Convergent Journalism an Introduction

4

Broadcast Writing and Speaking

Writing for broadcast is unlike almost any kind of writing you might have done before. That’s because of the fundamental differences inherent 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 hearing 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 ...