Better Broadcast Writing, Better Broadcast News

Preface

 

 

 

Back when I was a student like you, I often wondered how a professor analyzing Shakespearean plays could tell me why Shakespeare wrote as he did. How could the teacher be so sure about what Shakespeare meant if Shakespeare didn’t tell him? I wanted to know what ran through Shakespeare’s mind, not just the professor’s. Impossible though it was, I wanted to hear from the writer himself.

That’s why I decided to write this textbook about writing for broadcast news. No, the writing in my news stories wasn’t like Shakespeare’s (which might be a blessing for audiences that just want straightforward explanations of stories); it’s neither as incisive nor as complex. But at least I can use it in examples throughout the book, and explain why ...