh yeah, make sure you define one for your newsletter (or whatever else you’re publishing), lest risk putting out articles with varying levels of quality.

Hard news, such as those you find in newspapers, are always written such that  the reader can stop at any time without losing grasp of the story.  As such, it reveals everything that’s relevant to the reader’s experience and understanding as early as possible.

This is in stark contrast to writing essays, where you can keep some of the crucial points towards the end.  In fact, it’s usually a good idea to keep your second best material right around the concluding paragraph to ensure that you leave the reader on a good note.

In news stories, headlines should attempt to convey as much of the message as you can fit.  You want it to be informational first and foremost — all the other qualities (such as cleverness and humor) can take a backseat if they will detract from that.

The lead should answer all pertinent questions — the who, what, when, where, how and why.  Your first sentence is crucial, since readers will base their decision on whether to move forward with the story or turn their attention elsewhere based on it.  As such, it should try to answer as much of the 5 Ws and one H as it can, following an inverted pyramid model for detailing information.

When reporting news or current events, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Strong Leads. Your lead should be straight, powerful and to the point.  If you’re writing about an older event, try fashioning your nut graph the same way.  After all, it’s technically a lead, albeit one that explains why something that’s not breaking is so relevant.

The Iceberg Effect. While the beginning can draw in the reader, the overall strength of the story lies underneath the tip.  Its power and impact will depend on the quality of your interviews, detailed research and understanding that you can use to communicate the story to your readers.

Only The Most Precious Stone. As much as you can, include only the best information you can find – the most poignant quotations, the most revealing statistics and the most telling facts.  Leave out the rest, unless they are vital to the reader’s understanding.  Reporting is not about dumping information; it has more to do with sorting through the pile and finding those that will facilitate the best communication.

Check Your Facts. Reporting is particularly tricky with facts, as you’ll have to strike a balance between qualifying them and being able to reach the reader in a timely manner.  Your story’s accuracy depends on it.

Get Your Tools Handy. When you need to write fast, you have to work with the tools that can help speed up the process.   As such, always keep your best writing software, dictionary, style book and whatever other instrument you require within reach.